Yet again a huge success!
The 3rd International Ayia Napa Winter Swimmers Festival took place from Saturday, 17January, to Tuesday, 20January, 2026. The four-day Festival was jointly organised by the Agia Napa Municipality and the Ayia Napa Winter Swimmers Club.
In its third edition only, this well-loved event celebrates winter swimming and promotes culture, while at the same time highlighting Agia Napa as a unique winter tourism destination.
* 278 swimmers on Sunday
* 191 guests at the Gala
dinner on Saturday
The festival started with a Gala Dinner on Saturday, 17 January, during which the guests from all over Cyprus (from as far as Paphos) met each other, enjoyed excellent food and danced until the early hours of the following morning.
The second day of the festival, Sunday, 18 January, was under the auspices of the Honorable Minister of Interior, Konstantinos Ioannou. The Makronissos Beach, despite the somewhat grey skies, welcomed more than 500 visitors, of all ages and from almost all corners of the earth (furthest of which were USA and Mongolia!), 278 of which joined in the annual swim. One of the swimmers, continuing the tradition from the very first festival, was the mayor of Agia Napa Christos Zannettos.
The day included two classes, one of Tai Chi and another of Yoga (a new event), both very well attended. The huge open mouthed shark placed on the beach was a great attraction … and not just for the young!!!
The Sand Art Competition hosted 2 teams and 3 individual artists. The judging committee consisted of the five Vice Mayors of Agia Napa.
The most courageous swimmer, for the third year running is Mrs Androulla Fragkou, who at 90, still swims all year round.
The five youngest swimmers in 2026 were:
* Twin
siblings, Chrystallia and Constantinos Alexandrou, born in November 2018
* Ioannis
Menoikou born in April 2018
* Panayiotis
Christophi born in January 2017, and
* Kyprianos
Souroulla born in February 2017
On Monday, 19 January, in the morning, we walked the very stunning Agia Napa Sculpture Park, that was inaugurated in 2014.
On Tuesday, 20 January, in the morning, seventeen swimmers swam at Pandahou Beach, another Agia Napa beautiful beach. After the swim, brunch and conversation were shared in a very friendly atmosphere. In the afternoon the Agia Napa Municipality hosted our guests from Cyprus and abroad to a guided tour of the exceptional Thalassa Museum, where all admired the replica Kyrenia II boat and the variety of marine life that one can find in the Mediterranean Sea. The festival closed with the Agia Napa Deputy Mayor Antonis Christou hosting our guests to a glass of wine.
Some more numbers …
* The biggest group of swimmers came from the Limassol District at 67
* The biggest group from a single town / village was from Xylophagou at 19
* We had visitors from
the UK (5), Switzerland, USA, France, Serbia, Mongolia!! (2 each), and 1 each
from Sweden and Italy