CHOGM organisers were warned of weather risks to Hagar Qim dinner tent months ago

Experts warned the government a planned CHOGM gala dinner under a marquee at Ħagar Qim was “very risky” in November, the Times of Malta has learnt.
Despite the warnings, the CHOGM task force within the Office of the Prime Minister went ahead with the plan, but the venue had to be changed because of bad weather. The tent cost an estimated €100,000, according to industry sources.
This newspaper is informed that the warning by experts and event organisers was made in the summer, when the tent tender was being discussed.
“For those who have an idea of the area and of these types of events, the risks were so obvious that various prospective bidders even asked officials from the Office of the Prime Minister for a five-year weather record of the place,” an event organiser told the Times of Malta
The officials did not have the data requested and the bidders were told to try and obtain it themselves, he added.

“I am sorry to say that we told them so,” an entrepeneur involved in lighting structures for outdoor activities said.
“It seems that the Office of the Prime Minister was not interested in our advice and went ahead with these plans that were so obviously doomed to fail. The result...