A seven-metre statue of a winegrower was on Monday placed in its traditional spot in Limassol’s municipal garden ahead of the city’s 64th Wine Festival.

The statue is of a man in traditional Cypriot dress, including a waistcoat and the iconic baggy trousers, known as a vrakas, holding a traditional wine jug in one hand and a bunch of grapes in the other.

The statue’s positioning was serenaded by a choir and hailed by the city’s mayor Yiannis Armeftis, who said that this year’s festival will include “innovations and a renewed setting”.

“We want to surprise the world with a new setting and a rich programme which appeals to all ages,” he said.

He added that he hopes the festival’s attendance will break the current record, which was set last year.

Additionally, he said, “particular importance” is being given to the festival’s connection with the Cypriot countryside, especially in light of the wildfire which tore through rural areas of the Limassol district in July.

“The wine festival cannot exist without the countryside. With events both in the city and in villages such as Malia and Kalo Chorio, we want to emphasise that Limassol is both a city and a district,” he said.

Both Malia and Kalo Chorio suffered serious damage in July’s wildfire.

The festival will begin on September 27 and last until October 5.