London Greek Radio

London Greek Radio held its Christmas Dinner & Dance on the first weekend of December, which was attended by dozens from the Greek Cypriot community and beyond.

With the emphasis on ‘community’, LGR management, staff and presenters integrated with listeners, family and friends at the Cypriot Community Centre in Wood Green to a full-house compliment.

As the evening began, a blessing was carried out by the Reverend Father Andreas Hadjisavvi, in the presence of the Reverend Father Iosif Paliouras, before the Nostalgia Greek Band took to the stage, to ‘warm-up’ the already excited attendees anxiously waiting for Greek-singing legend Giorgos Gerolymatos.

Giorgos Gerolymatos whips up the excitement…

Mr Gerolymatos was one of the most famous performers of the “New Wave” period of Greek music in the 70s, 80s and 90s.  He worked with other leading Greek performers such as Pario, Marinella, Voskopoulos, Dionisiou, Doukissa, Moscholiou, Sakellariou, Gavalas, Angelopoulos and many more.  He also participated in many Greek films.

During the one-night only exclusive performance, he performed a selection of his own charming classics to the eagerly-awaited patrons, before moving flawlessly to traditional Greek Laika, quickly filling the dance floor.

Long-standing LGR host Vasilis Panayi reflected on the radio station’s historic role in 35 years of broadcasting to London and beyond; then, in a unique ‘never-before’ exposition, he presented five Lifetime Achievement Awards.

The Award Trophies were presented to those, who in LGR’s history, contributed significantly to charity and to the station.

A surprise award was presented to LGR’s Managing Director John Kyriakides, during which, Mr Panayi fought back tears as he spoke about Mr Kyriakides continued unflinching commitment and support to the station and its listening communities.

The evening’s charming hosts Andrea Yerolemou and Yiannis Ioannou entertained those present and the evening concluded with the prize draw of the LGR Christmas Raffle, which included the top prize of a flight to Cyprus, courtesy of Cobalt Aero. Several other prizes were also presented to winners of the draw, with thanks from Commeris the Mediterranean food experts and Cocorico Italian Restaurant, as well as others.

The management and staff of LGR were grateful to the event’s sponsors, who made the evening possible; Caspian Lounge Sandwich Bar in North Finchley, Commeris UK Ltd the Mediterranean food experts, Panorama Greek Restaurant in Whetstone, S.Aspris & Son, Simon Fisher, and Taste of Cyprus Patisserie in Palmers Green.

LGR’s Managing Director, John Kyriakides said, ”It was a really lovely evening and everyone enjoyed themselves, eating, dancing and socialising.

He added, ”I really didn’t expect the award. It’s an absolute pleasure and a privilege to serve our communities through the medium of radio.”

Other Lifetime Achievement Award-winners on the night were; Maria Spyrou, who presented a show on LGR for over 25 years, providing advice to listeners on social benefits, as well as years of service to the Citizens Advice Bureau in Haringey; Former LGR Manager Kyriacos Tsioupras and his partner Pola Tsioupra for several years of service to LGR and the community; Former LGR News Editor Tasos Zachariades, who provided detailed and relevant up-to-date news to LGR’s communities for several years.

A huge thank you to Parikiaki and Eleftheria newspapers for their continued support and to Hellenic TV who kindly filmed our night which will be available to be seen on the London Greek Radio social media in the upcoming weeks.

Wishing you, a happy start to the holiday season

The Management and Staff of London Greek Radio would like to invite you to their Christmas Dinner & Dance, 2017. The start to the festive season we have live music and food on Saturday 2 December at 7 pm.

We are also excited to announce entertainment for this evening includes Giorgos Gerolymatos, all the way from Greece, for a 1 night exclusive performance. Not to mention live music by Nostalgia Greek Band!

Events like this offer the chance for our station to come together with the community and enjoy a fabulous evening. Moreover, through these events we are able to renew and build a good relationship with both our listeners and the companies which work alongside us.

In 2017, our time has also been spent putting together events, such as this one, where all members of our community could come and celebrate our culture together.

Join us at the Cypriot Community Centre, Earlham Grove, Wood Green, N22 5HJ.

Tickets £30, £35, for more information and Tickets please call LGR on 0208 349 6950

7 pm ‘Till Late

We look forward to seeing you all there.

Wishing you, a happy start to the holiday season.

The event is sponsored by Caspian Lounge Sandwich Bar in North Finchley, Commeris UK Ltd the Mediterranean food experts, Panorama Greek Restaurant in Whetstone with Mediterranean cuisine at its best. Aspris & Son, the wine, beer & spirits merchants, Simon Fisher with a 50 year experience as a loss assessor, Taste of Cyprus in Palmers Green for a wide range of breads, sweets & pastries.

The LGR Boîte Night

The LGR Boîte Night, on Friday 20th October, is hosting a spectacular evening with a line-up of local community artists.

Enjoy a traditional Boîte styled evening in a chilled and relaxed atmosphere.

Entertaining us on the night are the talented; Nicos Shiakolas, Mimis Nicolaedes, Giorgos Pafitis, Savvas Savva, Andria Antoniou & other community artists.

Join us in the bar of the Cypriot Community Centre, Earlham Grove, Wood Green. Let’s have a drink and listen to the live music and have an amazing evening. You can even sing along too and really let your hair down.

There will be drinks and snacks available at the bar.

This will be an unforgettable night with our dearest London Greek Radio audience.

Tickets only £7.

Doors will open at 7:30 pm.

For more information and tickets please call LGR on 0208 349 6950

We look forward to seeing you all there.

This event is sponsored by: Despina’s Food Store, C.Michael Accountants & Bookkeepers, Fratelli Greci Finest Foods, exclusive distributors of ION chocolate products and Zagori Mineral Water in the UK, Meraki Grill and Ambeli Ltd, exclusive distributors of Karapashis Winery.

Are you dreaming of escaping the dreaded British Winter? With the awful summer, we’ve had so far, who could blame you?! Every year thousands of Britons flee for sunnier climes to avoid the dark, dreary days that descend upon us and with a particularly harsh winter predicted to hit the UK this year, it’s no surprise that number is set to grow.

Now, a new BBC One Series; Escape for the Winter is helping people make their dream winter getaway a reality. They want to hear from people who are thinking about or are already planning their trip.

The series will pair sun seekers up with a reputable property expert who will help them get to grips with the local area, as well as secure a property that fits their brief and budget.

If you would like to find out more, contact the casting team at Friel Kean Films on 0141 331 0318 or email: [email protected].

BBC Series ‘Escape for the Winter’ are currently casting for Greeks & Cypriots for winter getaway format

Actress Zoe Laskari, best known for her stellar performances in Greek films of the late 1960s, has died at the age of 72.

According to reports, Laskari was found dead at her home in the coastal resort of Porto Rafti, east of Athens, on Friday 18th August.

The cause of her death has not been released.

Crowned a beauty queen in 1959 at the age of just 15, she made her debut appearance in Greek cinema two years later in Katiforo (Downhill), a film by the prolific Greek producer Filopimin Finos.

Some of her later movies were Stefania (1966) and Oi Thalassies Oi Hadres (The Blue Beads) (1967). Other Laskari film hits included Nomos 4000 (Law 4000), Merikoi To Protimoun Kryo (Some Like It Cold), Koritsia Gia Filima (Girls Made For Kissing), Dakrya Gia Tin Ilektra (Tears For Electra), Mia Kyria Sta Bouzoukia (A Lady At The Greek Bouzoukia) and Marijuana Stop.

Her stage work included famous plays like Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? the ancient Greek tragedy The Trojan Women by Euripides and Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park. Laskari’s first television appearance was her leading role in the TV series Romaios Kai Loulieta in 1976.

In 1985, at the age of 41, she became the first major movie star to take her clothes off for a legendary Playboy (Greek edition) shooting. She was reportedly paid an obscene amount of money for her appearance on the magazine’s cover.

Laskari, whose real name was Zoe Kouroukli, is survived by her two daughters, Martha Koutoumanou and Maria-Eleni Lykourezou, and her husband, the prominent lawyer Alexandros Lykourezos.

Here at London Greek Radio would like to extend our condolences to her friends and family.

One of the most popular and feel good films of this decade is marking its 10 year anniversary next July. Filled with songs, sun, sea and a whole lot of mystery, Mamma Mia stole our hearts back in 2008 with its sensitive storyline and glorious Greek coastline. We found ourselves singing and dancing to the legendary ABBA hits, while watching the characters run along the sandy beaches of Skopelos.  The ending definitely left the whole world shouting “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” a sequel, and although it has taken them ten years to do it, fans of the film are ecstatic that a follow up is its way.

But for the people of Skopelos however, it is a bitter sweet moment. For financial reasons, film makers have decided to shoot in Croatia, on the Dalmatian island of Vis, leaving the beautiful scenery of Skopelos behind. Islanders are devastated by the move as not only did the movie make £460 million, but there was an immediate increase in tourists to islands across the Aegean Sea; this simply wasn’t a coincidence. The film was definitely what captivated hearts worldwide and convinced holiday makers to discover these immaculate islands for themselves.

The reason behind the film’s upheaval is that production measures differ greatly in Greece as opposed to Croatia. For one, permits are not required in order to film in Croatia, and here, subsidies are offered to the film’s production team. Furthermore, due to legislation passed in 2011, foreign productions are excluded from tax return policies, so this upheaval is one to ensure film makers are not breaking the bank and it seems Croatia is to be the cheaper alternative.

Regardless of where the sequel is set, I have faith that it’ll recapture our love for this monumental  film, and the director, Ol Parker will not dare to disappoint. However, I guess time will tell, and come July 2018 we will all see if the sequel lives up to the original, and if not,  it’ll stand true that it really is the Greeks that do things best.

DODONI

London Greek Radio are delighted to welcome their newest sponsor to the LGR airwaves.

As of this Friday 19th May, iconic dairy brand DODONI will be sponsoring radio presenter Panagiotis Balalas during his Friday show, which airs every week between 6-8pm

DODONI S.A. was founded in 1963, counting 54 years of authentic tradition and history. The company based in Ioannina produces authentic, purely Greek dairy and cheese products, using 100% Greek cow’s, goat’s and sheep’s milk collected daily by an expanded network of 5,000 Greek producers, mainly active in the region of Epirus.

With more than 10,000 selling points in Greece and export activity in 43 countries, DODONI has 9 categories of dairy and cheese products and produces 80 distinct products. This truly authentic Greek brand is distinguished for its taste, quality and their 100% Greek identity.

Now DODONI will not only be known for their exceptional Feta cheese, but for their collaboration with our station to bring you the best Greek hits (as well as the best Greek cheeses).

We, Greeks, have many reasons to be proud of. One of them is our feta. A cheese so special and unique that has become famous all over the world.

If you are a fan of Feta (and frankly who isn’t) Dodoni explain why every cheese lover needs to give their brand of feta a try:

“DODONI feta, using exclusively 100% greek pasteurized goat’s and sheep’s milk, that arrives every day in our premises even from the most distant farms.

Dodoni Feta

DODONI feta, with its unique taste and nutrition value, has gained worldwide recognition for its high quality. That’s why it has won so many local and international awards, plus a place in tables around the world.”

For more information about DODONI and their products, visit their website dodoni.eu/en

If you love to cook with Feta, just as much as you love to eat it, then be sure to visit a special little corner of the DODONI website where they offer their unique cheese based recipes: Click here to visit their “brunch” section, which should be enough to whet the appetite and flare the creativity of any aspiring chefs.

Last night Cyprus and Greece celebrated qualifying through to this Saturday night’s Eurovision Song Contest final. This year’s Eurovision will be held in Kyiv, Ukraine, at the International Exhibition Centre IEC.

Demy (representing Greece) and Hovig (representing Cyprus) made it to the Top 10 qualifying songs after enduring a very competitive semi-final phase. The semi-final rankings will not be announced publicly until after this weekend’s Eurovision final, which maximises fans’ suspense.

It is a result which spelt the Greek’s return to the contest’s final after last year’s very early exit. It’s a solid come-back, for this country who’s always qualified except that minor-blip, which we can now begin to erase from our memories.

Demy looked absolutely stunning in her pale outfit as she performed her song ‘This is love’. It’s a progressively up-tempo track which is catchy and radio-friendly. The track was composed by Eurovision veteran Dimitris Kontopoulos, with creative staging by Fokas Evangelinos, the Greek’s dynamic Eurovision team.

Demy secures Greek’s place in the final…

The 25-year-old Greek pop singer seemed to enjoy her time on the stage, joined by her dancers Iasonas Mandilas and Paris Paraskevadis-Planets. She was also accompanied by off-stage backing-vocalists Erasmia Markidi, Evgenia Liakou, and Marcus Giakoumoglou. For those who missed it, we can confirm it was a very slick and well rehearsed performance.

Cypriot singer Hovig also celebrated a successful night. His performance involved an excellent staging concept which complimented his song greatly. He performed a modern radio-friendly track with electronic beats, written by Thomas G:Son, a well-known Swedish composer and producer in Eurovision circles.

Hovig pulls out all the stops for his gravity song…

28-years-old Hovig, a Cypriot artist of Armenian heritage, shows he was proud to have this chance to fly the Cypriot flag. The Cypriot broadcaster internally selected Hovig and G:son for this year’s Cypriot song.

Hovig was vocally very solid and interacted well with his dancers Marios Charalambous and Pavlos Lazarou Kertepene. The artist seemed relaxed and sung his cool song, mastering the stage’s full width to tell us his story, about gravity.

The Cypriot artistic director Charis Savva put much effort in to make sure he nailed the performance, and clearly it worked extremely well. The Cypriot’s have pulled out all the stops to be noticed and they were.

Greece and Cyprus confirmed they will be performing second-half draw for the final, with 26 countries competing. Demy and Hovig have to wait till Thursday to find out the other qualifiers. What we know for certain is that they have earned their place next to the big 5 automatic placers: the UK, Spain, France, Germany and Italy in the final this weekend.

The Eurovision Song Contest Final airs this Saturday at 8 pm UK time; you can follow it live on BBC 1.

For those who missed the first semi final, you can catch the Top 10 qualifiers being revealed, here:

LGR Event

For the first time in London, on Friday 3^rd March, London Greek Radio are hosting a spectacular evening.

Enjoy a traditional Bouat styled evening in a chilled and relaxed atmosphere.

Entertaining us on the night are the talented; Aggeliki Darra, Katerina Neocleous, Tony Panayi, Ploutarchos Manolessos & Nikos Ntintas.

Join us in the bar of the Cypriot Community Centre, Earlham Grove, Wood Green. Let’s have a drink and listen to the live music and have an amazing evening. You can even sing a long too and really let your hair down.

There will be drinks and nibbles available at the bar.

This will be an unforgettable night with our dearest London Greek Radio audience.

Doors will open at 7:30pm.

For more information and tickets please call LGR on 0208 349 6950

We look forward to seeing you all there.

This event is sponsored by: C. Michael & Co Accountants, Delphi Food Products, Nikos Transport, Anastasia Lodge & Autumn Gardens.

The Eurovision Semi-Final Allocation Draw carried out on 31^st January, at the Column Hall of Kyiv City State Administration, in Ukraine, officially launched the start to Eurovision season.

The Cypriot and Greek entry performers have been drawn to sing in the First Semi-Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, airing on Tuesday 9^th May live on BBC4 at 8 p.m. GMT.

We last visited Kyiv in 2005, that proved absolutely one of the best Eurovision song contests ever, with Elena Paparizou’s song ‘My Number One’ which won the Eurovision, bringing the only Greek victory in the competition.

The Semi-Finals will span Tuesday 9^th May to Thursday 11^th May concluding with the second semi-final, on that occasion. The Eurovision Final will go out live on Saturday 13^th May at 8 p.m. GMT to be held at the Kyiv International Exhibition Centre (IEC).

Cyprus and Greece is amongst 18 countries, conclude the first semi-final. How it works really… The Top 10 qualifiers who pass the round in each allocated semi, with 50:50 Tele-voting, and professional jury points. The semi-heats producing our lucky 20 qualifiers on both Tuesday and Thursday will be entered in the live final.

The 37 Semi-Finalists have been allocated into six pots, based on historical voting patterns as calculated by the contest’s official tele-voting partner Digame. Drawing from different pots helps to reduce the chance of so-called neighbourly voting and increases suspense in the Semi-Finals.

The UK, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, and host’s Ukraine thanks to Jamala’s winning song last year are direct finalists. The Big 5 has that upgraded status, as Eurovision’s biggest financial contributory members to the European Broadcasting Union, organisers of the Eurovision.

Hovig Demirdjian (left), Demy aka Demetra Papadea (right)… compete in Eurovision Semi-Final 1…

Hovig aka Hovig Demirdjian will represent Cyprus in Kyiv, internally selected by the CyBc broadcaster. He is a Cypriot pop singer with over 10 year’s music career; he went all the way to the live shows of Greek X-Factor in 2009, and has never given up on his quest to represent the Cypriot flag at the song contest. He will sing our Cypriot tune called ‘Gravity‘, composed by Swedish producer Thomas G:Son. His song has a Eurovision feel and potentially radio-friendly hit song, suggests the song-writer.

The official video is due to be released in March and we can’t wait to get our hand on it to share it with our listeners on LGR and through lgr.co.uk.

Demy aka Demetra Papadea will be the Greek representative, with her tune due to be separately selected by the tele-voting public, on Monday 6th March 2017. She has three songs exclusively written for her by the Eurovision legend Dimitris Kontopoulos with creative staging director Fokas Evangelinos, our dynamic team.  So what happened, Dimitris and Fokas appointed Demy, suggesting she was the best choice to the powers that be that’s how we have Demy, to fly the Greek flag to make a strong come-back to Eurovision this year…

She is signed to the Panik Records family, with a substantial volume of pop hits.

This year’s Greek trio is dubbed the ‘dream team’ surely working very hard to come up with a competitive song. Dimitris and Fokas, have a long illustrious run in the song contest with many Top 10s including Sakis Rouvas, to Sergey Lazarev, Russian entrant in 2016’s Eurovision Song Contest, finished Top 3 on finale night.

The viewers in the United Kingdom are able to vote for their favourites in the first semi-final, airing on BBC 4, so too, Italy and Spain. Meanwhile, Germany, Ukraine and France are voting in the second semi-final of Eurovision on the Thursday evening.

This year’s ‘Celebrating Diversity’ theme will define Kyiv Eurovision welcoming 43 countries, to the annual music event. Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest, Jon Ola Sand said: ”The notion of celebrating diversity builds on last year’s theme of ‘Come Together’ and is at the heart of Eurovision values: it is all-inclusive and all about countries around Europe, and beyond, joining together to celebrate both our common ground and our unique differences, as well as the love of great music”.

The running order will be determined by the producers of the show and approved by EBU’s Reference Group in mid-March.