01/10/2026
Happy Cyprus Independence Day! 🇨🇾
Today marks the day Cyprus became independent in 1960.
We celebrate the resilience of our people, the richness of our culture, and the dream of a brighter, united future.
May Cyprus always shine with peace, freedom, and prosperity.
Happy Independence Day to all!
◽ JOINT PRESS Release ◽
🇨🇾 CYPRUS INDEPENDENCE DAY – 66 YEARS OF THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS
Federation of Cyprus Communities of Australia & New Zealand , Pan Australian Justice for Cyprus Coordinating Committee - Paseka & NEPOMAK.Australia and New Zealand
1 October 2026
The Federation of Cyprus Communities of Australia and New Zealand, together with our affiliated organisations PASEKA and NEPOMAK Australia, joins Cypriots around the world in celebrating the 66th anniversary of the Republic of Cyprus's independence. We do so on behalf of the Cypriot communities we represent across Australia and New Zealand.
Independence Day is a day to celebrate Cyprus, but also a day to remember the difficult road that led to the establishment of the Republic in 1960.
For many decades under British colonial rule, the people of Cyprus sought the right to determine their own future. For the Greek Cypriot majority, that aspiration was expressed through the call for self-determination and Enosis, union with Greece.
After years of political efforts failed to achieve this, the EOKA liberation struggle began on 1 April 1955. Between 1955 and 1959, many Cypriots fought and sacrificed their lives for freedom from colonial rule. Many were imprisoned, others executed, and families across Cyprus suffered during what became a defining period in our history.
We remember and honour their courage and sacrifice.
The struggle eventually brought British colonial rule to an end. Following the Zurich and London Agreements of 1959, the Republic of Cyprus formally became an independent and sovereign state on 16 August 1960.
While 16 August is the actual date of independence, in 1963 the official national celebration was moved to 1 October, a more practical time for national ceremonies and public participation after the summer holiday period. This is why we celebrate Cyprus Independence Day on 1 October today.
With independence also came the flag of the new Republic. Designed by Turkish Cypriot artist İsmet Güney, it carries the map of the whole island in copper colour, with two olive branches beneath it symbolising peace. It remains a powerful symbol of one island, one Republic and the hope for peace.
Independence was a compromise and not the Enosis that many who participated in the struggle had hoped for. The agreements created a complex constitutional arrangement between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities, with Greece, Turkey and Britain becoming guarantor powers and Britain retaining its sovereign military bases.
Nevertheless, after a long history of foreign rule, Cyprus was finally an independent Republic.
The years that followed were not easy.
The new Republic faced serious political and constitutional difficulties and, only fourteen years after independence, Cyprus experienced the tragedy of 1974, the coup against President Archbishop Makarios followed by the Turkish invasion.
The consequences of 1974 remain with us today. Cyprus remains divided and many Cypriots remain displaced from their homes and properties.
Therefore, when we celebrate Independence Day, we do so with both pride and reflection.
We celebrate the independence, sovereignty and achievements of the Republic of Cyprus, while continuing to hope and work for the day when our island and its people can once again be reunited in peace and security.
We continue to advocate for a just and lasting solution to the Cyprus problem, in accordance with international law and the relevant United Nations resolutions, that respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus and provides a peaceful future for all Cypriots.
Despite everything Cyprus has endured, we should also take great pride in what our small country has achieved.
Cyprus recovered from the devastation of 1974, rebuilt its economy and developed into a modern European democracy. Today the Republic of Cyprus is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth and the European Union, with an increasingly important role in our region and internationally.
For those of us in Australia and New Zealand, this anniversary also reminds us of our own story.
Thousands of Cypriots came to Australia and New Zealand, many with very little, and through hard work built new lives for themselves and their families. At the same time, they never forgot Cyprus.
They established our communities, churches, schools and organisations and passed on their culture, language, traditions and love for Cyprus to their children and grandchildren.
We owe a great deal to that generation.
Our responsibility now is to make sure that connection continues with our younger generations. We want our children and grandchildren not simply to know where Cyprus is, but to understand its history, to visit it, to love it and to feel that Cyprus is also part of their story.
Across Australia and New Zealand, our communities will again mark Independence Day with church services, flag-raising ceremonies, cultural events and community celebrations.
On behalf of the Federation, PASEKA and NEPOMAK Australia, we congratulate and thank all our member communities, their presidents, committees, volunteers and young people who continue to keep Cyprus and our heritage alive.
As we celebrate 66 years of the Republic of Cyprus, we remember those who struggled for freedom, those who sacrificed their lives, those who defended the Republic and all those who have worked over the generations to build the Cyprus we know today.
We should be proud of how far Cyprus has come, without forgetting how much remains to be achieved.
Χρόνια Πολλά Κύπρος.
Long live the Republic of Cyprus.
Professor Andreas Evdokiou
President, Federation of Cyprus Communities of Australia and New Zealand
Tony Kyriacou
President, PASEKA
Andreas Nicola
President, NEPOMAK Australia
Issued jointly on behalf of the Federation of Cyprus Communities of Australia and New Zealand, PASEKA and NEPOMAK Australia, representing Cypriot communities and organisations across Australia and New Zealand.
#Κύπρος Cyprus Community of South Australia Inc Cyprus Community of the NT Cyprus Community of Canberra and ACT Cypriot Community of Wollongong Cyprus Community Northern Suburbs Melbourne Cyprus Community of Melbourne and Victoria Cypriot Community of WA Cypriot Community Association of Queensland Cyprus community of New Zealand Cyprus Community Youth of South Australia
