Olympus Festival (Greek: Φεστιβάλ Ολύμπου)[1][2] is an annual festival of music and theatre and a major cultural event in Greece. It is the largest event of its kind in northern Greece and takes place annually in the months of July and August. The aim is to provide both, the local population and tourists, with cultural entertainment and thus to promote the contact between different cultures and the tourism of the region. The festival is supported by the Greek Ministry of Culture and the former municipality of Dion, as well as by other local authorities in Pieria.

Classical concert at Dion

Organisation

The Festival is organized by Festival Olympou (OR.FE.O), (Οργανισμό Φεστιβάλ Ολύμπου (OΡ.ΦΕ.O)),[3][4] based in Katerini.[1] It is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of Greek and international culture, as well as the promotion of tourism in Northern Greece. It is represented by a nine member Management Board, elections are held every three years.

OR.FE.O cooperates with the state theaters in Athens and Thessaloniki.[5][6] Furthermore, contacts to private theaters and artist organizations are cultivated. It is also important to develop and maintain the network of foreign artists and cultural organizations abroad. This way combinations come to be, such as the performance of the Swan Lake ballet at the 2016 Festival, where professional dancers from Russia performed together with the pupils of local ballet schools.

The funding of the festival is mainly supported by donations, and the sale of the tickets. In the years 2011–2013 the financing of the event was ensured by the European Union. Occasionally, the Greek state helps with the financing of the festival operation.

Many Greek singers, actors and actresses took part at the Olympus Festival during its 45 years (as of 2017) of operation. Famous Greek artists like Maria Farantouri, Mario Frangoulis, George Dalaras, Nana Mouskouri, Haris Alexiou, Anna Synodinou, Antigone Valakou, Thimios Karakatsanis, Dimitris Mitropanos and many others have appeared at the Olympus Festival.

History

Choir at Kontariotissa

The first Olympos Festival took place in 1972. Since 2010, the Olympus Festival has been cooperating with a guest country of honor. The aim is to deepen the friendship between Greece and the guest country and to present its cultural peculiarities. Some of the festival's events are reserved for artists of this country. The film is increasingly used as a medium to bring the public closer to the culture of the honored country.

The Countries of honor since 2010:

Program

Performance at the Acropolis of Ancient Leivithra

The program includes:

  • Ballet[17][8]
  • Classical concerts
  • Classical comedies and tragedies from Hellenistic times[18][9]
  • Theatre[19][9]
  • Choirs[20][9]
  • Traditional Greek music.[21][9]
  • Performances of modern music.[22][9]
  • Free guided tours of the archaeological parks of Dion and Leivithra.[23][9]
  • Archaeological information events, with specific focus topics or the reference to new finds in the excavation sites.[24][9]

As indicated by the data the education of audience was above average, that mainly women attend the events, and the regular access area from which visitors came from Thessaloniki, Larissa to Kozani.

Venues

Concert at Dion
  • Dion, Greek theater. It dates back to the Hellenistic era. Here, about 2400 years ago, the Bakchen of Euripides were premiered.
  • Leivithra, archaeological park. The singer and poet Orpheus was said to have lived here.
  • Pydna, Excavation Site. Here, 168 BC., the Macedonian king Perseus lost the decisive battle against the Roman invaders.
  • Castle of Platamonas. A building from Byzantine times, erected on the hill on which also the position of the ancient city Herakleion is suspected.
  • Byzantine Church of the Holy Mother, Kontariotissa. The church was built on existing, much older, foundations about 1000 years ago.

Other venues are: The amphitheater in the Litochoro Park, the Olympus National Park Information Center in Litochoro and the Center of Mosaic Art in Dion.[25]

Sources

  • "Identity of the Olympus Festival – Organization Festival Olympou (OR.FE.O), Katerini, Greece" (PDF). Organization Festival Olympou (OR.FE.O). Retrieved 1 January 2023 – via Dropbox.

References

  1. 1 2 "Olypmus Festival". festivalolympou.gr (in Greek and English).
  2. ↑ Evangelos Kardamitsis (16 July 2015). "The Olympus Festival: A Summit of Art and Culture". greektv.com. Archived from the original on 23 January 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Pictures which concern from a concert in a city of Northern Greece – Ancient Theatre of Dion, Olympus Festival" (in Greek). 13 August 2020. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Cancelled the concerts of the Olympus Festival 2020" (in Greek). 14 August 2020. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023.
  5. ↑ "National Theatre of Greece" (in Greek and English).
  6. ↑ "National Theatre of Northern Greece" (in Greek and English).
  7. ↑ "43rd Olympus Festival 2014" (PDF) (in Greek). 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 May 2023.
  8. 1 2 "45th Olympus Festival 2016" (PDF) (in Greek). 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 May 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "46th Olympus Festival 2017" (PDF) (in Greek). 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 January 2023.
  10. ↑ "47th Olympus Festival 2018" (PDF) (in Greek). 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 May 2023.
  11. ↑ "48th Olympus Festival 2019" (PDF) (in Greek). 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 May 2023.
  12. ↑ "Παρουσιάστηκε το πρόγραμμα του 49ου Φεστιβάλ Ολύμπου - Τι περιλαμβάνει" [Presented the program of the 49th Olympus Festival - What it includes] (in Greek). 12 July 2020. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023.
  13. ↑ "50th Olympus Festival 2021" (PDF) (in Greek). 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 May 2023.
  14. ↑ "51th Olympus Festival 2022" (PDF) (in Greek). 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 May 2023.
  15. ↑ "India honored country at the Olympus Festival in 2023". 29 March 2022. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023.
  16. ↑ "Η Ινδια τιμώμενη χώρα του Φεστιβάλ Ολύμπου το 2023 (Την Πιερία επισκέφθηκε αρμόδιος σύμβουλος της πρεσβείας)" [The Indian country of honor of the Olympus Festival 2023 (A competent advisor of the embassy visited Pieria)] (in Greek). Archived from the original on 1 May 2023.
  17. ↑ Schwanensee, Program Olympus Festival 2016
  18. ↑ Lysistrata, Aristophanes, Ancient Dion, Program Olympus Festival 6 August 2017
  19. ↑ Zorbas, Ancient Dion, Program Olympus Festival 30 July 2017
  20. ↑ Moon, Sea and Love, Olympus National Park Information Center, Program Olympus Festival 26 July 2017
  21. ↑ Magic moon - you are making me..., Pydna, Program Olympus Festival 7 August 2017
  22. ↑ A tout Sax, Litochoro, Program Olympus Festival 26 August 2017
  23. ↑ Archaeological walk with Eleni Benaki, Program Olympus Festival 15 July 2017
  24. ↑ Archaeologists inform about northern Pieria, Pydna, Program Olympus Festival 25 August 2017
  25. ↑ "Olympus Festival - Locations". Archived from the original on 1 May 2023.

40°16′12″N 22°30′35″E / 40.269873°N 22.509787°E / 40.269873; 22.509787

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