Greek NTO renews EMEA sponsorship of CNN's program

The Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO) will sponsor CNN International’s feature programme ‘The Screening Room’ for the second year, it was announced yesterday (3 April). The advertising partnership will be executed across CNN International’s Europe, the Middle East and Africa feeds and will be complemented by a spot campaign on CNN Asia Pacific. Online presence includes GNTO sponsorship of several elements including ‘The Screening Room’ microsite within CNN.com/international, a twice weekly video podcast of exclusive-to-web footage and an online consumer competition. GNTO will also sponsor a tune-in campaign for ‘The Screening Room’ to run across online and print media.

The ongoing collaboration builds on the Greek National Tourism’s decade-long advertising relationship with CNN International and is part of the tourism body’s strategy to build Greece’s profile with CNN’s elite global audience.

Commenting on the deal, Rani R. Raad, Senior Vice President of Ad Sales at CNN International, said, “This renewal with the Greek National Tourism Organisation underscores the success of our 2007 partnership around The Screening Room in delivering on their objectives. This multi-media package enables the client to reach their target audience across a range of platforms.”

“We are honoured to renew our partnership with CNN, a global icon and one of most powerful news environments for advertisers. We expect that through the sponsorship of “The Screening Room”, CNN’s elite audience will discover the true experience of Greece” said Mr. Athanasios Oikonomou, President of GNTO. “Sponsorship of ‘The Screening Room’ underscores our strategy of spotlighting Greece as a world class filming destination and developing alliances with international calibre film industry professionals”

The Greek National Tourism’s sponsorship includes sponsor billboards attached to ‘The Screening Room’ television and web programming and a branded promotional campaign in major international media titles driving viewer tune-in to the show. The video podcast, online from 7th April and available for download via i-Tunes, will showcase exclusive footage including interviews, out takes and behind the scenes footage.

‘The Screening Room’ is CNN International’s monthly half-hour movie show. Hosted by British television personality Myleene Klass, the show brings viewers the inside track on all aspects of the film making business around the globe.

Cyprus’ New Crossing Meets Trouble

(AP) NICOSIA, Cyprus - Greek and Turkish Cypriot authorities reopened the divided capital’s Ledra Street on Thursday, but were forced to close it for nearly two hours following a dispute over how to police the street, long considered a symbol of the island’s partitioning.

The opening of the street, located in a central Nicosia shopping district, was meant to serve as a catalyst for peace negotiations between Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat.

But the festive atmosphere quickly soured after the crossing was temporarily closed.

Stefanos Stefanou, a spokesman for the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government, said Turkish Cypriot police illegally patrolled part of the street by entering the U.N.-controlled buffer zone.

"We have been very clear that violations cannot be tolerated," Stefanou told The Associated Press.

The closure ended after scores of protesters gathered on both sides, chanting "Cyprus belongs to its people," and U.N. officials mediated between rival police forces.

"After consultations with the U.N., we have been given assurances that this will not happen again," said Kypros Michailidis, Nicosia’s Greek Cypriot police chief.

There was no immediate comment from Turkish Cypriot officials.

The brief closure contrasted with the opening ceremony earlier Thursday, when officials from both sides of the divide cut the ribbons of colored helium balloons to mark the occasion. Crews had swept away debris, repaved the street, installed lighting and reinforced abandoned buildings along the 230-foot stretch of Ledra Street that runs through a U.N. controlled buffer zone.

"We managed to turn the world’s attention on us today, and hours later we’ve managed to mess things up," said protester Valentina Sofocleous, who headed a citizens’ campaign to reopen Ledra Street.

"This is absurd, but we believe it’s a problem that will be overcome and that Greek and Turkish Cypriots will live together."

The street in the center of Nicosia’s medieval quarter was split in 1964 during an outbreak of communal fighting when British peacekeepers laid barbed wire between the street’s Greek and Turkish Cypriot sectors.

Ten years later, the entire island was divided after Turkey’s army invaded after a failed coup aimed at uniting the island with Greece.

Turkish Cypriots relaxed boundary restrictions in 2003, and since then five other crossings have opened. But ID cards or passports are still needed to move between the two sides.

Hopes of reaching a settlement in Cyprus were given a boost earlier this year with the election of Christofias, who replaced a hard-liner and pledged to restart talks with Talat. The two agreed to open Ledra Street during their first meeting last month.

Both men have also agreed to end a four-year stalemate in peace talks and are preparing for full-fledged negotiations.

Christofias said the next step was to agree on pulling back soldiers manning guard posts on either side of the buffer zone inside the capital’s center that is ringed by 16th Century Venetian walls.

He also said he would try to open another crossing point near Limnitis in the island’s remote northwest.

Some officials had warned against being overly optimistic during the opening ceremony.

"The road has opened, but the bullet-pocked buildings remind us that there is still a long way to go," Nicosia Mayor Eleni Mavrou said during the initial celebrations.

"Time will tell whether this road will become the avenue for reunification."