CyprusVista

Cyprus basketball players are not usually known for their militancy, but you can only push these guys so far.

The Cypriot players are threatening to strike over the quota of foreign players allowed in the Cyprus league. Two years ago, it was agreed that two American and four Bosman players were the maximum quota allowed, but some teams have been asking for an unlimited number of Bosman players. The national squad members (understandably) want to keep Cyprus basketball Cypriot, and have threatened industrial action against changes to the quota for the league.. The Cyprus basketball team bosses must decide on the quota by 24th July if the strike is to be avoided.

Basketball is very popular in Cyprus, with nine teams in Division A and a strong women’s league. In addition, and perhaps ironically, Cypriot players also play for foreign teams in Australia, the UK, the USA and Greece. Basketball coaches also work abroad; the coach of the UK basketball team the Bristol Academy Flyers is Cypriot!

In the UK, followers of UK Premier league football teams have long welcomed foreign players to help boost their team’s chances of success. Whilst there are strict rules on the number of foreign players allowed to play in a national squad, the current first team at Manchester United, for example, includes players from Holland, France, Portugal, Brazil, Korea, Serbia, Poland, China, Ireland, and Argentina…

Popularity: 27% [?]

The Republic of Cyprus parliament has approved the so-called Lisbon Treaty, bringing the total of EU countries who have ratified the document to 20. However, all 27 EU members must approve the treaty, designed to simplify decision-making processes, before it can take effect. The treaty also paves the way for further EU expansion into the former Balkan states, and to create an EU president to represent a stronger, united EU.

A major stumbling block occurred when the Irish people rejected the treaty in a referendum held in June. This poses a serious problem for the EU, as the Irish vote has effectively stalled the whole process. The EU will be exerting pressure on the new Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister), Brian Cowen, to find a solution. Ironically, Cowen himself campaigned for the ‘yes’ vote, but the Irish people voted 53.4% against. After the results, Cowen acknowledged: “The Irish people made a sovereign decision. It was made at the ballot box and it must be respected.”

Ireland is the only EU country to hold a referendum on the treaty so far, and post-voting research into why people voted ‘no’ has shed fascinating light on the outcome.
• 22% said they voted ‘no’ because of lack of information
• 12% said they voted ‘no’ to protect their Irish identity
• 6% said they did not trust politicians and voted ‘no’ to protect their tax system
• only 1% voted ‘no’ to control immigration
• 50% of those who did not vote at all said they stayed away from the polls as they did not understand the issues

Such an outcome, of course, has interesting implications for any future referendums on unification of North and south Cyprus. Clearly, the most important lesson to take on board is the sheer number of people who stayed away or voted ‘no’ in the Irish referendum because they simply did not understand what they were voting for. Any future proposed North/south solution must be crystal clear and easy to grasp, so people know exactly what they are voting for, to give unification of Cyprus the best possible chance at any future polls.

Popularity: 17% [?]

In preparation for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest to be held in November, Cyprus has voted for its favourite song to represent them. And, in true Eurovision style, Cypriots have chose a song with the most ridiculous title, “Whoopee Yia“, sung by Elena Mannouri and Charis Savva.

The two pony-tailed kids from Cyprus clearly enjoy dancing around to this energetic mix of classic Brittany pop with a solid rock beat. In fact, they may stand a very good chance. Their song is irritatingly catchy, and as the adult Eurovision Song Contest contest has proved in the past, catchy can win.

For example, who would have predicted that a song by a group representing Sweden comparing a love affair to the defeat of the great general Napoleon would sweep the board? (”Waterloo”, by Abba, of course, 1974)

Or that a little Scottish singer would win over Eurovision hearts with the noisily-titled march “Boom-bang-a-bang.”? (Lulu, 1969)

Or that Europe would sing along with a Dutch Abba sound-alike, when Teach In’s “Ding a Dong” won in 1975?

The UK have won the Eurovision Song Song contest five times (1967, 1969, 1976, 1981 and 1997), whereas Morocco were so disappointed with their poor results in 1980, they never entered again! Norway are much more resilient; having been bottom no less than ten times, they have also won the contest twice, most recently in 1995.

Not everyone who wins Eurovision enjoys instant stardom, but it was definitely better late than never for a young Canadian singing in French on behalf of Switzerland, who years later enjoyed a Titanic hit. (Celine Dion, 1988, “Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi.”)

Cyprus have never won the competition (yet!), but have been in the top five four times, so maybe this year in Belgrade will be the grown-ups’ lucky night.

In the meantime, Cyprus’ Junior contenders Elena and Charis will perform their song in the 6th Junior Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Limassol in November 2008, hosted by CyBC. We wish them all the best with their song, which certainly has a more upbeat title than the Spanish winner of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest back in 2004, when the song title translated as “Better Dead Than Normal”…

Popularity: 8% [?]

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!

Popularity: 20% [?]

If your flight to Cyprus arrived at Paphos airport this week, you may spot a small private jet sitting alone on the tarmac, guarded by a security officer. The jet, owned by an American organisation, made a re-fuelling stop at Paphos airport during a flight from the Ukraine to Austria.

Cyprus customs officers boarded the plane for a routine customs inspection, only to discover, as the Famagusta Gazette reported, “a dozen suitcases” filled with almost five billion US dollars worth of bonds.

By law, the Central Bank in Nicosia should have been notified of the plane’s intended refuelling stop, and so the plane has been ordered to remain in Cyprus.

The US organisation involved insists that the bonds are worthless. Now, the US dollar has not been at its strongest in the international exchange market recently, but this is ridiculous…

Cash in Those Cyprus Pounds
Talking of worthless currency, if you have any old Cypriot pounds notes in your possession, now is the time to exchange them for Euros. South Cyprus banks will no longer exchange notes for free after the end of this month. However, the Central Bank will continue to exchange old currency notes for a fee for the next ten years, but coins will only be exchanged for a further two years.

Popularity: 23% [?]