Newsroom
A major international festival has pulled out of a planned music event near Kyrenia Castle after discovering that, in Cyprus, a venue is never just a venue.
Serbian events group EXIT announced that it was withdrawing from the NEXUS electronic music festival, which was due to take place near the castle in occupied Kyrenia on Sept. 18.
The company apologized for initially agreeing to participate, saying that conversations following the announcement had helped it understand the historical and emotional importance of Kyrenia and its castle to Greek Cypriots.
Although the event was not planned inside the castle walls, EXIT acknowledged that holding it nearby did not change the symbolism of the location.
For the average Cypriot, the controversy was never really about electronic music.
Kyrenia has been under Turkish occupation since 1974, and the breakaway administration in the north is recognized only by Turkey. When large international festivals promote events there as taking place in a separate country, the concern is that they make an unrecognized entity appear normal and legitimate, particularly to audiences abroad who may know little about the Cyprus problem.
EXIT said withdrawing was not an easy decision and warned that leaving a project already in progress would carry legal and financial consequences. Nevertheless, it said that, based on what it had learned, pulling out was the responsible choice.
The company stressed that its decision was not directed against either community in Cyprus and said it hoped to return under circumstances in which the focus could remain on music and bringing people together.
Behind the scenes, however, the withdrawal appears to have involved more than public complaints.
Government sources told the Cyprus News Agency that the Republic of Cyprus had carried out a sustained but discreet diplomatic campaign aimed at preventing an international cultural event from being used to promote the occupied areas.
According to those sources, the contacts not only helped convince EXIT to withdraw but may have opened the door to moving the festival to the government-controlled areas of the Republic.
One important question remains. EXIT has withdrawn its name and involvement, but this does not necessarily mean that the local organizers have cancelled NEXUS altogether.
Still, the departure of one of Europe’s best-known festival brands is significant. It shows how quickly an event promoted as music and entertainment can become political when it is staged on occupied land and marketed internationally without any reference to the island’s unresolved division.
