Dodgem cars collect dust. A torn-up teacup ride for kids. A roller coaster whose coastal days are over.
Welcome to Lucky Star Park in Cyprus, where you don’t need to buy a ticket as the rides have come to a complete standstill. For good.
The distant echoes of laughter are long gone from the deserted fair in Larnaca.
A message about the park Facebook page announced that the fair was ‘closed for renovation work’ in June 2019. But no updates have been announced since then, while the exchange’s website has been removed.
French photographer Dimitri Bourriau40, ventured to the site to capture the park’s dusty detritus for posterity, yielding a fascinating collection of images.
Recalling his visit, he said he was struck by how intact the attractions were and said this could be explained “by the fact that it is on an island,” which “makes transportation and resale of the attractions difficult.” Scroll down to see Dimitri’s photos of this fascinating faded fair…
This smiley roller coaster is one of the attractions photographed by Dimitri Bourriau during his visit to the abandoned Lucky Star Park in Larnaca, Cyprus. Supposedly it once received thrills and excitement from children riding in the carriages, but now stands motionless
“I was able to take very interesting photos, especially of attractions that were not on the ground, such as hot air balloons or swing rides (as pictured above) found at fairgrounds,” Dimitri explained.
LEFT: This image shows what can now be described as a ‘merriless go-round’ at Lucky Star Park. RIGHT: Dimitri visited Lucky Star Park in January 2023, almost four years after it closed in the summer of 2019. “I have several photos that I particularly like of the place,” he told MailOnline Travel. ‘I really like the balloon flight (photo) and the caterpillar’
The abandoned fairground is located near the north coast of Cyprus, Dimitri explains. ‘It’s in the Greek part of the island, like most of my Cypriot explorations’
This photo shows a few bumper cars at Lucky Star Park that have been collecting dust
Dimitri said he discovered the location of the former amusement park “through local press articles talking about its opening and then its closure.” RIGHT: This image shows an abandoned arcade game from Daytona USA and is Dimitri’s favorite from the collection because it is “a game I played as a child,” he said, adding, “During my visit, the sky was cloudless and the colors of the arcade machine matched the sky very well. There is a very Californian side to this recording’
For this photo project, Dimitri said he was “particularly motivated” by the state of the amusement park. “Many parks, once they go bankrupt, sell and dismantle their attractions to replenish their coffers,” he explained.
In this photo, a child’s teacup ride lies in pieces on the ground
The weather was “very pleasant” during Dimitri’s trip to the old fairgrounds, which he said allowed him to “explore the attractions left behind in the field.”
Dimitri said that the more he progressed, “the more he discovered.” He added: “It was impressive and there was a very nostalgic side to it because I imagined the kids playing in these places. Despite a lot of dust, a little rust and lack of maintenance, they were very beautiful and in very good condition.
“It’s quite rare to find such a complete park because they are often looted or dismantled after being closed,” Dimitri said. The fact that it is intact ‘can be explained by the fact that it is on an island – this complicates the transport and resale of the attractions’
The signs at the park are all in English, according to Dimitri, who said “we can imagine that foreign tourists are the main driving force behind the park.”
“I stayed in the park for more than four hours because there was no supervision, so I was able to take photos handheld and on a tripod, and also use my drone,” Dimitri explained
See the carriages of another fairground attraction in the park, which appears to have been taken apart and left to nature
Dimitri didn’t meet anyone at the park, which is “quite far from the cities,” he said. The access road, he added, “belongs to the park and is therefore now poorly maintained.”
French photographer Dimitri has 58,000 followers on Instagram
For more of Dimitri’s work, visit his Instagram page and its website – https://www.jahzdesign.com.