Peloton has removed a Halloween-themed cycling ride through Varosha, Cyprus, and apologized after the Hellenic American Leadership Council protested the use of a community displaced by war as seasonal entertainment.
“We deeply apologize for the offense caused by this content,” a company spokesperson told Kathimerini, which published the response Saturday, Oct. 31. The spokesperson described the decision as an oversight, confirmed that the content had been removed and said Peloton was strengthening its editorial review checks.
The 15-minute “Varosha Ride” appeared in the fitness company’s Halloween lineup with an Oct. 28 release date, according to the schedule published by Pelo Buddy. It offered a virtual cycling experience through the abandoned district of Famagusta, whose Greek Cypriot residents fled during Turkey’s 1974 invasion.
HALC: “Varosha is not a Halloween attraction”
The Greek American advocacy organization, known as HALC, organized a signature campaign titled “Tell Peloton: Varosha Is Not a Halloween Attraction.” Its appeal focused on the families who lost their homes and remain unable to return to live there.
“The displacement of thousands of Cypriot families is not entertainment,” the petition says. It asks readers to imagine fleeing the streets where they grew up or raised their children, then seeing those places presented as spooky entertainment more than 50 years later.
HALC’s objection centered on the Halloween framing of the ride. The group emphasized that Varosha’s abandoned homes, hotels and streets had once supported families and businesses, and that their emptiness resulted from war and displacement.
“There is nothing entertaining about families being unable to return to their homes,” the petition states. It called on Peloton to immediately remove the Varosha ride from Halloween-themed programming.
The independent Peloton news site The Clip Out separately reported that a 30-minute Halloween ride led by instructor Bradley Rose had also disappeared from the company’s on-demand library. That workout included Varosha footage alongside other locations.
The history behind Varosha’s abandoned streets
Before 1974, Varosha was a busy seaside resort district. After its residents fled the Turkish invasion, the area was fenced off under Turkish military control, leaving homes and tourist facilities abandoned for decades.
Parts of Varosha reopened to visitors in 2020, but tourist access did not restore the displaced community. The future of the district and its residents’ properties remains unresolved.
The U.N. Security Council condemned a further partial reopening announced by Turkish and Turkish Cypriot leaders in 2021. It reaffirmed that Varosha should be transferred to U.N. administration and that settlement by people other than its inhabitants was unacceptable.
In Resolution 2815, adopted in 2026, the council again called for the reversal of steps taken in Varosha since October 2020 and expressed regret that its earlier demands had not been heeded.
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