Dodgem cars gathering dust. A dismembered children’s teacup ride. A roller coaster whose coasting days are over.
Welcome to Lucky Star Park in Cyprus where there’s no need to buy a ticket – because the rides have come to a complete stop. For good.
The distant echoes of laughter have long faded away at the abandoned funfair, located in Larnaca.
A post on the park’s Facebook page announced the fair was ‘closed due to renovations’ in June 2019. But no updates have been announced since, while the fair’s website has been taken down.
French photographer Dimitri Bourriau, 40, ventured to the site to record the dusty detritus of the park for posterity, producing a captivating collection of images.
Recalling his visit, he told how he was struck by how intact the rides were and said this could be explained ‘by the fact that it is on an island’, which ‘complicates the transport and resale of the attractions’. Scroll down to see Dimitri’s photographs of this fascinating faded funfair…
This smiley caterpillar roller coaster is among the rides photographed by Dimitri Bourriau during his visit to the abandoned Lucky Star Park in Larnaca, Cyprus. It once, presumably, earned thrills of excitement from children riding in its carriages, but now stands motionless
‘I was able to take very interesting shots, particularly for attractions that were not on the ground such as hot air balloons or swing attractions (like the one pictured above) that can be found at fairgrounds,’ Dimitri explained
LEFT: This image shows what could 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 its closure in the summer of 2019. ‘I have several photos that I particularly like of the place,’ he told MailOnline Travel. ‘I really like the hot air balloon ride (pictured) and the caterpillar’
The abandoned fairground is located near the northern coast of Cyprus, explains Dimitri. ‘It is in the Greek part of the island, like the majority of my Cypriot explorations’
This picture shows a pair of dodgems at Lucky Star Park, which have been left to gather dust
Dimitri said he discovered the site of the former amusement park ‘via local press articles that talked about its opening, then its closure’. RIGHT: This image shows an abandoned Daytona USA arcade game and is Dimitri’s favourite of the collection because it is ‘a game that I played as a child’, he said, adding: ‘During my visit, the sky was cloudless and the colours of the arcade machine matched the sky very well. There is a very Californian side to this shot’
For this photo project, Dimitri said he was ‘particularly motivated’ by the state of the amusement park. ‘Many parks, once bankrupt, sell and dismantle their attractions in order to replenish their coffers,’ he explained
A children’s teacup ride lies dismembered on the ground in this photo
The weather was ‘very pleasant’ during Dimitri’s trip to the old fairground, which he said allowed him to ‘explore the attractions left abandoned in the field’
Dimitri said the more he progressed, ‘the more he discovered’. He added: ‘It was impressive, and there was a very nostalgic side, because I imagined the children 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 is quite rare to find such a complete park, as they are often looted or dismantled after they close,’ said Dimitri. The fact that it’s 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 foreign tourists being the main driving force behind the park’
‘I stayed more than four hours in the park as there was no surveillance, so I was able to do handheld and tripod [photos], and also use my drone,’ Dimitri explained
Behold the carriages of another fairground ride at 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 towns’, he said. The access road, he added, ‘belongs to the park so it is poorly maintained now’
French photographer Dimitri has 58,000 followers on Instagram
To see more of Dimitri’s work visit his Instagram page and his website – https://www.jahzdesign.com.
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