Dorota Gardias traded the Polish winter for Cyprus. In Paphos, she sang for the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity.

Dorota Gardias arrived in Cyprus in January 2023. The renowned weather presenter came to the island with her daughter, enjoyed the Cypriot sunshine, and shared photos from the seaside. However, this wasn't just a private winter getaway.

Gardias also appeared in Paphos, where she sang at the 31st Grand Finale of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. This may have come as a surprise to viewers accustomed to seeing her in front of a weather map. However, music has long been an important part of her life.

Dorota Gardias in Cyprus. January instead of Polish winter

At the end of January 2023, Dorota Gardias's social media began to feature photos that definitely did not resemble a Polish winter.

Sea, beach and sun – the presenter showed her followers what January is like in Cyprus.

One photo, in which she appeared on the beach in a pink swimsuit, quickly caught the attention of Polish entertainment portals. In the comments, internet users even joked about the Cypriot version of "Baywatch."

Gardias was traveling with her daughter at the time and was clearly enjoying the opportunity to relax on the Mediterranean Sea.

However, the date of departure was not accidental.

A stage was waiting for her in Paphos

On January 29, 2023, the 31st Finale of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity took place.

The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity also played in Cyprus, with the grand finale held in Paphos. Dorota Gardias was among the Polish guests.

And this time she didn't come only in the role of a popular TV personality.

She sang.

This is an important detail of this story, because it was during this period that Gardias increasingly boldly showed the audience its other, musical side.

Her participation in the Cypriot final therefore coincided with the moment when singing ceased to be just a private passion.

The Weather Girl Who Always Wanted to Sing

For many people, Dorota Gardias was, for years, one of the most recognizable weather presenters in Poland.

She has been associated with TVN since 2006. Viewers also watched her in entertainment programs. She won the ninth season of "Dancing with the Stars," competed in "Asia Express," and later appeared in "Mask Singer."

It was this last program that reminded the general public that Gardias could also sing.

However, this was not a new passion.

Music has accompanied her since childhood. She sang with her father, performed in bands, and even before her television career, she occasionally sang for money at weddings.

After turning 40, she decided she wanted to return to this dream more seriously. She began recording her own songs and appearing on stage more frequently.

She also donated her own performance to the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity.

For the 31st Grand Finale of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, Gardias prepared an unusual auction. The winner could bid on her singing performance at the wedding.

The presenter declared that she would perform three songs – either to the background music or together with the band playing during the ceremony.

The offer quickly aroused interest and even before the end of the auction, the amounts exceeded several thousand zlotys.

At the same time, Gardias herself was performing thousands of kilometers away from Poland – during the final in Paphos.

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Cyprus also showed privately

What is interesting about her Cypriot story is the combination of two completely different images of the same trip.

On the one hand there was the stage, the Polish community and the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity.

On the other hand, it was just a simple rest with my daughter, walks by the sea and photos showing what the island looks like in the middle of winter.

It was these private materials that caught the attention of the Polish media. While January was in full swing in Poland, Gardias published photographs from a Cypriot beach.

And it's hard to find a better advertisement for winter Cyprus.

There were no August heatwaves or crowded resorts. Instead, there was sea, sun, and the opportunity to spend part of January completely differently than in Poland.

From the TV studio to Paphos

Dorota Gardias came to Cyprus as one of the most recognizable faces of Polish television, but in Paphos she also showed a side of herself that was just then beginning to take on an increasingly important place in her professional life.

She sang for the Polish diaspora and the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, and later left a series of sunny postcards from the island on her social media.

Years later, these photos have another interesting dimension.

They show that Cyprus isn't always just a mid-summer vacation for Polish celebrities. Sometimes, it's enough to swap a Polish January for a few days on the Mediterranean Sea – and do something good in the process.

The material was prepared based on public materials of Dorota Gardias, archival information regarding the 31st Grand Finale of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity in Paphos, and materials from TVN, Dzień Dobry TVN and Polish media from the period of her stay in Cyprus.