Paphos Aphrodite Festival to return in 2024, mayor confirms

Paphos mayor Phedonas Phedonos on Friday confirmed that the Paphos Aphrodite Festival will return in 2024 despite fears that it may be scrapped for good.

Hosted for almost two decades in the square of the castle of Kato Paphos, the Paphos Aphrodite Festival has not been organised since 2019.

Initially shuttered due to the Covid-19 pandemic, reports stated that this year’s performance is not going ahead due to procedural issues.

On Thursday, a source from Paphos local authorities told Phileleftheros that the opera is not being abandoned, but the resignation of a key figure responsible for the organisation has caused complications.

This was reportedly paired with disagreements that changed the shared structure of the organisation, and the degradation of cultural issues after the end of its term as European Capital of Culture.

Efforts were underway, the source added, to ensure that the opera went ahead this year but there was not enough time to proceed with the required organising of the event.

The source added, however, that two concerts with the Vienna Mozart Orchestra will take place in late September at the small harbour of Kato Paphos.

This was also confirmed by Phedonos, who released a statement on Friday promising that the festival will return.

No decision has been taken to end the institution, nor is the abolition of the opera on the table, even as a possibility, he said.

The mayor assured that all the necessary actions will be taken so that all issues are resolved by September 2024 and “Paphos Aphrodite Festival returns to the cultural life of Paphos and Cyprus”.