Have you ever thought about walking across the Strait of Sicily? Or walking from the coast of Portugal all the way to Cyprus? Now, thanks to the DesirMED Giant Interactive Map, it will be possible.
As part of Mediterranean Coast Day 2026, which will take place in Larnaca this year, the first DesirMED Adaptation Festival, “The Mediterranean We Desire”, will be held on 25 and 26 September.
Among the initiatives planned for the event, a spectacular DesirMED Giant Interactive Map will be set up in Europa Square in Larnaca on 26 September.
Created thanks to a remarkable 15-year-long project by Giant Interactive Maps, the map measures 17 metres by 9.5 metres — covering an area of 161.5 square metres — and showcases the beauty and diversity of the Mediterranean like never before. And there will be no need to view it on a screen or from above a table: visitors will literally be able to walk across it.
Every point on the map features a Nature-based Solution, an ecosystem, or a species, developed jointly by the eight DesirMED regions, the Cypriot hosting partners — CMMI (Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute) and the Cyprus Energy Agency — and the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation, and assessed against the IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions.
A true journey into the heart of the Mediterranean… on foot!