The film set of Mellieħa fun park Popeye Village, set on the lower part of the complex, is still closed after storm damage that was suffered more than two months ago.

The film set, originally constructed in 1979 for the 1980 live-action musical feature Popeye, is the fun park’s main tourist and local attraction. It was converted and became open to the public as an open-air museum, tourist attraction and family entertainment complex after the filming and associated project was completed.

The Maltese Islands were faced with extremely harsh weather last February, as Storm Helios brought about torrential rain that lasted more than 24 hours. Amidst the storm, a boulder in the area surrounding Popeye Village was dislodged and fell on top of one of the popular tourist attraction’s structures on 9th February.

Once the news broke out, the management of Anchor Bay Leisures Limited, operators of Popeye Village, took to social media to clarify that the venue was already closed due to the storm, which had caused “unfortunate widespread damage and disruption”. It also stated that nobody was “involved or affected by the incident”.

The management also immediately notified the Civil Protection Department about the incident and lodged a report with the Malta Police Force.

Additionally, it also announced that the film set would remain closed “until all necessary assessment and verifications are carried out and all clearance works are duly completed”.

However, the film set is still closed to the public to this day, but the minipark, restaurant, and souvenir shop at the top of the attraction have since opened, housing a mini golf course, a kids’ obstacle course, and animation activities, a statement on Popeye Village’s website reads.

Anchor Bay Leisures Limited plans to open the film set during the summer, yet a defined opening date remains up in the air, WhosWho.mt understands.

Despite this, the attraction did manage to hold an Easter event named Popeye’s Fun Farm from 31st March until 16th April in the aforementioned upper area, which included various activities catered for families.

This only proved to be temporary respite for a leisure and entertainment park that is widely visited by tourists during the peak summer season, especially coming right after two years that were blighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which restricted travel and significantly limited Popeye Village’s – and various other businesses’ - customer base. With it set to remain closed for the time being, the drop in business means yet another hit to Popeye Village, coupled with expenses related to restoring the damaged area.