Every inch of Blue Lagoon in Comino is being taken over by umbrellas and deckchairs before visitors even arrive at the popular destination, Moviment Graffitti has warned. 

In a social media post, Moviment Graffitti shared images showing an endless stretch of empty deckchairs occupying the beach one morning over the weekend. 

“Greed has turned one of our island’s most beautiful beaches into a hell of a mess, noise and dirt. Comino, a Natura 2000 site protected by law, has been turned into a private lido. This did not start this year. It happens summer after summer and it is only getting worse,” Moviment Graffitti said.

“Where are the authorities in the face of all this? Nowhere.”

The activist group warned that the takeover has been done with the full complicity of politicians and authorities who are “protecting the interests of those with money and not the common citizen”.

According to regulations, deckchairs should only be placed on request but still private operators take over the public space before anyone even arrives. 

The Malta Tourism Authority is meant to be monitoring the beaches for breaches of regulations. However, enforcement is seldomly imposed in the area. 

Police officers are present on the island from 9am to 8.30pm, but they do not handle the enforcement of such regulations.