Nicosia takes centre stage on Wednesday evening as Cyprus formally opens its Presidency of the Council of the European Union, hosting senior European officials, heads of state and representatives from neighbouring regions for a high-profile ceremony at the Cyprus Theatre Organisation.
Speaking in Paphos on Tuesday, President Nikos Christodoulides described the occasion as “a moment of pride for our country”, noting that Cyprus assumes the EU presidency at a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty and institutional challenges. He expressed confidence that the Cypriot presidency will work to strengthen the EU’s strategic autonomy while advancing European integration.
Who is attending
According to the EU Secretariat, the ceremony will be attended by Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Tony Murphy, President of the European Court of Auditors.
Also present will be Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Maia Sandu, Abdul Latif Rashid, Joseph Aoun, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States Ahmed Aboul Gheit, and Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi.
Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will be represented at ministerial level.
Ceremony and artistic programme
The ceremony begins at 6.30pm local time and will feature official addresses followed by a large-scale artistic performance directed by Costas Silvestros.
Titled Memory – Present – Future, the production brings together music, dance, theatre, image, poetry and digital technologies, narrating Cyprus’ history through the centuries and highlighting its cultural identity as an integral part of European civilisation. More than 100 Cypriot artists and cultural professionals contributed to the performance.
The event will be broadcast live on CyBC 1, CyBC HD and EBS.
Following the ceremony, President Christodoulides will host an official dinner for the heads of the 14 official delegations at the Leventis Gallery.
Cyprus, an EU member state since 2004, assumed the rotating Council presidency for the second time on January 1.
Bilateral meetings on the sidelines
Alongside the ceremony, President Christodoulides is holding a series of bilateral meetings with EU institutional leaders and visiting heads of state. According to government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis, a joint meeting between the Cypriot president, the presidents of the European Commission and the European Council, and Ukraine’s president is scheduled for today.
Separate bilateral talks are also planned with the President of the European Council and with President Zelenskyy, as well as meetings with Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun and Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum, who represents the Egyptian president at the ceremony.
Tight security measures are in place across central Nicosia for the duration of the event.