During the ceremony, Tatar announced that the ghost town of Varosha, which had been sealed off during the 1974 conflict after the flight of its Greek Cypriot population, would be partially reopened on 8 October. This would involve the reopening of a couple of avenues and the beach for the public to visit. Erdoğan stated his support for the move and said that the infrastructure work required would be completed swiftly.