Yeroskipou protests against planned new amphitheatre stage

Residents of the Paphos village of Yeroskipou on Wednesday staged a sit-in protest against plans to construct a new concrete stage for its amphitheatre.

They gathered at the amphitheatre, which is located in the village square, and called on the local council to “stop experimenting with the square”.

The protest’s coordinator Neophytos Pavlou said that while “the square certainly needs to be revitalised, improvements should not be made if they are not based on a comprehensive study.”

He added that given the fact there are only two months left until the elections, the local council should suspend its decision to allow the new council to review the matter after said elections.

Back in 2019, local councillor Antonis Trakkides had written in Pafos Live that the current small size of the playing area of the current amphitheatre can “only be described as a decorative element”.

He called for a 13-metre diameter stage to be built, “upon which events will be held, often under the light of the summer moon”.

“Such a structure would give life to the neglected Yeroskipou square, so that there is an incentive if nothing else for local residents to come more often to the village centre, to hold dance events, theatre events, music events, poetry evenings, and so much more.”

In addition, he said, the holding of such events would “prevent our square from becoming a ghetto of foreigners, a negative point of reference which already preoccupies the police today and every day”.

He added that at present, it is “a disgrace to the Yeroskipou municipality and a gangrene which eats away at the very fabric of our village and threatens to destroy what is left of the once flourishing central square.”