London Greek Radio

The Start Of Summer Party

On Friday the 3rd July, LGR Club Nights are hosting The Start Of Summer Party at The Maze Inn, in Southgate.

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Join us for this exclusive Greek party night, where our DJ’s Sooty and Andreas Demetriou will be on the decks, mixing up non-stop Greek & English hits till the early morning.

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We’ll keep you dancing with all the best Modern Laika, Greek Club, Greek Classics, English club anthems, RnB, House & we’ll even be ending the night with a few zeibekika!

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For more info click here to visit our official Facebook event page.

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Our online ticket shop is now closed, tickets for this event will be available on the door of the Maze Inn for just £10.00.

Ticket sales and event registration: Skiddle Promotion Centre

This petition is initiated by the Hellenic Education Coordinating Committee in the UK – ΕΦΕΠΕ (ΚΕΣ, ΟΕΣΕΚΑ,  ΑΕΣΑ) and the Greek Schools of Manor Hill and Finchley and supported by the Cyprus Educational Mission in the UK and the Education Office at the Greek Embassy in the UK, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great  Britain, the Embassy of Greece in the UK, the Cyprus High Commission in the UK, the National Federation of Cypriots  in the UK and the Association of Greek Orthodox Communities in the UK.

We strongly oppose Edexcel’s initial decision to stop the GCE AS and A-level Modern Greek examinations from 2017.

The Greek language is one of the official languages of the European Union spoken in two member states, Greece and the Republic of Cyprus. The policy of the European Union on languages is to support language learning and linguistic diversity. Stopping the examination in Modern Greek is certainly not in compliance with the above policy.

The Greek language has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning34 centuries of written records and forms the basis for a number of modern languages. Moreover, the Greek language holds an important place in the history of Europe, the Western world and Christianity. Ancient Greek literature includes works of monumental importance and influence such as Homer’s epic poems of the Iliad and the Odyssey. Greek is also the language in which many of the foundational texts of Western philosophy were written, such as the Platonic dialogues and the works of Aristotle. The New Testament of the Christian Bible was also written in Greek.

The study of the Greek texts is a very important discipline of Classics in many world class universities. The terms that originate from Greek can be found in abundance in all scientific fields and the humanities. Therefore the importance of the Greek language is tremendous.

Keeping the GCE AS and A-level Modern Greek examinations will secure the general familiarity with the Greek language. Furthermore, it will help not only the local Greek population but also everyone who wants to study Greek develop a lifelong appreciation for the richness of the Greek culture. This will also help to establish strong links between the Greek and the British societies.

There is a significant number of people of Greek origin living in England and Wales. Being able to obtain a qualification in the Greek language is one of the biggest motivations of young people of Greek origin to learn their “mother tongue”. We believe we have every right to have our language skills recognised and accredited through the education system. Moreover, keeping the connection with the language and culture of our origin, as British residents and citizens, will ensure a more dynamic and functional role in the multicultural British society. Greek supplementary schools serve a very important role towards community cohesion, children’s self-development and resilience.

Lastly but of crucial importance is the impact of maintaining and supporting a multilingual environment in the UK for social cohesion and for economic recovery of the country, as it can increase the levels of trade. Languages can bring enormous benefits in these two areas. The importance of languages is emphasised, among others, by the British Academy, the UK’s national body which champions and supports the humanities and social sciences.

IF you want to sign this petition click on the link below:

KEEP THE MODERN GREEK LANGUAGE A-LEVEL EXAM

John Karayiannis secures Cyprus place in the final…

Well, it felt like a sense of nervy excitement at about 9:50pm on Thursday night and much relief too, that our Cypriot tune had in fact qualified, pleasing all of the fans…

Cyprus has made it through to the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest which is massively historic in the context of this year’s 60th mile-stone of the music event.

John Karayiannis with his heart on sleeve, showing a little of his fragile vulnerability sung his honesty, sweet melody track ‘One Thing I Should I Have Done‘, to take votes off both public and that of the professional jurors for the Top 10 qualifying spaces. It has a radio friendly feel which was only enhanced by that of John’s clear tone strong vocals to the point, you felt he believed every word or line he uttered in the three minutes of his song.

Our tune was penned by Mike Connaris, a London Cypriot song-writer, previously having brought his Top 5th in 2004’s Lisa Andreas entry ‘Stronger Every Minute’ which equals our best ever result this far.

John, a 20-year-old singer from Limassol, with his black thick framed spectacles, took to Vienna’s Wiener Stadthalle Arena, minimalist staging, with a lovely black and white screen affect at the song’s intro, with explosions of colour in the back-drop, as the tune climaxes to the last note.

One Thing I Should Have Done… qualifier… ticked…

John speaking after he found out his result was clearly excited and in awe of achieving fine outcome. ”We are through to the final guys!!! Wowww!! So excited and thankful for all the support I have received lately by each and every of you!! Really appreciate it!! Xxx”.

It goes without saying it’s a great feeling of elation to have our Cypriot nation in the final after a long history of mixed results, you have to go back to 2012’s Ivi Adamou ‘La La Love’ for actually the last qualifier of theirs, and it’s a strong come-back after taking one-year’s hiatus from the event in Copenhagen.

At 1am this Friday morning, the official draw gave Cyprus 11th in the final, while Greece’s Cypriot female soloist Maria-Elena Kyriakou is performing 15th, with ballad ‘One Last Breath‘ who was through in the first of semi-finals on Tuesday night.

So the finalist line-up comprises the acts by Sweden, Latvia, Norway, Azerbaijan, Slovenia, Israel, Montenegro, and Lithuania including Estonia, Serbia, Georgia, Belgium, Hungary, Albania, Romania and special guest status’s Australia.

As one of the ‘Big Five’ countries, the UK entry with Electro Velvet has gained automatic qualification to the final alongside Spain, Germany, France, Italy and current title holders Austria.

Well done to the whole Cypriot delegation for giving us something to celebrate, with Evi Papamichael and Klitos Klitou and others, working the last months for this result.

The Grand Final takes place this Saturday at 8pm, you can watch it on BBC1, with tele-voting and jury deciding where exactly each nation finishes.

For those of you who missed it, this is John Karayiannis performing ‘One Thing I Should Have Done’ for the Cyprus entry live at the 2015 Eurovision Semi-Final 2:

John Karayiannis battles in the Eurovision Semi-Final with his lovely melody track…

Tonight Cyprus competes in the second Eurovision Semi-Final to win a place in Saturday’s live Grand Final of Eurovision’s massively historic 60th at Vienna’s Wiener Stadthalle Arena.

John Karayiannis, a 20 year-old singer from Limassol, will fly the Cypriot flag with his melodic ballad ‘One Thing I Should Have‘. Singing, 15th, he’s performing this to a minimalist staging, which feels like it captivates really solidly well. The song’s intro is pretty ace we think, there’s all black and white screen for the first verse and chorus, with mini-explosions of colour in the back-drop itself as the tune climaxes, which is very effective.

I am sure Team JK and all of the delegation with Evi Papamichael and Klitos Klitou and so forth, will try their best to create the right sort of emotive atmosphere for his song.

Our tune was penned by Mike Connaris, a London Cypriot song-writer he’s previously brought the island Top 5th, to equal our best ever, with 2004’s Lisa Andreas ballad ‘Stronger Every Minute’ and upping the ante this dynamic duo of Mike and John will be hoping to bank on a qualifier with this good modern effort.

If you look at the statistics, a lowly 33% of all Cypriot songs actually have qualified or broke out of the semis, in the last decade, which obviously is disappointing. As Cyprus’ last qualifier was of course, 2012’s Ivi Adamou with ‘La La Love’, knowing this useful trivia it will surely make us all feel a nervy sense of excitement at 9:45pm of who’s going to make it…

Having said that, this sweet track is both strong and solid with a radio friendly feel to it, John’s sincerity/honesty and sort of fragile vulnerability, adding to his clear tone and faultless vocals, giving it much useful good to the song’s theme of regret of the one thing he should have done.

Cyprus’s hopeful aims to please Eurovision fans…

John revealed to LGR the thinking behind the staging which cultivates precisely the right mood for his story-telling way he goes about this. ”It’s a very simple ballad, and the simplicity is something that is going to be emphasised, I want to create the atmosphere that’s appealing to the viewer’s attention”.

John’s signature look is the thick framed black spectacles and he owns exactly five pairs of glasses he said, and of course his ‘look’ brings that individual touch to his visual aspect to the song.

Mike elated at his second Eurovision explained how he’s feeling up-beat about his adventure as he puts it to lgr.co.uk. About John’s musical talent, he said, ”He is such a young talent with an incredible voice – so cool and calm on stage – nothing fazes him… and if we can get the staging right, there’s no reason why Cyprus can’t be hosting ESC in 2016! Now wouldn’t that be something!”

John was introduced to Mike by Christos Kyriakides, who runs a successful music school of the same name in Limassol. Mike was very impressed with John’s voice and invited him to London. After getting to know John, and working closely in the studio with him, Mike set about writing a song especially for John. The song is about regret, but with a twist because it’s not until the end of the song that the real truth comes out. It makes you realise that in a relationship you should look back with no regrets, and always be honest.

Well, Cyprus’ robust entry is our absolute favourite for tonight’s semi and there it will muscle it out with 17 countries and our tips for potential qualifiers are Sweden, Norway, Latvia, Azerbaijan, Slovenia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Israel then we have Ireland, Switzerland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Poland, San Marino, Malta, Iceland.

The second live Semi-Final, which you can watch on BBC 3 from 8pm until 10pm, has UK tele-voting plus jury deciding qualifiers, to complete the final line-up which already has Greece’s Cypriot Maria Elena Kyriakou with ‘One Last Breath’ making it in the first semi on Tuesday night.

Best of luck to John our Cypriot hopeful… Fingers crossed… qualifying, pretty please…

ΑΠΟΕΛ και ΑΕΛ διεκδικούν στις 17:00 σήμερα το Κύπελλο στον 73ο τελικό της διοργάνωσης, που θα φιλοξενηθεί στο Στάδιο ΓΣΖ.

Οπως αναφέρεται στην ιστοσελίδα της ΚΟΠ, δύο ιστορικές ομάδες, με κατακτήσεις τίτλων, διεκδικούν σήμερα άλλον έναν, σε μια αναμέτρηση που αναμένεται με πολύ μεγάλο ενδιαφέρον από όλους τους ποδοσφαιρόφιλους αλλά κυρίως από τους φιλάθλους των δύο ομάδων.

Το ΑΠΟΕΛ, ως κάτοχος του τροπαίου, θέλει να διατηρήσει τα κεκτημένα, ενώ η ΑΕΛ, μετά τις αποτυχημένες προσπάθειες της σε τελικούς τα τελευταία χρόνια, θέλει σήμερα να ολοκληρώσει με επιτυχία την αποστολή της.

Οι είσοδοι του Σταδίου θα ανοίξουν στις 17:00 και οι φίλαθλοι του ΑΠΟΕΛ θα καταλάβουν την ανατολική κερκίδα και οι φίλαθλοι της ΑΕΛ την κεντρική κερκίδα.

Greece has made it through to the Grand Final of the Eurovision song contest after Maria-Elena Kyriakou’s dynamic and at the same time emotional performance of ‘One Last breath’, a song she co-wrote with Efthyvoulos Theoharous, during last night’s first semi-final impressed the crowd attending Vienna’s Wiener Stadthalle  arena and won the vote of both the TV viewers and that of the professional juries.

The 31-year old, mother of the three, Cypriot-born singer will be joined in this Saturday’s final  by nine other acts from Serbia, Armenia, Belgium, Estonia, Hungary, Russia, Albania, Romania and Georgia.

Finland, Moldova, Netherlands,FYROM, Belarus and Denmark failed to qualify for the final

As one of the ‘Big Five’ countries, the UK has gained automatic qualification to the Grand Final alongside Spain, Germany, France, Italy and current title holders Austria.

Last year’s winner Conchita Wurst opened the show with a performance of ‘Rise Like A Phoenix’, a song penned by Charlie Μason, who has also written Serbia’s entry this year- Beauty Never Lies, performed by Bojana Stamenov.

The second live  semi final, which you can watch on BBC 3 again from 8pm until 10 pm, takes place on Thursday where Cyprus’  John Karayiannis will try his best to secure a place in the final with his melodic  ballad ‘One Thing I Should Have Done’.

For those of you who missed it, this is Maria Elena Kyriakou performing One Last Breath live at the 2015 Eurovision semi-final:

Mayor of Famagusta, Alexis Galanos and members of the Municipal Council were received today by President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades, who briefed them on the latest developments regarding the Cyprus issue, including the Famagusta issue and the Confidence Building Measures.

In statements to journalists after the meeting, the Mayor of Famagusta, which is under Turkish military occupation since 1974, expressed cautious optimism as regards the Cyprus issue, saying that there is a better climate but noted that one must wait and see the stance of the Turkish side at the negotiating table.

Replying to questions he said that the Famagusta issue is included in the overall measures under discussion and added that under discussion is also the issue concerning the entrance of UN experts to the city.

The return of Famagusta can not take place in just one day, he said, adding that the Municipal Council is satisfied that the issue is on the right track.

“But I want to stress that apart from the Famagusta issue, we are interested of course in the overall solution of the Cyprus problem, the withdrawal of Turkish troops, the creation of conditions of peace so that our children can have a better future”, he went on to say.

He added that Famagusta can serve as one more tool that would contribute to the effort to reach a solution and recalled numerous UNSC resolutions calling for the return of Famagusta.

Referring to the Confidence Building Measures he said that their goal is to create a positive climate that would enable the achievement of an overall solution. In order to achieve that, Turkey must show the necessary political will, he concluded.

Cyprus has been divided since the Turkish invasion in 1974. A new round of talks under UN auspices recommenced this month.

British police said on Saturday that they are investigating new leads after the family of Ben Needham, the toddler who disappeared on the Greek island of Kos 24 years ago, appeared on Greek TV on Friday night.

South Yorkshire police said they received “a number of calls” after the Fos sto Tounel (Light at the End of the Tunnel) show on Alpha TV.

The Daily Telegraph claimed that one man called in and suggested that he may be Ben.

Previous sightings or DNA tests on possible matches have proved fruitless.

Ben’s mother, Kerry Needham, his grandmother Christine and sister Leighanna took part in the three-hour TV show.

“Please end the pain that my family is suffering,” said Kerry during the program. “I know he’s out there somewhere.

Please call the police and please put an end to this.”

The UK Home Office granted South Yorkshire police 700,000 pounds (970,000 euros) to support Greek authorities in the continued search for Ben, who would currently be 25.

Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides (pictured) expressed his optimism about the prospect of the resumed talks between the two communities in Cyprus, aiming at reaching a lasting settlement of the Cyprus issue.

In his interview with LGR, the Foreign Minister dismissed suggestions that the British and the Americans have been exercising pressure on Cyprus to adopt a tight timetable with regard to the settlement talks. “No attempt to put pressure as far as the duration (of the talks) would be productive or helpful and no one has mentioned anything about time,” remarked Kasoulides, stressing that it is “the quality and not the duration of the negotiating process that comes first.”

Asked to comment on the Turkish Cypriot negotiator Ozdil Nami’s statement that he aims for an agreement by the end of the year and on suggestions of a possible double referendum in the spring of 2016, Ioannis Kasoulides commented “why not”, wishing for sufficient progress in the resumed talks. But he repeated that the quality of the solution should not be disregarded in favour of speed.

He added that he strongly believes the European Union will get engaged in the negotiations once they have entered a “serious course”. This engagement would not entail any changes in the UN framework of the process, but would consist of advice and guidance in order for the content of any settlement to be compatible with the European acquis and workable within the EU. He also refuted suggestions that Britain has reacted negatively in any prospect of EU involvement in the final phases of the negotiations.

Commenting on the source of his optimism, he pointed to the reasons of Akinci’s ‘election’ by the Turkish Cypriots: “These reasons send a strong message. Apart from their wish for a resolution to the Cyprus issue, their main message is that they do not wish to be absorbed by Turkey; they want a Cypriot future. This is the message our community needs to comprehend and react accordingly.”

Kasoulides was also asked by LGR to comment on the “weak” reaction by the UK to the incursion by the Turkish vessel Barbaros into the Exclusive Economic Zone of Cyprus, which led to the suspension of the talks. “If the countries that had this weak reaction, the British included, gave Turkey the impression that she gained something from such action, then it amounts to nothing else than an encouragement for Turkey to repeat it. But they should know that if Turkey repeats it, then every effort to get into a smooth process of settlement in Cyprus will sink. I hope they are acting pre-emptively and explaining to Turkey that if she attempts anything similar this time she will have to face severe consequences with them.”

Σε ρυθμούς Final 4 ζει η Μαδρίτη και ολόκληρη η μπασκετική Ευρώπη καθώς αύριο ξεκινά η μεγάλη διοργάνωση, που έχει και ελληνικό άρωμα με τη συμμετοχή του Ολυμπιακού Πειραιώς.

Στη μια μετά το μεσημέρι θα γίνει η απονομή των βραβείων στα μέλη της καλύτερης πεντάδας. Αυτοί είναι οι Βασίλης Σπανούλης, Νεμάνια Μπιέλιτσα, Μίλος Τεόντοσιτς, Φελίπε Ρέγιες και Μπόμπαν Μαριάνοβιτς. Επίσης, θα απονεμηθούν τρία ακόμα βραβεία, του καλύτερου ανερχόμενου παίκτη στον Μπόγκτναν Μπογκντάνοβιτς, του καλύτερου αμυντικού στον Μπράιαντ Ντάνστον και του πρώτου σκόρερ (βραβείο Αλφόνσο Φορντ) στον Τέιλορ Ρότσεστι.

Αμέσως μετά θα αρχίσει η συνέντευξη Τύπου του Final Four, με ομιλητές τους τέσσερις προπονητές και τέσσερις παίκτες των ομάδων (Σπανούλης, Τεόντοσιτς, Νεμάνια Μπιέλιτσα, Φελίπε Ρέγες) και τον εκτελεστικό διευθυντή της Ευρωλίγκας, Τζόρντι Μπερτομέου.

Το απόγευμα οι τέσσερις ομάδες θα πατήσουν παρκέ για τις προπονήσεις τους. Ο Ολυμπιακός θα προπονηθεί πρώτος στις 15:30, θα ακολουθήσει στις 17:00 η προπόνηση της ΤΣΣΚΑ, στις 18:40 της Φενέρμπαχτσε/Ούλκερ και στις 20:15 της Ρεάλ Μαδρίτης.