Just after 1945 leisure in Malta was simple and centred on the village and the parish: the festa, band clubs, church activities, card games and bocci. Many homes had cable radio (Rediffusion), and in the 1950s and 1960s the cinema was the most popular entertainment, with cinemas in most towns and villages.

Television changed this. Italian TV could be watched from the late 1950s and Maltese television started in 1962, so families began spending their evenings at home and many village cinemas later closed. The spread of private cars and better buses meant families could easily go to beaches like Għadira and Golden Bay or to the countryside on Sundays. Air travel, and later low-cost airlines, made holidays abroad normal for ordinary Maltese families.

Home entertainment moved from video cassettes to DVDs and now to streaming. Since the 1990s computers, the internet, games consoles and smartphones have made gaming, social media and online videos some of the most common leisure activities, especially for young people. As a result leisure has become more individual and home-based and less community-based. Technology also changed active leisure through modern gyms, fitness apps and equipment for diving and water sports.

There is also continuity: the festa and Carnival are still very popular, but they are now promoted and shared on social media, and the fireworks themselves use improved technology.