Greek American Group Tells Peloton to Pull Varosha Ride

A Greek American advocacy group wants Peloton to pull its Halloween-themed Varosha ride, saying it turns an abandoned Cypriot city into a spooky backdrop for exercise.

The Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC) wants the 15-minute Varosha ride removed from the Halloween collection and its promotions immediately, executive director Endy Zemenides said.

HALC also wants a public apology to the displaced residents of Varosha and their families. It wants the US fitness company to review how it chooses content and stop presenting communities living with war and displacement as holiday entertainment.

“Varosha is not a fictional ghost town or a spooky tourist attraction,” HALC said. It is “a real community in Cyprus, whose residents were forced to flee during Turkey’s 1974 invasion,” the group said.

Read more: Christodoulides Accuses Erdoğan of ‘Maximum Hypocrisy’ Over Cyprus at UN

More than 52 years later, displaced families still cannot return to their homes, the group said. Instead of a setting for a Halloween workout, the empty streets stand as a reminder of displacement and injustice, it said.

Varosha ride sparks petition

HALC has launched an online petition urging Peloton to remove the Varosha ride and apologise.

“Peloton has a global audience. It also has a responsibility not to turn the suffering of displaced families into a seasonal gimmick,” the group said.

On X, Zemenides said “Varosha is not a haunted amusement park.” Its abandoned homes, hotels and streets “are not Halloween props,” he said.

If the New York company wants to keep the Varosha ride, it could open with an introductory note explaining why the city emptied, Zemenides said. Alternatively, it could take riders through the Akamas Peninsula, the Troodos Mountains or the Paphos coast, he said.

A city fenced off since 1974

Before 1974, Varosha was the modern tourist quarter of Famagusta. In fact, it drew stars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and Brigitte Bardot.

Its Greek Cypriot residents fled during the Turkish invasion that year. Since then, the Turkish army has kept most of the area fenced off under an illegal occupation.

In 1984, UN Security Council Resolution 550 called any attempt to settle Varosha by people other than its inhabitants inadmissible. It also called for the transfer of the area to UN administration.

A bi-communal heritage committee finished restoring the Saint Paraskevi church in Kato Varosha, Famagusta, in March 2025. Separately, Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides challenged Turkey’s president at the United Nations in September over the occupation.

Source: Kathimerini

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