Light will win over darkness: the effect of the first Ukrainian column in the history of the Cyprus Carnival
Cyprus held the largest event that everyone here was waiting for and preparing for all year round — the Cyprus Carnival with the final grand parade in Limassol. This year, the Ukrainian column took part in the carnival for the first time in its more than one-hundred-year history.
Why did we need it? Someone will say that it is not on time, but the carnival is one of the largest events in Cyprus and all the people’s attention is drawn to the columns. For us, Ukrainian activists in Cyprus, it was an opportune moment to remind about Ukraine, thank the Cypriots for their hospitality, and encourage them to show solidarity.
Cyprus is a country that is considered an important investor into the Ukrainian economy, but in fact it is a place where Ukrainian and Russian oligarchs of different political views en masse withdraw their profits, avoiding taxation and other sanctions. Some Cypriots are still loyal to the Russians — in their understanding of Russia’s war against Ukraine, «everything is still not so clear».
Carnival positions itself «beyond politics», but we still found an opportunity to push our agenda here. The participants of the Ukrainian column came out with posters «Ukrainians thank Cyprus». Our strategy worked: on national television, our column was called very heartwarming, and the official Instagram channel of the Limassol Carnival-2023 wrote in Ukrainian «Thank you, Ukraine!» on its page.
Celebrations were not held here for the past three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic and thousands of guests and participants were preparing for this event this year and flooded the streets on February 26.
Like most European carnivals, Limassol takes its origins in the Middle Ages, during the French and Venetian periods. The
