Bigger and new fitness stages: the ATHENS FITNESS FESTIVAL 2024 includes new types of training, both in and out of the water, as well as larger platforms along the beach. From high-intensity workouts to serene yoga sessions, you'll be able to experience a fitness experience that caters to every taste and preference. Workouts with the latest equipment technology and workout trends: Get ready to be inspired and train with the best trainers in the industry from Greece and abroad, as well as try new fitness styles such as Hybrid Race, The Challenge, Aqua Fitness, Pure Strength and more, using state-of-the-art equipment.   Interactive wellness experiences: The 2-day programme of AFF 2024 has been carefully designed to satiate participants and those who just want to watch the spectacle, with activities that nourish both body and soul against the backdrop of the magnificent landscape of Vouliagmeni. Connect and Communicate: the ATHENS FITNESS FESTIVAL is about creating a strong and supportive fitness community. This year, we are raising the bar with more opportunities to participate, connect and share your fitness journey with like-minded individuals. ATHENS FITNESS FESTIVAL 2024 is for EVERYONE and is an unforgettable experience not to be missed. Get ready for a fitness celebration like never before!

From 11.00 in the morning until late into the sunset, the SNFCC will be filled with activities in all its spaces, the festival's focus being the Great Lawn: From the Playgrounds and the Water Jets to the Mediterranean Garden, the Outdoor Games Area, the Dome and, of course, the Canal, a variety of options will be available to children and their parents.

The CEO of the Athens Municipality's Development and Tourist Promotion Company (EATA), Ioannis Georgizas, said the programme was the result of close collaboration with a number of cultural and creative groups, as well as official bodies, with a series of events taking place in parks, squares, streets, museums and cultural spaces, with a focus on sustainability. The events kick off with the Athens Urban Picnic at Akadimia Platonos on May 1, featuring live music, dj sets and a kite show, among others. They include a festival dedicated to Mother's Day on May 12, a Street Outdoors Party at Koumoundourou Square on the same day, a story telling event on May 16, a skateboarding contest on May 18, a fashion show featuring traditional costumes at the Dora Stratou Theatre on May 19, a latin music festival (La Saramuya Fiesta) on May 26 and many other activities. The events end with the Athens All Star Party in the Lycabettus parking lot on June 2.

The pre-Lent festivities will begin at 11:30 am on Tsiknopempti (March 7) with music and events around Varvakios Market, Monastiraki Square, and the surrounding streets. At 12:00 the Vakhai musical society will start performing at Syntagma Square and move through Kotzia Square to end up at Monastiraki Square. The large annual parade will take place on Sunday (March 17) in the center of the city with entertainers and musicians. Events will conclude on Clean Monday (March 18) at Filoppapou Hill, with flying of kites and 'koulouma', the celebration of the first day of Lent in the outdoors with a picnic of non-meat dishes. The Philharmonic Orchestra of Athens and the Charisma band will play music. Athens Mayor Charis Doukas said that "for 23 days every neighborhood in our city will be inundated with music, dance, song, and traditional events," inviting all "to come and participate in the joy together." The schedule is available in Greek through the following page: https://www.cityofathens.gr/apokries-stin-athina-mia-megali-karnav

The Swedish duo’s latest album, “Seeker” (2023), showcases their trademark ambient sounds, filled with layered synthesizers and intricate electronic beats. Doors open: 21:30. Pre-sale tickets are available at Viva’s more.com for 17 euros.   Gazarte Βουτάδων/Voutadon 32-34118 54Athens, Greece  

At the popular Half Note Jazz Club (17 Trivonianou, Mets), the trio will pay homage to the legendary jazz figure, Chet Baker, known for his sensitive and cool sounds. Polyzogopoulos, a prominent figure on the contemporary Greek jazz scene, will lead the performance, bringing to life some of Baker’s most beloved jazz standards. Andreas Polyzogopoulos is one of the most important new chapters in the extremely interesting contemporary Greek, and not only, jazz scene. Born in a small village of Ilia, a multi-talented artist, he started his career in music playing the guitar, until he discovered the trumpet at the age of 18. He studied jazz trumpet at the Amsterdam Conservatory, alongside names like Paolo Fresu & Markus Stockhausen! From his first steps, Andreas Polyzogopoulos showed that he is special and in 2008 he recorded his first album entitled "Perfumed Dreams" with the band Poly Quartet and won first place in the Motives For Jazz competition in Belgium. In 2010 he became a member of the European Youth Jazz Orchestra. He has recorded 5 personal albums and participated in around 60 recordings to date. In recent years, he has been touring and distinguished himself abroad, in clubs and major festivals. He has collaborated with Jaques Morelembaum, Michel Portal, Tony Lakatos, Gunter “Baby” Sommer, Mode Plagal, Psarantoni, Savina Giannatou, Maria Farandouri, Dulce Pontes, Dimitris Kalantzi, Vangelis Katsoulis, Giorgos Kontrafouris, Takis Barberis, Than. Papakonstantinou et al. A characteristic feature of Andreas Polyzogopoulos is the constant search for the new, without the fear of risk. A look at his discography testifies to this with the acoustic and successful Pink Floyd tribute album followed by the ambient and electric album “One Inch of Love”. The European sound of jazz is the area that Andreas Polyzogopoulos feels most familiar and familiar with, with influences from Frezu, Rava, N. P. Molvær etc. considering equally important in music, rhythm and also ..silence! The three top musicians approach the sensitive and cool sound of Chet Baker, playing some of his favorite jazz standards and in the special format without drums (!), as preferred by Chet Baker himself in the last decade of his life.  Andreas Polyzogopoulos – trumpet Kostas Konstantinou – double bass Giorgos Kontrafouris – piano Tickets cost 12 euros from Viva’s more.com.

The pre-Lent festival will conclude on March 17th, a Sunday. This year's theme is "Be Unplugged!" and the events will begin on Wednesday (January 16), with town crier (Maria Agouridi) riding on a musical float, announcing the famed carnival's start, and calling the public to gather at the square. On Saturday morning, a procession will take place with musical bands, carnival bicycles, the organizers, the carnival queen (Georgia Sakka), and other celebrants. Then Patras Mayor Kostas Peletidis will receive the carnival's banner. At 18:00 on Saturday a party will start at the Aghios Georgios Square, while at 20:00, the theater troupe Helix and a Baroque procession will leave from the City Hall to parade through the city with participants including actors, musicians, acrobats, fire jugglers, and Harlequins. This is the traditional Saturday night parade, not the spectacular Grand Parade at the close of the carnival. At 21:00, the mayor will declare the official opening of the Patras Carnival, to be followed by the traditional 'chocolate war', during which the city's confectioners throwing chocolates from the City Hall's balcony. A concert will also take place and the start of the annual Treasure Hunt will be also declared. The official schedule of the carnival has not been announced yet, while festivities every year include surprises. The Patras Carnival is the largest in Greece and involves preparations that begin a year earlier, with a large number of volunteers as well.

In other words, the film should not be one-dimensional for everyone, but should have different interpretations and feel for each person who sees it", said Yorgos Lanthimos at the press conference held at the Hotel Grande Bretagne on the occasion of the Greek premiere of his new film, "Poor things", which took place on Sunday at the Onassis Stegi in the presence of the director.  At the same time as Athens, it will premiere in Thessaloniki, at Olympion in collaboration with the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. "Poor things", an anthem to women's empowerment, starring Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo, will be released in Greek theaters on January 1, 2024 by Feelgood Entertainment. However, on December 26 and 27 there will be some special screenings with tickets in several cinemas. Based on the book of the same title by Alisder Gray and a screenplay by Tony McNamara, the Greek director reverses the myth of Frankenstein and presents a poignant essay on the freedom and joy of sex, class inequalities, individual and social self-determination, desire and love. Without Emma Stone by his side, after the American actress did not manage to come to Athens as planned for health reasons, Yorgos Lanthimos spoke to Greek journalists this morning about his new film and the importance of creative freedom, which is the "key" to everything he does. "I don't often go into the process of trying to analyze what the film says or what I'm interested in saying through it. I try - and this is often misunderstood - not to share these thoughts and not to give interpretations, because I feel that I limit the way someone else can see the film. My own thought is only one aspect of this, others may see much more and that's what's interesting. There are issues that are more obvious, others for fewer people to understand or project. There have also been cases where I have felt that it is very unlikely that what someone thinks is in the film, but this is their own projection and it says more about the person than about the film," the Greek director said about whether it makes him nervous about how his film will be "read" by the audience. "Poor things" is already included in all the lists of major film magazines and international film critics for the best films of the year. The film had its world premiere last September at the Venice Film Festival, where it won the Golden Lion, has already received seven nominations at the Golden Globes and thirteen at the Critics Choice Awards, and is one of the undisputed favorites for the next Oscars, in almost all categories. Referring to his collaboration with the actors during the preparation of the film, he stated that the way they work He is very practical and physical. "It will sound strange but I don't tell them anything. We do not analyze characters and the type of interpretations. First of all, there is a scenario which, as I understand it, has a strong character and a specific direction. Then we enter a process of working physically and instinctively, during which we do various exercises, theatrical, physical, where if the actors do not already know each other, they come close and feel comfortable with each other and we rehearse without trying to specify what their performance will be like when we film. During games, the scenario becomes second nature, but not in a rational way. There is a memory created in relation to the text and their bodies. Also, the whole process has to do with the actors, who are excellent and understand the different textures that each scene has and the evolution of their character. I try not to talk too much because by not knowing exactly what they think, I manage to gain a distance from what I see and judge better whether it works or not. If we had agreed some things beforehand, it would have been more difficult for me." The film, set in the Victorian era, replaces the monster with Bella, a beautiful young nymphomaniac who commits suicide to escape her violent husband. Bella is brought back to life by an eccentric scientist, Godwin Baxter, but gives her the mind of a baby. Hungry to discover real life, she runs away with Duncan, a competent and blunted moral lawyer, on a wandering around the world. Freed from the prejudices and silos of her time, Bella seeks to fight for equality and freedom. "In Alisder Gray's book, Bella Baxter's story is not told in her own words but through the perspective of various other characters. From the first moment I thought of making it into a movie, I wanted to put Bella at the center and create a film about her own story. While the book is a realistic depiction of the Victorian era, it made me think that it would be more interesting to make a world that supports this choice and reflects how Bella comes into contact with all this new world she travels through. And it was particularly interesting to build the cities, her house, the ship where she travels, in the studio, with traditional cinematic techniques, to build the sets and not to render them digitally. We used physical and effects to complement what we had made, but nothing has been made from scratch as a digital effect," Lanthimos explained. Speaking about Holly Waddington's costume design, she said how much it enhanced the film's dramaturgy: "She was extremely creative and gave the costumes meaningful relevance to the story of the film. For example, when Bella starts working at the brothel in Paris, she wears a latex raincoat, which is very nice and does look like a condom. Also, another important part was how the costume elements – and Emma played a big part in this – combined with the development of Bella's character." In the book, Athens is mentioned in Bella's journey, but it is not present in the film. "Athens does not it was never a big piece, there was a moment on a card Bella sent to Godwin and Max, saying "God, the Parthenon is still broken". It was a small piece that was cut in the editing," he noted. Asked if "Poor Things" could have been filmed in Greece and if he made the right decision a decade ago to leave the country, Yorgos said: "They are two different pieces, one is the funding, the other is where it would be filmed. When we were looking for a place and ended up in Budapest, all options were open, even Greece, but it was excluded because there are no studios here. Neither does the technical knowledge and experience of constructing such a level of sets. Hungary has the largest studios in Europe and a tradition of set construction. The reason why the film was difficult to make in the past is that ten years ago such a story was not so interesting for the world of cinema or in general, we will never know. I think times changed and we slowly managed to make it since I also made some bigger films in English. The fact that I left Greece was very important because the first steps were taken to make these films. At the time I was told, "Amazing Canine" but what they were asking for was "something more mainstream that because you are European will be a little more interesting". It was difficult but we managed it in a way. And once this journey began, it doesn't really matter where you are. In the beginning it was important, at the moment I think it doesn't really matter where I am." As for whether it creates extra stress or more freedom for him to be able to make the films he wants and in the way he wants, the Greek director stressed that he always made the films he wanted, but in the beginning he did not have financial support. "The anxiety is always there, I think in the beginning there was more naivety. The strange thing is that even though the budgets are growing, you always design the film in one way, there is a costing and when you get to shoot it it's never enough money and there is a struggle to make it. The final cut and creative freedom for me are necessarily key to all this. I mean, I don't think I'd make movies if somebody said to me, "yes, you can do it, but you can't have the final cut, we'll talk about it later." I have refused many times to make films with funding that does not guarantee me the final cut. I prefer to wait and do something else or some other profession."

The show runs for 6 days, from December 11-16th, while on Friday, December 15th, there will also be an after-performance talk with Olivier Saillard and Tilda Swinton at the Onassis Exhibition Hall -1, with simultaneous interpretation in Greek. For information on times and tickets visit the website: https://www.onassis.org/whats-on/embodying-pasolini-olivier-saillard-tilda-swinton

The event takes place over 3 days - December 8-10th - at the Athina Live venue (3 Poseidonos Ave., Moschato). The Irish acts will be joined by local Greek groups such as Iernis, Noriana, Sòlastas, Tir Fada, Plump, and the Curfá Gaelic-Nordic Choir. Tickets range from €12 to €15 and are available at ticketservices.gr. More information is available from fb.com/athenscelticmusicfestival.

The program of this year's events was edited by the Municipality's Culture, Sports & Youth Organization (OPANDA) and Technopoli, in collaboration with This is Athens and the radio station Athens 9.84, while the actions of "Olympia, Municipal Musical Theater Maria" have a special place Kallas", as well as the new cultural spaces, the Municipal Market of Kypseli, the Maria Kallas Museum and the Athens Book Space in the reformed Freedom Park. Events include, among others, educational programs and workshops for children and families, music in live concerts and parties, musical theater performances, book launches and readings, events inspired by books and museum exhibitions, as well as ten "Christmas villages" with unique holiday surprises in each . "The Municipality of Athens is again this year carrying the festive spirit of Christmas from one end of the city to the other. A program full of music, special performances and hundreds of surprises awaits young and old to celebrate the brightest time of the year. Happy holidays with health and love to everyone", said the mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis. The "Christmas Villages" in ten neighborhoods From December 23 to January 6, ten "Christmas Villages" in as many neighborhoods will offer rich activities for young and old. From Acharnon and Lamprini to Pagrati and Hellinorosson, Santa Claus and his elves will "transform" some of the most central neighborhoods into "villages" of joy and celebration, they will welcome young and old children with constructions, sweet treats , face painting and many more festive events. The events are accompanied by, among others, stilt walkers, jugglers, mascots, animateurs, puppets and jugglers. Athens is full of music Syntagma Square will once again "dance" to the rhythm of Christmas this year. For seven days, a total of 15 live concerts by local artists, bands and bands will take place on the main Christmas music stage. The George Zervos Trio, The Wedding Singers, Hermaphrodites Child, Vasilis Kazoulis with Kitrina Podilata and Alexandra Koniak, Dimitris Tsakas Quintet, Polkar, Gumbo Ya Ya with Sugahspank and Emily Mesko, Nefeli Fasouli, Sub Quartet, Panos Vlachos, Jerome Kaluta, the Mihalis Kalkanis Group, the Christmas Gala with the voices of Maria Katrivesis and Yiannis Housakos, Jaguar Bombs and Tonis Sfinos & The Playmates, promise to lift the festive mood. Parties will be set up again this year in unexpected places of the city. The Mobile Party Needless will turn the Square of Justice (Santaroza) into a Christmas dancefloor, the radio station Kosmos will set up a "Xmas Party" specially dedicated to the magazine "Schedia" at the Municipal Market of Kypseli, the Cool Crips at the Serafion of the Municipality of Athens, the Stoa Emporon is transformed by Pepper 96.6 into a fun spot, while on Christmas day, the "Xmas Extravaganza" & Beyond at the Kypseli Municipal Market with dynamic beats by favorite selectors and DJs. At the same time, at the "Olympia, Maria Callas Municipal Music Theater" the popular operetta by Nikos Hadziapostolos "Apachides of Athens", directed by Vassilis Mavrogeorgiou and musical direction by Cornelios Michaelides, with the Symphony Orchestra and Choir of the Municipality of Athens. The same venue will host the concert of Thodoris Kotonias and Savveria Margiolas, as well as "Christmas in New York" by the Athens Big Band, while the cultural spaces of OPANDA and the Polychoros "Anna and Maria Kalouta" will be "flooded" for throughout the holidays with Christmas songs, traditional melodies, but also concerts for children. Finally, on the festive days, the ATHINA 9.84 van will fill the neighborhoods of Athens with Christmas music and children's choirs. His stops include the Benaki Museum on Piraeus Street, as for one morning he will musically "dress up" the educational activities surrounding the exhibition of Giorgos Chatzimihalis, while on 20-28/12 he will decorate the Syntagma with his music. Especially for December 20, the city's radio station joins forces with "Together for the Child" in the Christmas radio marathon supporting families and children in need.   The magic of the book "travels" young and old Fairy tales have their "honorary" every Christmas, which is why the new cultural space of the Municipality of Athens, the Athens Book Space in Eleftheria Park, invites young and old to "get lost" in the magic of the pages. Children will enjoy activities that combine the reading of fairy tales and stories from around the world with comics, music, and even chess, in separate and highly original workshops, while adults will have the opportunity to take part in a creative reading workshop, in the Reading Club of Classical Literature, as well as to attend discussions and analyzes of poetry collections and novels by writers and journalists. At the same time, the Municipal Market of Kypseli will also be "seduced" by the magic of the book, as it hosts the Christmas book markets of Psychogios Publications and the Booktopia group, while the Children's and Adolescent Library will dedicate an educational program to the life and work of Charles Dickens. Museum tours and exhibitions with free entry To celebrate its first Christmas, the city's new museum, the "Maria Callas Museum", opens its doors for a double guided tour with free entry (phone reservation required). Participants will discover the world of the great diva, opera and lyrical theatre, through a path of experiential experience, enriched by audio-visual media, texts, new technologies, audio and historical evidence. At the same time, the first concert in its premises comes from the Athenian Quintet "Dimitrios Dounis", where in the two performances "Christmas Visions" they will present a festive program with Christmas suites from the Renaissance to the present day, written by Greek and foreign composers. At the Arts Center will be held the solo exhibition of Kostas Bassanou entitled "Working Title", which deals with the invisible creative space of artistic production, while at the Athens Municipality Art Gallery the first retrospective exhibition of the painter Alexis Kyritsopoulos entitled "Parallel", with works from in 1963 to date. The Museum of Folk Art and Tradition "Aggeliki Hatzimichalis" will present the exhibition of handmade weavings "The Feathered Weaves of Ossa Thessaloniki", while on New Year's Eve it will organize a folkloric holiday tour of the Hatzimichalis mansion. Finally, the "Melina" Cultural Center organizes for visitors over 60 a nostalgic cultural walk through the city's past, starting from the permanent exhibition "Travelling of old Athens", continuing to the story-filled Thisio and the pedestrian street of Heraklion and ending in the exhibition "Eureka: Science, Art & Technology of the Ancient Greeks" of the Heraklion Museum. Night of Wishes - Atmospheric Christmas Revival in Kotzia Square "Wishing Night" has now become a beloved Christmas Eve custom. On December 24, young and old will "light up" Kotzia Square with traditional biodegradable lanterns, which will travel to the sky carrying wishes. On this magical Christmas night, the atmospheric melodies will come from the van of the ATHINA 9.84 station, which will musically "dress up" the event with selections from its radio producers. We welcome 2024 from Syntagma Square On New Year's Eve, the appointment is of course given at Syntagma Square. Hosted by the duo of ERT's "Studio 4", Nancy Zampetoglou and Thanasis Anagnostopoulos, the world will say goodbye to 2023 with an audio-visual extravaganza full of live music, dance, fireworks, glitter and many surprises, and welcome 2024 with optimism and joy (the line-up of the first live concert of the year will be announced soon). New Year's Eve Party The biggest New Year's party will take place again this year in Varvakeio. Just before the change of time, Street Outdoors will be waiting for the people in the most central Agora of the city, where DJs and producers will turn wishes into music, so that 2024 will find the citizens in the most danceable party in the heart of Athens until early morning hours. (More information and detailed schedule of events: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dZu_niqAliBNrZAoyPCg_WpkUNqfs_sHI8b01tJ3Ufo/edit?usp=sharing)

A special festive event with free entry for the public and hosted by Nadia Kontogeorgis, marks the start of the SNFCC Christmas World and is made possible thanks to a donation from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF). On the first night of December, countless holiday lights are turned on, casting their glow on the plane trees of the Canal and the decorated fir trees of the Agora. A Festival of Lighting Installations sets a bright tone in the evening Stavros Niarchos Park: four works by distinguished foreign artists and a Greek participation magnetize the eyes by creating a choreography with the material light. Even the Fountains on the Canal participate in the spectacle in their own spectacular way. The scenery is completed by the Ice Rink in Kanali, waiting for experienced and non-skaters to dance on the ice. The appointment is at 19:00 at the Agora where the youth choir of El Sistema Greece opens the evening with traditional carols and other well-known Christmas songs. Next, Mwenso and the Shakes come straight from Harlem, New York and blow the crowd away with a special Christmas program called 'Afrofuturistic Christmas Wonderland'. An exuberant music performance sprinkled with Christmas gold dust and all-time classic hits such as Santa Claus is coming to town, Have yourself a merry little Christmas, Rudolph the red nose reindeer, Winter wonderland and Silent night. This is a celebratory concert held in collaboration with the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, as part of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation-Lincoln Center (SNF-LC) Agora Initiative, a partnership to redefine public space, part of which are the "Twin Agoras" at the SNFCC and Lincoln Center. The entire event will be broadcast from Lincoln Center's David Geffen Hall. The December 1 celebration will also be broadcast online by ERT2. More information and the detailed program of the SNFCC Christmas World can be found at snfcc.org/Xmas2023, as well as on the SNFCC social media pages @SNFCC. Entrance is free.