Newsroom
Limassol is firing up the grills and turning up the music as carnival season officially kicks off today, launching an 11-day celebration packed with parades, performances and street-party energy, city officials said.
Festivities begin at 7:30 p.m. with the traditional “First Foukού” barbecue lighting outside the Lemesos Media Group offices on Omonia Street, setting the tone for a night of food, music and dancing. By 10 p.m., the party spreads downtown, with live music and treats offered outside Eurobank on Gladstonos Street and Bank of Cyprus on Agiou Andreou Street, near Ayia Napa Church.
At midday, Saripolou Square becomes the center of the action. At 1:30 p.m., the Limassol Serenaders will perform in front of municipal officials, members of the carnival’s mock “royal family,” and crowds expected to fill the square.
The evening program shifts to Grigoris Afxentiou Square, where pre-coronation festivities for the “Queen of Passion and Madness” begin at 5:30 p.m. with live music from the band Lopodites. An hour and a half later, a colorful procession featuring the mayor, city council, the carnival court, the municipal philharmonic, and majorette groups will march from City Hall to the square, joined along the way by serenading groups and the queen’s carnival float.
At 7:30 p.m., the crowd will gather for the official crowning ceremony, with this year’s queen portrayed by longtime carnival performer Amaryllis Kyriakou.
The night wraps up with a themed street party, “Back to the ’80s and ’90s,” featuring Cypriot artists, DJs, and a projection-mapping light show transforming the façade of the Limassol District Administration Building into a moving visual spectacle.
The celebrations will build toward their grand finale on Sunday, Feb. 22, when the city’s main carnival parade is set to flood the streets with floats, costumes and thousands of revelers.
