Recreation, Leisure and Arts

Sports – Football, tennis and basketball are important for the active Cypriot and facilities and standards are improving all the time.   Golf and horse riding has been taken up by a minority especially amongst the younger generation and overseas visitors.

Arts, Poetry, Theatre & Literature -  Poetry and song are a way of life for everyone together with instrumental music.  Many villages produce excellent musicians and together with folk dancers, they are part of the national heritage.  If music expresses the soul, the dance expresses the emotion of the Cypriot in the same way that flamenco expresses the emotion of the Spanish gypsy.

Musically, it is no surprise that singers such as the former Cat Stevens and George Michael amongst other internationally acclaimed entertainers have Cypriot origins and in Greece, several, mainly female singers, are amongst the most popular and famous artists.

Cypriot Theatre also has an international reputation.  Highly talented companies based in Nicosia perform with great skill and invention both at home and abroad and Literature is widely appreciated.

Fine Art – is very much in the ascendancy and Cypriot artists have achieved great acclaim and stature throughout Europe and America.  In proportion to its population, Cyprus has a greater percentage of artists than most other countries.  It is a popular art form and widely appreciated.  Private Art Galleries exist in all the main towns with the majority being in Nicosia.