London Greek Radio

We watched the game, Greece vs. Cyprus from the arm-chair, or more like a seat that swivels from the LGR offices.

It was the first time these neighbouring teams met, making history in an awesome competitive game. The stakes were very high as either a win or a draw, would be help to the sides chances to qualify for the World Cup finals 2018 in Russia.

Friday night October 7th at 19:45 at the Football Stadium Georgios Karaiskakis, we finally had kick-off…

The match was full of excitement, as the visiting team, Cyprus, were quick to go on counter-attack and creative, troubling Greece’s defence to the approving roar of the visiting 1,500 Cypriot fans making the trip to Piraeus. Greece’s make-shift midfield brought in Kostas Stafylidis replacing Andreas Samaris who was injured next to Giannis Maniatis as holding midfielders, and they were tested by the ambitious Cypriot team who pressed forward in the early moments of the game.

Mitroglou fires home the first goal at 12′ minutes

Despite our plucky Cypriot showing, it was the in-form Kostas Mitroglou opening the score in the 12 minute, with a fine shot. Kostas Fortounis took hold of a loose ball in the Cyprus box and fed incoming Mitroglou who slid the ball past Cypriot keeper Kostas Panagi and his strike making it two goals out of two qualifiers for him.

Taking full advantage of a Cypriot goalkeeping error by Panagi, Greek player Petros Mantalos made it two at 42 minutes before Half-Time crucially.

2-0 ahead for Greece, job well done for the German coach Michael Skibbe of the Greek team, who prior to the game said they had a need to erase Euro 2016’s qualifying phase for them and pick up points helping them to get closer to the qualification to the World Cup which is to take place in two years.

Second-Half, Cyprus showed desperate signs of immediately trying to take something from the match, with efforts by Nestor Mytides and Giorgos Efrem, and was unlucky not to score as they caught Greece’s defence by surprise with again their ambitious counter-attacking style. The second half continued and it seemed an air of content was clearly taking over; both teams were looking increasingly to the full-time whistle.

So, it seems both sides were turning their mind to Monday when they have equally very serious qualifiers to think about. All in all, Greece are definitely the happier outfit with two wins out of two games following the 4-1 away victory over Gibraltar, completing four wins on the trot. Cyprus is yet to register a single point and will be hoping with enough time ahead to make their impression for Group H’s qualification phase.

Both countries meet again in Nicosia on 7th October 2017 to wind up the campaign.

Greece is now joint top of the table along with Belgium and on Monday the team will travel to Estonia. Cyprus, still on zero points, visits Bosnia next.

Good luck Cyprus.

London Greek Radio is celebrating 33 years since first taking to the air on October 8th 1983, transmitting to the very huge community of Greek and Cypriot listeners, and not only. The sometimes turbulent history is absolutely fascinating; during the 1980’s LGR survived a number of police raids in attempts to close the station down, forcing it to relocate premises regularly, from above a Greek delicatessen in Muswell Hill to the up-stairs of a Dj’s house in Highbury.

LGR was not like other ‘illegal’ entities it was itself a pioneer for ethnic radio for listeners, serving the Greek speakers of London. LGR’s very being was definitely innovative and persisted despite the obvious drawbacks. LGR faced may problems and hard times but persisted and look at us today!

Ms Soulla Violaris is one of our longest serving Dj’s who started in the early days gave us her personal account. During one of her live shows she was interrupted by the authorities resulting in her arrest. She was taken to magistrate’s court and ordered to pay a fine. She felt it was right to continue at whatever cost or risk and her dedication and loyalty lead her to occasionally put in 9 hour shifts. The staff and Dj’s certainly braved much adversity and went to great lengths during the 1980’s to keep London Greek Radio being heard on air.

In a very interesting book ‘London’s Pirate Pioneers‘ this explains how a year before LGR was awarded its legal licence, authorities made their largest ever raid on them.

The biggest action ever taken by the authorities against LGR came in 1988 when the police raided LGR’s offices, yet again, only this time they confiscated all paperwork related to the station. In a case at Highgate Magistrates Court in July, companies and staff associated with London Greek Radio were fined £13,900 plus £10,550 in costs and expenses.

After losing several hundred transmitters over the years, LGR was awarded the North London Community License, returning to the air on 13th November 1989. For the first three years they had to share the frequency with an African speaking station WNK who unfortunately went out of business soon after.

The licence was granted with the essential help of tens of thousands of people who signed petitions demanding the legitimacy of LGR. The public’s voice made it clear that there was a void and vital space to fulfil for the Greek Cypriot’s long, robust community in the UK.

The station’s iconic status is truly still relevant and very popular today, and the LGR family continues to grow and expand with talented radio hosts and DJ’s entertaining our community with Greek songs for every genre, that the Greeks are known to have in absolute abundance.

Given the huge advances in technology, LGR is live on 103.3 FM and can be found on DAB in Birmingham and Manchester adding many thousands of extra listeners every month. It can be downloaded from the App store and the Play store. Our vast audience is not only Greek speaking listeners but also  English, Jewish, Albanian, Arab, Bulgarian, Turkish and Russian and so many more who are constantly tuned in.

It’s very exhilarating to know, LGR has by far the biggest downloads to on TuneIn with listener statistics via our LGR App outweighing the other Cypriot radio stations based in Cyprus on the basis of the numbers. According to the current statistics, LGR is officially No.1 downloads on #TuneIn when comparing to the equivalent Cypriot stations…

This fact about London Greek Radio is a fact to be proud of.

Happy Birthday LGR! May you live to be 100 and continue your hard-work; delivering informative and entertaining formats to your listeners.

Greece vs Cyprus.  The game is just hours away. The two sides will face each other for their massive 2018 World Cup qualifying clash. They will meet competitively for the first time in their history. They were selected during last year’s draw; it’s been a long wait for sure. Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Gibraltar complete the line-up for Group H.

In Piraeus at the Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis, Friday 7th October at 19:45 GMT the whistle will blow and yes, we have kick-off.

The teams have contrasting fortunes from the first set of matches which started their campaigns only last month. Off to a flying start, the Greek team picked up three points after beating Gibraltar 4-1 away. On the other hand, Cyprus will look to get a few points on the board after they lost 3-0 to Belgium in Nicosia. Despite the early set-back, the Cypriot squad are highly motivated ahead of playing their neighbours in what should prove a very intriguing competitive derby between the countries.

Michael Skibbe the German coach of the Greece side had expressed how important it was for his side to secure a winning result. ”We have to concentrate with the first match with Cyprus, to take the three points with this same will we would hope to beat Estonia. We know that the next matches will be with Bosnia and Belgium, where we have to play two very good teams. Every point helps”.

He spoke about reviving the national team’s fortunes after the failure of the last qualifying campaign, was a low-point for the side. He made the point: ”Something has changed with the dynamic of the team. For two years we took a serious ‘beating’ and everybody does not want this. They want a change.”

Just before 13:30 on Wednesday, Cyprus’ national team arrived in Athens and as scheduled completed their first training session later at Agios Kosmas.

Christakis Christoforou’s men can draw inspiration from the fact that league champions Apoel with internationals such as Giorgos Merkis, Giorgos Efrem and Pieros Sotiriou within their ranks defeated Greek giants Olympiacos 1-0 at Karaiskakis Stadium in the Europa League last week thanks to an amazing goal by Sotiriou.

The Cyprus coach emphasised his team’s ethos of playing well and treating the game in a very ‘competitive’ way. He explained ”There are teams like Belgium who are very difficult to take a positive result. Our effort with Belgium until 60′ minutes was good. We have analysed the game and the mistakes and I believe we will be in a better shape against Greece.”

Cypriot midfielder Georgios Efrem took the point ”that the game is itself unique because of our common links we have with Greece. That said however in the match we will be opponents for 90’ minutes and I hope we can take a positive result.”

The nations have only previously met in friendly matches; Cyprus in the first ever meeting between the sides in 1963 in Nicosia; walked away with a 3-1 victory on that occasion. Since then the Greek side have got the better of their clashes albeit only friendly ones, with a superior head-to-head with 15 wins, 7 draws and only 3 loses to the Cypriot side.

Good luck and may the best team win.

Ban Ki moon’s Special Envoy Espen Barth Eide said on Monday that it is clear that territory chapter in UN peace talks for a Cyprus solution will soon have to be discussed and possibly before we go into at least the full-fledged discussions on security.

UNSG Special Envoy Espen Barth Eide (L) – T/C Leader Mustafa Akinci (M) – Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades (R)

Speaking to the press after a meeting he had with President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades and asked whether it is clear that territory will not be discussed with the chapters of guarantees and security, Eide said that at least one side and increasingly both sides “also recognise that we have to find the right modalities for that discussion, because that discussion is somewhat different than the discussion on governance“.

Eide, who met with President Anastasiades in view of the new round of intensified talks to start on Tuesday, pointed out that the issue of territorial exchange affects ordinary people in a slightly different way than i.e the quotas in the central Bank board.

“Both issues are important, but we have to respect that and find a way to discuss it (territorial), which also connects with other issues in an appropriate manner and also both sides can feel that we are ready for the final discussion“, Eide said.

Invited to comment on opinions expressed about discussing the issue of territory abroad, SG Special Envoy said that the two leaders will meet tomorrow and they are committed to create the space, “both physical and more in a mental sense”, to be able to deal with issues which are so sensitive.

“Where exactly that will happen I think I will leave it to them to decide and announce. This is a leader led process. I keep insisting on that, is actually led by the leaders and nobody else, not by me, not by Ban Ki-moon, not by anyone else in the island, is led by the leaders and if this is going to work, we have to respect the leader led nature of the process“, he underlined.

Eide also said that thankfully, Cypriots have two leaders, Anastasiades and Akinci who want this to work, adding however that they both represent communities with divergence of views “and they have to represent different views that exist in their communities“.

“But my strong sense, confirmed today, is that they are in it for real and they try to solve this without any unnecessary loss of time“, he said.

Eide described his meeting with President Anastasiades as long and substantive, adding that we need now to focus on how we organise the coming days and weeks in the process.

He said that during the meeting UNSG had with both leaders in NYC on September 25th , they both presented a very similar picture to the SG of where we are, what has been achieved and what remains to be done “and they recommitted to their noble goal of seeking a settlement if possible at the end of this year“.

“But we still have to agree on how we sequence things and how we organise the coming days and weeks“, he said.

He said that during the leaders` meeting tomorrow, a plan will be decided as regards the meetings to follow, saying that there will be frequent meetings in October “in order to try to overcome those issues which are closed“.

According to Eide, the commitment is clearly there, pointing out that he heard it again from President Anastasiades today and he knows that the same goes for T/c leader Mustafa Akinci.

He said that in any peace process there are challenges of last mile or last miles, “which is when you see that a settlement is actually within reach, you also know that in order to get there you have to make some further agreements, concessions and in order to do that you really need to make sure that you have the right setting for doing it“.

“I think that is very much what we will discuss tomorrow and in the subsequent meetings, we will then start discussing issue by issue and try actually close them down so that we can move into the important issues of territory and eventually security, in an appropriate manner in Cyprus or wherever else, but as the leaders agree“, Eide said.

Anastasiades and Akinci embark on a new round of intensified talks tomorrow, under the aegis of the UN, with the aim to reunite Cyprus, divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion.

President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades has invited British Prime Minister Teresa May to visit Cyprus.

British PM Theresa May (L) – Cyprus President Nicos Ansatasiades (R)

According to a Downing Street spokesperson, President Anastasiades, during his meeting with May in London on Tuesday, “updated the Prime Minister on efforts to achieve a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus. The Prime Minister underlined the UK’s steadfast support for the process and said the UK stood ready to help bring this to a successful conclusion”.

The spokesperson also said they discussed Brexit and May “made clear that the British people had voted to leave the EU and the Government would deliver that – there would be no going back. The PM emphasised that while the UK is leaving the EU, we are not leaving Europe and we would want to maintain strong relations with European countries and the EU once the UK has left”.

“Finally, the Prime Minister thanked the President for his kind invitation to visit Cyprus and said that she hoped to have the opportunity to do so in the future”, he added.

President Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci are engaged in intensive peace talks to find a negotiated settlement that would reunite Cyprus, divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion.

President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades briefed the expatriates in London on the course of Cyprus peace talks, reiterating once again his determination to keep the efforts for a solution.

Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira and Great Britain (R) – President Anastasiades (M) – NFC President Christos Caraolis (R)

The President attended a dinner in north London on Monday evening, organised in his honour by the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK.

President Anastasiades said he was determined to carry on working for a solution to the decades-long problem that would end the division of the island, with a negotiated settlement which would be “viable and workable and will the concerns of both (Greek and Turkish Cypriot) communities.”

“I am determined to work for a settlement of the Cyprus issue. But a settlement that meets – and I stress this – the expectations and the concerns of the Greek Cypriots. I will not disregard the concerns of the Turkish Cypriots, but I will not overestimate false concerns of the Turkish Cypriots at the expense of Greek Cypriots”, the President pointed out.

President Anastasiades praised the contribution of the populous Cypriot community in the UK, expressing his “admiration” over the persistent way in which they strive for better days for Cyprus, “beyond any personal ambition.”

He also made a special reference to the presence of many young NEPOMAK (overseas young Cypriots’ federation) members at the event, and he paid tribute to the recently deceased Chris Lazari, a distinguished member of the UK Cypriot community.

In his welcome address, the President of the Federation Christos Karaolis congratulated the President of the Republic for his “insistence, patience and determination” to settle the Cyprus issue. He also praised President Anastasiades for his “undogmatic” work in methodically and systematically establishing international cooperations and alliances to safeguard the Republic of Cyprus’s interests.

Karaolis pledged , on behalf of the UK Cypriot community, to keep demanding that the British MPs and the UK Government fulfil their country’s obligations towards Cyprus, working towards the end of the Turkish occupation and contributing towards a negotiated settlement.

The dinner attendees also presented President Anastasiades with a birthday cake in the shape of Cyprus, on the occasion of his 70th birthday (27 September).

Mr Anastasiades will visit the Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain on Tuesday afternoon, before meeting Prime Minister Theresa May in 10 Downing Street.

He will then fly to Paris, where on Wednesday he will be received by President Hollande.

We feel it’s time to comprise a list of all the tunes of summer of 2016 that you have absolutely loved listening to on LGR.

Taking into consideration the tracks that have been requested on our live shows and the reactions of our listeners through comments sent to our in-box, emails, Facebook, tweets, telephone calls all adding to our LGR Hits list.

This is purely a fun and interesting exercise whilst at the same time giving you the chance to check out our most definitive list of song titles and artists.

So … What do you think…? Have your favourites got through here?

Panos Kalidis – Kou Pepe (Valentino Remix)
Master Tempo – Sexy Selfie 
Stan – Se Zilevo Pou S Exei 
Nikos Ganos – Ti Na Leme
Eleni Foureira feat. Mike – Ti Koitas
Kings – Pagoto
Kostas Doxas – Vilono Thavmastis Sou
Konstantinos Christoforou feat Giannis Parios – Vazo Ena Pario
Stella Kalli – I Agapi Ta ‘Hei Ola
Elli Kokkinou – To Xamogelo Sou
Petros Iakovidis – Vale
Kyriacos Georgio feat. Jackpot – Sto Poto Mou Rixte Staxti
Giorgos Liatis – Rantevou
Kostas Doxas – To Tragoudi Tou Kairou (Happy Day)

Elena Paparizou – Fiesta
Pantelis Pantelidis – Thimamai
Kostas Glavas – Mperdemata DJ Pantelis & Vasilis Koutonias RMX
Konstantinos Argiros – Athina – Thessaloniki
Konstantinos Koufos – Metro Antistrofa (5, 4, 3, 2, 1)
Valantis Feat Droulias Brothers – Asanser (Official Remix 2016)
Demy – Isovia Mazi
Malou – Mia Fora Sto Toso (DJ Pantelis & Panos Haritidis Official Remix)
Dimitris Kokotas – Giata Me Tyrannas (Lainas & Brakoulias 2016 RMX)
Hrispa feat. Nikos Souliotis – Perasmena Ne, Xehasmena Ohi
Giannis Apostolidis – Tragikos
Konstantinos Argiros – Ta Kataferes
Kostas Orfanidis – Ola Kala (Moro Mou)
Nikos Apergis – Spase Ta Frena (Dj Kambi Official Remix)

Iordanis Agapitos – Panta Proti (feat. Ioanna Zervolea)
Konstantinos Koufos feat. Katerina Stikoudi – I Pio Oraia Stin Ellada
Mira & John Bozidis – Monadiki
Sasa feat Giannis Sofillas – Stin Paraligia
ARVA feat. Lefteris Pantazis & Alina Ly – Synergy
Konstantinos Pantzis & Nikos Souliotis feat. Giannis Panopoulos – Vale Sti Nyxta Fotia
Stavento feat. Eleni Vitali – To Mantili
Stavento feat. Melina Aslanidou – Nero Ke Xoma
Amaryllis – Afto Na Meine Metaxi Mas
Fani Drakopoulou – Se Zilevo S ‘Agapo
Stella Kalatzi – Se Goustaro
Andreas Leontas – Protos Rolos
Petros Imvrios – Xeria Psila
Konstantinos Pantzis & Nikos Souliotis feat. Giannis Panopoulos – Vale Sti Nyxta Fotia

Zan Baptist – Pes Tou (Dj Pantelis & Vasilis Koutounias RMX Clean version)
Konstantinos Pantzis & Nikos Souliotis feat. Antypas – Allos
Giorgos Tsalikis – Haidemeno
Prodromos – Ela Apopse
Nikoforos – Volta (Official Giannis Zissis Remix)
Melina Aslanidou – Mes Sto Spiti De Menei Kaneis
Xristina Koletsa – Agapame Opos S ‘Agapo
Giorgos Papadopoulos – Den To Antexo (Teo Tzimas & Nikos Markoglou Offical RMX)
Konstantinos Kandiros – Sto Limani Ton Chanion
Konstantinos Nazis – Se Ola Nai
Eleni Hatzidou – Vale Mou Fotia
Rec – Kai Se Thimamai Livin-R Remix
Dionysis Schinas – Apomimisi Agapis
Giorgos Tsalikis 2 Play – Den Eimai Kala
Christos Cholidis – Mi Mou Zitas

Concerns relating to the humanitarian issue of missing persons was the focus of a meeting between Presidential Commissioner Photis Photiou and UK High Commissioner Matthew Kidd, on Monday, during which Photiou asked for help in order to exert pressure on Turkey to contribute to its resolution.

Photiou, an official press release says, noted that it is “unacceptable and inhumane for the families of missing persons to wait for decades to find out what has happened to their loved ones or to receive one bone out of their remains and to be asked to consider that this constitutes full information of what has become of them.”

The two men also discussed matters relatiang to the enclaved (Greek Cypriots living in northern Turkish occupied Cyprus).

On his part, the press release concludes, Kidd assured that his country will continue to contribute to the ongoing efforts to resolve the tragic problem of missing persons.

Hundreds of people from the island`s two communities have been listed as missing. Most Greek Cypriot have been missing since the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Turkish Cypriot missing hail from 1974 as well as inter-communal fighting in the early 1960s.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. UN brokered talks resumed in May 2015 aiming to reunite the island under a federal roof.

A Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) was established in April 1981 by agreement between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities under the auspices of the United Nations.

In 2006, the climate was ripe for the CMP to begin excavations and exhumations on both sides of the island. In order to provide the required expertise, archaeologists and anthropologists from the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF) were brought in to coordinate and train a bi-communal team of Cypriot scientists involved in exhumations and anthropological analysis. An anthropological laboratory was set-up in the United Nations Protected Area in Nicosia, according to the CMP website.

Since 2008, the CMP’s bi-communal forensic team has been carrying out exhumations autonomously (up to 8 teams in the northern part of the island and 2 teams in the southern part). EAAF forensic experts continue to be involved in the project for quality control purposes.

So far, out of the 1508 Greek Cypriots missing, 499 individuals have been identified and returned to their families for proper burial. As far as the Turkish Cypriots are concerned, out of 493 listed as missing, 181 persons have been identified and returned to their next of kin.

The President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades has said that when there is the will, there is the way and the time to find a negotiated settlement by the end of the year.

At the same time, the President pointed out that conditions at the negotiations must not be such that could act as a deterrent to the peace effort, instead of leading to a positive outcome, adding that “if we are led to conferences when circumstances are not ripe, they will not yield the result we are seeking.”

“I expect everybody to show commitment to our objective and be ready to respect the concerns of each of the two communities in Cyprus. We have already done this. There are some issues which continue to be very sensitive for the Greek Cypriot community and I expect that mutual understanding will give us the opportunity, through creative ideas, to find a way out,” he told the press replying to questions after a meeting in New York on Sunday afternoon with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

The meeting, which lasted about 20 minutes, was also attended by Cyprus’ Permanent Representative to the UN Nicos Emiliou, the Government Spokesman Nikos Christodoulides and Ban’s Special Advisor on Cyprus Espen Barth Eide.

The President said he had a comprehensive and creative meeting with the Secretary General.

He said at first they talked about the agenda of the General Assembly and assured Ban that Cyprus will, by the end of the year, complete the ratification of the agreement on climate change.

Referring to the Cyprus problem, he said they talked about the state of play in the UN-facilitated peace talks, currently underway between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities with a view to reuniting the country, which has been divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion.

“We talked about the current phase of the negotiations, with great impartiality and far from any blame game,” Anastasiades told the press, noting that he explained to Ban where things stand, saying that there are still pending issues that need to be addressed.

“I stressed the need for everybody to be particularly careful not to create any circumstances which may, instead of leading us to a positive result, prove to be a deterrent to our efforts for a solution,” the President said, adding that “If we do not focus on the substance and the concerns that exist, we might be led to conferences which, should they prove to be premature, will not yield the results we want to achieve.”

The President said that he was pleased to have found “absolute understanding” from the Secretary General about everything he had outlined during their meeting, in the presence of his advisor Eide.

Asked if he handed Ban any document with the views of the Greek Cypriot side and the six negotiating chapters, he replied “this will be done at the right time.”

In his remarks, the President clarified that the Secretary General did not hear anything “unpleasant” from him.

“The Secretary General did not hear anything unpleasant apart from the reality of the situation and the reality does not mean it is unpleasant. There are difficulties and that is why everybody, if they want to help find a solution in Cyprus, must focus on the actual difficulties so that all sides show understanding to the concerns of each other. Especially those that have an important role to play, (concerns) which led the Greek Cypriot community to reject the Annan plan (a UN-proposed solution plan),” in 2004 the President stressed.

Replying to questions, he said “what we are seeking is to continue the fruitful and constructive efforts in order to find a comprehensive solution.”

Asked if he believes that there is enough time to find a solution by the end of the year, he replied: “When there is the will, there is the way and the time.”