Ayia Napa's Clubbing Future Under Threat

Cyprus' geographical proximity to the Middle East and the increasingly violent reputation of Britain's garage scene, could wipe out Ayia Napa's club scene, media reports suggested this week.

'In the Gulf War (1991) people continued to go on holiday on short-haul flights and places close to home such as Spain,' a spokesman from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office Travel Unit told The Observer. 'But people perceived Turkey, Greece and Cyprus (the home of Ayia Napa) as nearer to the conflict than Spain.'

Meanwhile, in Ayia Napa itself, Cypriot officials labelled the party village a 'war zone' following gang fights coupled with a 500% annual increase in drug busts. 'I've heard the mayor is so sick of the violence she's trying to ban garage music,' a promoter (who asked to remain anonymous) told Mix Mag. 'Numbers of clubbers are 25-30% down on last year; a lot of British promoters aren't coming back.'

Mix Mag also ran a 4 page special on UK garage violence in the same issue, in which Twice As Nice chief Steve Gordon suggested street culture is to blame.

'There are serious incidents in R&B clubs and there are serious incidents in house clubs but they never get reported," he claimed. "I can give you examples of two serious incidents in R&B clubs in the last four days where people have been badly hurt, but it only gets written about when it's garage.'

http://www.twiceasnice.co.uk

http://www.fco.gov.uk/travel (UK Foreign Office website- Holidays are supposed to be about forgetting your troubles and nobody wants to pierce the bubble by talking about death and disaster…)

http://www.mixmag.net

Jonty Adderley

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• Ayia Napa
• cyprus