ILGA-Europe’s 2016 conference to be held in Cyprus

Accept-LGBT Cyprus has secured, after bidding, the organisation of the ILGA-Europe’s Annual Conference on the island in October 2016, an announcement said on Wednesday.

“The Conference is increasingly becoming the most important event in Europe, as far as LGBTI rights are concerned,” the Accept announcement said.

Around 500 delegates from around the world, among them ministers, members of parliaments, government envoys, representatives of multinationals companies, as well as members from a large number of organisations are expected to arrive to Cyprus.

Accept said its president Costas Gavrielides had met last Friday in Brussels with Cypriot Commissioner Christos Stylianides to discuss the Cyprus civil partnership bill as well as the developments regarding the rights of LGBTI in Cyprus, and Europe in general.

They also discussed the recent change to the criminal code, where a decision of parliament in May, criminalised public homophobic and transphobic speech and incitement to hatred or violence on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Gavrielides also brought up the need for legal gender recognition in Cyprus, which would resolve serious problems facing the trans community on the island, the announcement said.

Also discussed was the need for a strong, coherent approach to the fight against homophobic and transphobic hate crimes across the EU.

The announcement said the ILGA conference in 2016 would also be a huge boost for tourism.

It said that according to a recent research LGBTI tourists contribute millions to the Spanish economy, spending 30 per cent more than mainstream tourists, according to government estimates, making Spain the frontrunner European holiday destination for LGBTI people, following France and the United Kingdom.

“Among others, the reason is attributed to Spain promoting itself for years now as a safe tourist destination for LGBTI people with equal-rights legislation,” Accept said.

In 2005 civil marriage between same-sex couples was allowed, making the country the main tourist Mediterranean destination for European LGBTI couples who want to formalise their relationship in this way.

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.