Nicosia planning on Capital of Culture win

Nicosia municipality has launched its 2017 European capital of culture bid under the slogan “Planning for the future”

According to the bid’s artistic director Achilleas Kentonis, Nicosia’s proposal takes into account the “universality of culture” and is based on six pillars; architecture, arts and cultural heritage, economy, science, environment and civil society. 

“We view culture from a different approach,” Kentonis told the Cyprus News Agency: “(It is) the medium that shapes our thoughts in relation to the others, the nature and the society, so culture is a pretty expanded notion”.

Kentonis also spoke of the city’s division which he said should not be ignored, and that the projection of the divided Nicosia through the bid for the Cultural Capital of 2017 is a big responsibility.

Asked about Nicosia’s old town, Kentonis said it needs real solutions that will be resolved if Nicosia wins the title of Cultural Capital for 2017.

One Cypriot and one Danish city will be designated as European Capitals of Culture in 2017. Nicosia has already submitted its candidacy, along with Limassol and Paphos. 

Paphos mayor Savvas Vergas said last week that the innovative ideas and events that are included in Paphos’ bid make the Paphos municipality optimistic about its chances.

“We have submitted an innovative and original proposal, which is comprehensive, and we have used our city’s strengths like its history, culture and ancient heritage,” he said.

 

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.