Premiere on 9 April for an important documentary,
on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Hotel.
The official premiere of the documentary entitled: “150 Years of Great Britain: History in History”, directed by Theodoris Papadoulakis and produced by Indigo View. The choice of the date was not accidental, as it coincided with the 150th anniversary of the 9th of April 1874, when the businessmen Savvas Kentros and Efstathios Lampsas signed the official contract to jointly operate the Hotel Megal Britannia.
The Minister of Tourism, Olga Kefalogianni, representing the President of the Greek Government, noted in her address: “Great Britain is a hotel-institution that has associated its name with the highest quality standards and has become synonymous with refined hospitality. It is part of the history of Athens, a landmark for the city, it has historically contributed to the shaping of its identity, it has been associated with the great events, the glorious and the difficult moments of modern Greek history. Great Britain is a constant of beauty and quality. An emblematic symbol of hospitality of the Greek capital. An Athenian “ark” of high aesthetics“.
Chloe Laskaridi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of LAMPSA S.A., said.Great Britain is not just a historic hotel. As the documentary shows, it is an institution identified with the history of the country. It is also one of the few hotels in Europe that celebrate such an important anniversary and it is a great honour for us that this occasion finds us in the management of the hotel and the LAMPSA Company. Many thanks to all the film’s contributors, but also to all the guests who responded to our invitation to celebrate together the special occasion of 150 years of operation“.
Bringing the story to life with the voice of Pavlos Tsima, who was the chief editor and narrator, and with music composed by Minos Matsas, the film highlights the timeless relationship between Great Britain and the development of Athens: “In the historic shadow of the Parthenon, 150 years ago, a Hotel is writing its own history. In the salons of Great Britain the heart of the city beat. In its rooms legendary figures were hosted, in its corridors the fate of Greece was played and decided many times and under its windows History paraded…”.
The script, signed by Natasha Segou, presents the testimonies of personalities, such as the historian and author of the book “Great Britain – A Hotel-Symbol” Angelos F. Vlachos, the Former Managing Director, former Vice President of LAMPSA Greek Hotels Company AE and great-grandson of Efstathios Lampsa Apostolos Doxiadis, the journalist and writer Nikos Vatopoulos, Queen Anne Marie, the Professor of Economic and Social History of the University of Athens Costas Kostis, the Shipowner & Major shareholder of the Greek Hotel Company LAMPSA SA Thanasis Laskaridis and Chloe Laskaridis, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Greek Hotels Company LAMPSA S.A.
The premiere was attended by important personalities from the world of politics, hospitality, shipping, media and art, including former Prime Ministers Costas Simitis and Panagiotis Pikrammenos, the Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports Kyriakos Pierrakakis, the Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni, the Member of Parliament and former Commissioner to the European Union Dimitris Avramopoulos, MP Sevi Voloudaki, the Mayor of Athens Harris Doukas, the former Vice President of the Greek Government Evangelos Venizelos, the former Ministers Tasos Giannitsis, Yannis Papathanasiou and Andreas Loverdos, the former Commissioner to the European Union Maria Damanaki, the former Chief of the General Staff of the National Defence Staff Konstantinos Floros, the Secretary General of the Hellenic Council of Europe, the former Chief of the General Staff of the National Defence Staff Konstantinos Floros, the former Secretary General of the Hellenic Council of Ministers, the former Minister of Defence of the European Union Maria Damanaki, the former Chief of the General Staff of the National Defence Staff Konstantinos Floros, the former Secretary General of the Hellenic Council of the Hellenic Republic.O.T. Dimitris Fragakis, the President of Marriott International for Europe, Middle East and Africa Satya Anand and the Chief Operation Officer of Marriot International for Europe Gonzalo Aguilar, the President of Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air Eftihios Vassilakis, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of TEMES SA Achilleas V. Konstantinopoulos, Queen Anne-Marie with Prince Nikolaos, actress Mimi Denisi, businesswoman Mareva Grabovski-Mitsotaki and many more.After the evening, Great Britain welcomed hundreds of guests to its premises, in a spectacular event with musical and dance performances and songs from different decades, with the voice of singer Olga Veneti.
The two-time Michelin-starred Executive Chef of Great Britain, Asterios Koustoudis, based on the rich culinary history of the hotel, won the impressions with his inspired compositions of dishes, both in terms of taste and presentation. Exclusively for the event, utensils from the hotel’s collection dating back to 1900 were used to set up the lavish buffet, which included dishes from the 1950’s Great Britain recipe book.
The documentary “150 Years of Great Britain: History in History” will be screened soon by ERT. The film and screening took place as part of the hotel’s annual 150th Anniversary celebrations, entitled “150 Years of Great Britain: Always Grand”.
