CyprusVista

In Britain it would be inevitable. After months of blazing sunshine and record temperatures the Bank Holiday weekend in Cyprus began on Friday with torrential rain and hailstorms. The unseasonal weather took Cypriot families by surprise, many of whom had travelled to the Troodos Mountains for a traditional picnic on this national holiday.

Just in time for the food to be unpacked, and everyone about to eat, the rain began at around noon, followed by a gentle mist, making roads in the region slippery and low visibility in the mountains. While coastal holidays resorts such as Limassol and Paphos still basked in sunshine and temperatures just over 30 degrees, Nicosia had a short but sharp rain shower that caused flash flooding in the Strovolos area.

However, the welcome rain is just a tiny fraction of the rainfall required to restore Cyprus’ reservoirs to anything like normal levels.

The holiday weekend traditionally involves many Cypriot families heading for the eastern coastal resorts from the towns. The inevitable traffic queues into Protaras, Larnaca and Ayia Napa had almost gone by Saturday lunchtime, as families enjoyed the sunshine and free entertainment laid on by the local councils, such as the free concert by the CyBC Orchestra in Ayia Napa tonight (Sunday 17 Aug.)

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If you consider dancing until dawn in a Cyprus nightclub a major feat of endurance, spare a thought for DJ George Papapetrou, aka DJ Gee Papa. From Tuesday to Saturday this week, he’ll be making an attempt on the world record for the longest DJ set ever played. The record is currently held by a Mexican DJ, who played for 88 hours non-stop, which makes a foam-fuelled rave in Ayia Napa seem like a couple of hours at the school disco.

Gee Papa thought he’d broken the record last year by playing for 103 hours at the Nautical Club in Limassol. Unfortunately, the Guinness Book of Records did not recognise his marathon set, so this year the world-famous book has sent representatives to monitor this latest record attempt.

Gee Papa has some influential backers for this year’s attempt, including ANT1 TV, the Nicosia Municipal Council and the Greek Embassy in Cyprus. He’ll start mixing the first of 2,000 or so songs at the Dot Club in Nicosia on Tuesday, and will play on regardless, whether he has an audience or not. Gee Papa is not allowed to play the same track more than twice in any four hours, so he needs to keep his mind on his tracks at all times.

Gee Papa says he has been training for the event by staying awake for up to 37 hours, taking a quick sleep, and then staying up for another 37 hours straight. During the record attempt, however, he is allowed only one five minute break per hour, during which the DJ plans to take quick showers to refresh himself. His game plan also involves limited food intake and high energy drinks to keep his stamina up.

If you would like to support Gee Papa during your clubbing holiday in Cyprus, entry to watch a genuine world record attempt in action at the Dot Club will cost you Euro10 from 10pm to 5am, and free at other times. And how will the DJ feel after his five exhausting days? Chances are, he might have wished he’d followed his other passion in life, football, and stuck with just 90 minutes instead!

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