Update with video – The official opening for the completion of the restoration project on the Citadel fortifications, was made by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat on Thursday evening.

The Ministry for Gozo said that the restoration project brings new life back to the Citadel. The work has been carried out over the last two years and was completed through three separate phases.

A new Citadel Visitors Centre where visitors will be able to learn about the this historic Gozitan landmark, opened for the first time to the public today.

The project was completed through an investment of €14 million, 85% of which came from European funding. During the inauguration it was also announced that the Gozo Citadel is expected to be a candidate for nomination as a UNESCO world heritage site.

Next Saturday a season of cultural and artistic activities to inaugurate the Citadel fortification restoration project, gets underway with `Swar u Hajja.’

This special night-out at the Citadel is being held between 7:30 pm and midnight, when there will be 60 attractions open to the public, including exhibitions, concerts and performances by Gozitan artists, both local and from overseas.

Activities during the evening will include historical reenactments, street theatre, dance shows on the bastions, film shows and while all activities are aimed for the whole family to enjoy, there will also be places and activities specifically for children, such as a theatrical production about science and areas for traditional Maltese games.

Among the places open to the public will be all Heritage Malta museums, the War shelters, the grain silos, The Gozo Court building and the Cathedral bell tower, two places not normally open to the public, will also be open free of charge.

Activities then continue throughout the summer with among others musicals, concerts, meetings with artists, a yoga festival and spectacle of music and dance in September. The preliminary programme of #CittadellaGozo is available on the facebook page.

Photograph: MGOZ/George Scerri

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