Blue flag for 24 beaches

TWENTY-FOUR of Cyprus’ beaches have been awarded the coveted blue flag status for summer 1999.

Those awarded the flags are: the Protaras Beach at Paralimni, Kermia, Vathiagonia, Nisi, Landa and Makronisou, all at Ayia Napa, Phinikoudes and Mackenzie in Larnaca, Panayies in Pyrgos, and Armonias, Voupas, Ayia Varvara, Loures and Castella at Ayios Tychonas. Pissouri, the Public Beach at Yeroskipou, Pahiammos, Vrysoudia A and B, Alkies and the Public Baths, all at Paphos, Lara and Coral Bay in Peyia, and the Municipal Beach at Polis Chrysochous have also received the blue flag accolade.

The blue flag scheme judges beaches on a number of criteria, including environmental concerns and public safety. Last year, 25 Cypriot beaches were awarded flags.

The beaches were chosen by a committee including representatives of the Friends of the Sea and of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO).

The awards will be handed out at a ceremony on June 12 in Ayia Napa.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.