Fidias Panayiotou

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Fidias Panayiotou
Φειδίας Παναγιώτου
MEP
Fidias in January 2023
Member of the European Parliament
Assumed office
15 June 2024 (2024-06-15)
ConstituencyCyprus
Personal details
Born (2000-04-10) 10 April 2000 (age 24)
Meniko, Nicosia, Cyprus[1]
CitizenshipCypriot
Political partyIndependent
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2019–present
Subscribers2.63 million[2]
Total views599 million[2]
100,000 subscribers
1,000,000 subscribers2023
Last updated: 24 June 2024

Fidias Panayiotou (Greek: Φειδίας Παναγιώτου; born 10 April 2000[3]), known mononymously as Fidias, is a Cypriot YouTuber[4] and politician who was elected as an independent MEP in the 2024 European Parliament election.[5]

Career

YouTube career

Fidias began posting videos on YouTube in 2019.[6]

On October 8, 2022, Fidias began on a mission to hug Elon Musk after having hugged 99 other celebrities.[7] While waiting outside Twitter's headquarters for Musk to appear almost everyday, he encouraged his followers to "spam" Elon's mother, Maye Musk, with his request, which she described as "malicious".[8] On January 21, 2023, Elon Musk would meet and hug Fidias in the headquarters building.[7]

In January 2023, Fidias announced on Cypriot television his intention to interview every candidate running for the 2023 Cypriot presidential election.[9] He hosted 12 out of the 14 candidates; with Nikos Christodoulides and Andreas Mavroyiannis, the two front-runners, not accepting his invitation.[10]

Fare evasion videos

In September 2023, Fidias uploaded a video of himself freeriding on the Bengaluru Metro in India.[11] The management of the train service responded that they would be filing a criminal case against him.[12]

On October 20, 2023, he continued with a video on travelling across Japan for free with three other YouTubers. He travelled on public transportation modes such as buses and trains while skipping on paying for his fare through various means, and begging for cash. He also passed himself off as a guest of a hotel that he was not staying at to help himself to its breakfast. He was criticized for his actions in the video, and made an apology video, which was subsequently deleted. YouTube also removed this video along with four others, including a 2022 video on travelling across United Kingdom for free, for violating its community guidelines.[6][13][14][15]

As of June 10, 2024, he had more than 2.6 million subscribers.[16]

Political career

European Parliament (2024–present)

Main article: 2024 European Parliament election in Cyprus § Fidias Panayiotou

In April 2024, Fidias announced his candidacy to the European Parliament, running on an anti-partisan platform[17] and stating his goal to promote youth involvement in politics.[18] He emphasised education as his priority, aiming to enhance schools by eliminating exams and promoting self-education.[19] He also acknowledged the significance of artificial intelligence and Bitcoin.[20]

Fidias finished third with 19.4% of the popular vote, securing a seat in the European Parliament.[21][22]

References

  1. ^ "Από το Μένοικο στο LA – Φειδίας Παναγιώτου" [From Meniko to LA – Fidias Panayiotou]. YouTube (in Greek). 27 January 2023. Archived from the original on 21 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b "About Fidias". YouTube.
  3. ^ Solutions, BDigital Web. "Youtube star to political contender with Elon Musk". knews.com.cy. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  4. ^ Yong, Nicholas (25 October 2023). "Fidias: YouTuber sorry for freeloading stunt video in Japan". BBC News. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  5. ^ Kades, Andria; Cleaver, Tom (9 June 2024). "Fidias in third place, exit polls show". Cyprus Mail. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  6. ^ a b Tan, Kwan Wei Kevin. "A YouTuber is getting dragged for saying he traveled across Japan for 'free' by begging and hiding in train toilets to hitch free rides". Insider. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  7. ^ a b Dodgson, Lindsay. "Elon Musk finally met the superfan who camped outside Twitter's headquarters for months hoping to hug him". Insider. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  8. ^ Lloyd, Andrew. "A YouTuber has camped outside Elon Musk's offices for 47 days to try and convince the Twitter CEO to hug him". Insider. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  9. ^ "Φειδίας Παναγιώτου: Ο Κύπριος TikToker ήρθε στο νησί για να κάνει podcast με τους υποψήφιους Προέδρους - Βίντεο". tothemaonline.com (in Greek). Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  10. ^ Έκανα Συνέντευξη σε 12/14 Υποψήφιους Προέδρους, retrieved 26 March 2024
  11. ^ "YouTuber Fidias Panayiotou lambasted for sneaking a free ride on Bengaluru Metro". The Indian Express. 23 September 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  12. ^ "YouTuber jumps Bengaluru Metro gate, BMRCL says will file criminal case". The Times of India. 24 September 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  13. ^ "Fidias: YouTuber sorry for freeloading stunt video in Japan". BBC News. 25 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  14. ^ "Fidias Panayiotou: YouTuber apologises for fare dodging, begging and eating without paying in Japan". Sky News. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  15. ^ "Railway operator investigates free-riding foreign YouTubers". The Japan Times. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  16. ^ "Fidias Panayiotou: YouTube prankster from Cyprus elected as MEP". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Υποψήφιος για να γίνει ο ίδιος η αλλαγή που θέλει, είπε ο Φειδίας Παναγιώτου". cyprustimes.com (in Greek). 24 April 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  18. ^ "YouTube prankster voted in as Cyprus MEP". BBC. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  19. ^ Netcast Zone (15 March 2024). Όλα είναι κατορθωτά - Φειδίας Παναγιώτου | YOUth Inspire E54. Retrieved 25 May 2024 – via YouTube.
  20. ^ "Υποψήφιος ευρωβουλευτής ο Φειδίας – Οι θέσεις του (ΒΙΝΤΕΟ) | News". www.sigmalive.com. 23 April 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  21. ^ "Έσπασε τα κοντέρ ο Φειδίας, κατέρριψε το ιστορικό ρεκόρ του Κασουλίδη-Πόσους ψήφους έλαβε ο κάθε Ευρωβουλευτής". Έσπασε τα κοντέρ ο Φειδίας, κατέρριψε το ιστορικό ρεκόρ του Κασουλίδη-Πόσους ψήφους έλαβε ο κάθε Ευρωβουλευτής. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  22. ^ "Τα τελικά αποτελέσματα των Ευρωεκλογών - Τα ποσοστά των κομμάτων". www.offsite.com.cy. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
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