Mediterranean Conference Centre

The Mediterranean Conference Centre, or MCC, occupies the former Sacra Infermeria - the hospital of the Knights of St John - built in 1574 in the harbour quarter of the newly founded fortress city of Valletta. With a 155-metre-long ward, the longest hall in Europe at the time, it was considered the most modern medical institution in the Mediterranean in the 17th century; patients ate from silver plates. Under British rule it served as a military hospital, suffered bomb damage in WWII and reopened in 1979 as a conference centre. Today it hosts EU summits, concerts and the Maltese Eurovision pre-selection. Public concert tickets give access to the cross-vaulted halls and the wide courtyard; otherwise the complex is part of the UNESCO World Heritage old town of Valletta.