Olympic flame may go north

THE chairman of the Cyprus Olympic committee yesterday revealed there was a chance for the Olympic flame to tour the occupied areas.

Kikis Lazarides said discussions with the Turkish Cypriot side were at an advanced stage and “there is a positive response from the other side”.

“It is our desire, and I believe that of the Cypriot people, for this flame to also tour the other side because the Olympic Flame is a symbol for peace and solidarity for the whole world,” Lazarides said.

He added that the issue would be resolved in the next few weeks.

Lazarides said the flame did not make any political, religious, ethnic or financial discrimination, adding that the uniforms worn by the torchbearers were the same the world over and no symbols or flags were allowed.

“This event has nothing to do with politics,” the committee chairman said.
The flame arrives in Cyprus from Bulgaria on July 8.

The current route includes most of the government-controlled areas with symbolic functions held in every town to welcome the flag.

A hundred and forty torchbearers would participate in the event, which starts in Paphos.
The flame would then be carried to Limassol, then Nicosia where it would spent the night.

The next day it would be carried to Famagusta and then Larnaca where it would be flown to Athens.

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.