Georgia Spanou

The article discusses cultural festivals organised in the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) and their ideological implications on the national identity of Greek-Cypriots from Independence (1960) until the country’s accession in the European Union (2004). Debates and conflicts about national identity in the two ethnic communities coincide with the need for intensifying the relevance between the festivals’ artistic content and the concepts of nation, origin and identity on the island. Local cultural festivals functioned as a means of projecting national messages and symbolism, according to the identity bi-pole, Hellenocentric and Cypriotcentric, prevalent in Greek-Cypriot community. Later, in the 1990s, political changes inaugurated a need for the emergence of Eurocentrism with respect to the Greek-Cypriots’ cultural identity, this led to a significant increase of European artistic product via hosting of arts festivals. Despite the domination of ethnocentric approaches in the local cultural management model, the participation of other stakeholders – besides the state – contributed to the consolidation of the Eurocentric identity. This development had also strengthened the cosmopolitan ambiance, altered the repertoire of local festivals and differentiated the role and importance of artistic creation in society.

KEYWORDS: Cyprus, cultural festivals, national identity, nationalism, cosmopolitanism, Hellenocentrism, Turkishcentrism, Cypriotcentrism, Eurocentrism

The article explores the cultural diplomacy initiatives undertaken by the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) during Makarios presidency (1960–1977) in order to strengthen the state acknowledgement and visibility in the international scenery and promote a nation brand focused mainly on the Hellenocentric aspect of the Greek-Cypriots’ cultural identity. Cyprus, a recently independent state (1960), shaped its cultural diplomacy practices according to the political developments; on the escalation of bi-communal conflicts internally and the international insecurity provoked by the Cold War rhetoric. This paper aims to map certain state cultural initiatives in an attempt to make connections between the internal identity-building process and the external projection of cultural identity and gain a better understanding about how a small-sized state can pursue and project a nation brand abroad by practicing the diplomacy of culture.

The paper focuses on the cultural festivals organised in the Republic of Cyprus and their ideological implications on the cultural identity of Greek-Cypriots from Independence (1960) until European Union accession (2004). It further examines the role of the dominant ideological, political framework and values for the formation of their artistic content. The local cultural festivals functioning as a political tool projected national messages and symbolisms focusing on the bipole, 'Hellenocentric-Cypriotcentric'. Additionally, in the 1990's local cultural festivals were used to promote the Eurocentric aspect of the Greek-Cypriots' cultural identity. Hence, the hosting of European artistic 'product' was intensified. The role of the private cultural sector is also examined as a differentiating factor to the state's persistence for transforming the island's cultural policy and management into a vehicle for strengthening the cultural identity of the Greek-Cypriots. 2

Στις σύγχρονες δυτικές κοινωνίες η διοργάνωση πολιτιστικών φεστιβάλ αποτελεί μέρος της προσπάθειας διαμόρφωσης του city branding, η μοναδικότητα του οποίου μπορεί να διαφοροποιήσει την πόλη από τους υπόλοιπους ανταγωνιστικούς προορισμούς και να λειτουργήσει ως ένα από σημαντικά συστατικά του καλέσματος ξένων επισκεπτών σε αυτή. Το βασικό ερώτημα της έρευνας είναι: εάν τα κυπριακά πολιτιστικά φεστιβάλ από την περίοδο της Ανεξαρτησίας μέχρι σήμερα αποτέλεσαν στοιχείο του τουριστικού σχεδιασμού ώστε να συνεισφέρουν στη μετατροπή του νησιού σε φεστιβαλικό προορισμό. Η διερεύνηση του εμπειρικού υλικού προσφέρει μια αποφατική απάντηση σε αυτό το ερώτημα. Ειδικότερα το κείμενο επικεντρώνεται στη διερεύνηση του κατά πόσο το κράτοςκαι ο Κυπριακός Οργανισμός Τουρισμού (ΚΟΤ), ως ο αρμόδιος φορέας προώθησης και προβολής του νησιού στο εξωτερικό, συνέδεσαν τα εγχώρια πολιτιστικά φεστιβάλ με το τουριστικό προϊόν και εντέλει τα αξιοποίησε για τη δημιοργία του place branding.