# Much more than just a symbolic gesture: How Malta’s rainbow crossings became a catalyst for change Valletta’s bustling Republic Street has witnessed countless declarations of love, protest marches, and celebrations over the centuries. But nothing quite prepared pedestrians for the moment when the familiar zebra stripes outside Parliament House transformed into a vibrant spectrum…
**Malta, Pride and the Unfinished Psyche of a Traumatised Nation** The rainbow flags were still fluttering above Strait Street when the WhatsApp messages started circulating. “Did you see what they did to the Pride decorations in Valletta?” Within minutes, photos appeared: rainbow bunting torn down, posters defaced with religious slogans, a young man’s face bloodied…
Watch: Hundreds march for Pride in Valletta as rainbow flags paint the capital Valletta’s limestone streets pulsed with colour on Saturday afternoon as more than 800 people marched from City Gate to St George’s Square for Malta’s first post-pandemic Pride parade since 2019. Drag queens in seven-inch heels clicked past 16th-century palazzos, families waved hand-painted…
Valletta’s baroque balconies were draped in rainbow flags long before the first hymn echoed inside St John’s Co-Cathedral last Saturday. Inside, Archbishop Charles Scicluna had just proclaimed a “Jubilee of Grace” for LGBTQ+ Catholics—an historic concession that turned the island’s most hallowed nave into a technicolour tapestry of tears, cheers, and nervous genuflections. For many…
