Thousands of Greeks and non-Greeks from around the world attended Kallimarmaro on Monday June 24, to honour Greek music composer Mikis Theodorakis, in a spectacular concert.
The concert was attended by the composer himself, the President of the Republic; Prokopios Pavlopoulos, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and president of ‘Elpida’; Marianna Vardinoyannis, Greek composer Stavros Xarchakos, actors, artists, sport executives, Olympians and fans of Theodorakis.
Upon Theodorakis' arrival at the stage, the great artist received a warm prolonged applause and standing ovation from attendees.
Two hundred outstanding artists, musicians and singers from the various choirs performed Theodorakis’ musical masterpieces and most loved songs. The concert reflected the particularly difficult period Greece has endured and borrows its title from one of Theodorakis’ popular songs, “You are Greek! What you were, you will be once again”.
From the front row wearing a white suit, the legendary Greek composer excitedly watched the concert and was seen singing along from the first song performed on the night which was "Είσαι Έλληνας".
The event was presented by Greek television actor Grigoris Valtinos, Greek actress Karyofyllia Karabeti and Greek actor Ieroklis Michaelidis.
The voices of the many performers and the crowd singing in the stadium where the first modern Olympic Games occurred, was heard all over Athens.
Participating artists included Themis Adamantidis, Rita Antonopoulou, Calliope Vetta, Eleni Vitali, Doros Dimosthenous, Peggy Zina, Giannis Zouganelis, Pandelis Thalassinos, Antonis Kalogiannis, Stamatis Kokotas, Vasilis Lekkas, Manolis Mitosis, Dimitris Mpasis, Giannis Bezos, Giota Negka, Lakis Papadopoulos, Sofia Papazoglou, Miltos Paschalides, Antonis Remos, Iro, Paschalis Tonios, Lakis Chalkias, Zülfü Livaneli and Arja Saijonmäa.
The "Mikis Theodorakis" Folk Orchestra, choir of the Municipality of Athens, Dimitris Typaldos' Children Choir and the choir of Stefanos Kardiolakas accompanied the guest singers and soloists.
All the performers sung with passion for a truely unforgettable summer night. In particular, Vasilis Lekkas before singing "Της ξενιτιάς" made a special speech thanking Theodorakis for his contrition in the music industry and invited everyone in the Panathenaic stadium to stand up, dance and sing from heart, which he also did. Dimitris Mpasis also put on an extraordinary performance singing "Θα σημάνουν οι καμπάνες", with every musical note flowing through the attendees body, while they too sung the words which came deep from their soul and heart.
A portion of all proceeds was donated to “ELPIDA” Association of Friends of Children with Cancer.
Mikis Theodorakis' music will never stop in our hearts.
*Watch a snippet of the performance here-
*Image credit: Eurokinissi
