This Christmas, Athens is transformed into a magical destination, with lots of lights, rhythm, actions and events for everyone.
An endless celebration that this year “spreads” in 76 locations throughout the city, starting on December 7, 2019 and lasting for a whole month. Sixty artistic groups have undertaken to fill the capital with Christmas melodies and contemporary sounds. Fifty concerts will take place in various locations within the capital as well as many pop-up events, sixty activities for the whole family, three open air screenings, a pop-up museum, a fairytale village, a light trail, impressive projection mappings & countless surprises!
The Mayor of Athens, Mr. Kostas Bakoyannis, on Tuesday, December 10, 2019, in a spectacular evening hosted by Zeta Makrypoulia. The dynamic show woman Elena Paparizou, Idra Kayne with her wonderful voice and the promising Ian Stratis accompanied by the Athens Big Band, will entice us with their special performances, while the Batala Atenas percussion group will set the pace. The highlight of the evening will be the dazzling 3D projection mapping in the building of the Greek Parliament, an unprecedented experience that we will have the opportunity to live for the first time in our country. Bright colours, intense scenery and impressive architectural transformations will dress the historic building in a unique way and will fill us with emotions and images.
A bright… surprise awaits us if we pass by the pedestrian street of Dionysiou Areopagitou. Athens Digital Arts Festival presents, for the first time, a Christmas Light Festival in festive Athens with original interactive art installations, Christmas trees and stars, a colorful forest of pixels, magic mistletoe and more… At the same time, the festive decoration of the city is harmoniously complemented by the impressive tree with butterflies and bright angels, unique works of art that we already know and which have been curated by the scenographer Manolis Pantelidakis.
And of course, celebrations without music are not celebrations! That’s why more than 50 pop-up events, concerts and dance shows will take place every day throughout the city – even in the most unexpected places. New, up-and-coming and established bands and artists, along with dance groups, promise to get us well into the festive mood and entice us with their fun, brio and joy. Central to the musical events of the celebrations is the stage of Syntagma Square, where the most beloved names of the Greek scene will perform, including Tamta, Onirama, Tonis Sfinos, Myronas Stratis, Marina Satti &fonés, Polkar, MC Yinka & the Fuzics and many more…
The opening of the musical events at Syntagma will be the Glasshouse project “We play your wish!”, an original jukebox made of… glass. Famous DJs and the most beloved radio producers of the most beloved radio stations, along with two DJ guests, Dutchman Jochen Miller and Xenia Ghali, are teaming up for a good cause, on December 21 and 22.
From 12 December, some of the most famous and much-photographed exhibits of the Museum of Illusions Athens are set up in a pop-up museum to transport us from the city centre to a world of… Christmas illusions and make us wonder how our perception of reality is influenced by science, vision, perspective and the stimuli the human brain receives.
And since Christmas is a period of the year exclusively dedicated to children, but also for those who feel like children, from December 7, a series of very special activities for our little friends and the whole family, art workshops, storytelling and children’s performances will take place at the Museums, Libraries, the Art Gallery, the Cultural Centre, the Anna & Maria Kalouta”, the Creative Learning Centres and the Children’s Playgrounds of OPANDA, to spread endless children’s smiles…
But also in Klathmonos Square, Christmas becomes… Fairytale Christmas, with the signature of the creator C. Δ. Lebesse. From 21 December, the most beloved heroes come to life and share joy, while fairy tales, musical events and many other happenings await children and adults every day.
On December 24th, the sky at Kotzia Square is filled with the traditional lanterns of the Night of Wishes, while young and old alike “light up” the city with our wishes and enjoy an impressive audiovisual show by the Athens Digital Arts Festival with the City Hall as a backdrop.
And for big screen lovers, from 27 to 29 December, the junction of Ermou and Asomaton streets in Thiseion will be transformed into a super cozy outdoor cinema, in collaboration with the Premiere Nights.
The festivities will culminate -as expected- on New Year’s Eve where we will bid farewell to 2019 and welcome the new year with optimism, with an impressive show in Syntagma Square, together with the Mayor of Athens, Mr. Kostas Bakoyannis, and the hosts of the evening were Themis Georgantas and the Nadia Boule. Lots of music, fun, dancing, lights, fireworks and glamour make up an audiovisual extravaganza, in which glamorous personalities of the domestic scene will star. Demy, the Ivi Adamou, Josephine and the dance group Wolves. The role of headliners will be taken by MELISSES, the most successful band of Greek music, famous for its live performances, promising us a night that we will definitely remember even after 2020. But the party will continue afterwards with a frenetic DJ set.
So let’s feel the magic of Christmas! The municipality of Athens, prepared a rich program with the signature of the Agency for Culture, Sports & Youth (OPANDA) and Technopolis and invites us, for a whole month, to be carried away by music, to become heroes in the festive fairy tale, to share wishes and love, to embrace our loved ones, to enjoy a different Athens, to experience the city as we have never experienced it before…
