The official holiday festivities of the Municipality of Athens for this year’s Christmas will begin on Thursday at 6 PM, with the lighting of the city’s Christmas tree in Syntagma Square.
The impressive Christmas tree, a 20-meter tall fir tree, arrived last week from a nursery in Taxiarchis, Halkidiki, and has been decorated with colorful, unique ornaments to bring the festive spirit to Athens.
The “narrative” of the Athens Christmas fairytale begins with a particularly beloved and successful duo, Nancy Zampetoglou and Thanasis Anagnostopoulos. The hosts of the evening, along with the Mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas, will give the signal for the tree to be lit, revealing the magical decoration of the entire Syntagma Square, allowing the Christmas magic to spread – more than ever before – to every corner of the city.
No Christmas celebration would be complete without music. The dreamy voice of Nefeli Fasouli will meet the Athens Big Band, and together they will present renditions of beloved Christmas songs.
The Christmas tree lighting celebration will be open to all, as it will be simultaneously interpreted into Greek Sign Language by the interpreter Polybios Kosmatos.
The Mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas, stated: “This Christmas in Athens will be like a fairytale! A big celebration will begin in the heart of the city. Neighborhoods of Athens, as well as iconic landmarks, will be lit for the first time. Colorful LED lights, low-energy consumption decorations made from recycled materials will bring the magic of the holidays, with respect for the environment. We are waiting for you on Thursday, November 28th, at Syntagma Square to unfold together the Christmas story with music and songs.”
The city is being decorated… like a fairytale!
With the beautiful Christmas fir tree at the center, which this year boasts more decorations than ever before, the decoration of the entire city is inspired by children’s imagination. Specifically, Syntagma Square is transformed into a scene straight out of classic fairytales, filled with countless stars, elves, and heroes like the Nutcracker, all designed by the lighting design studio of Anastasia Filippopoulou. By adopting energy-efficient LED lighting, the ecological footprint of the holidays is reduced, achieving at least 55% energy savings.
More areas and landmarks of the city will be illuminated for the first time, such as Ermou Street from Fokianou to Aiolou, the KAPAPS Park in Ampelokipoi, the Papandreika Settlement, the Drakopoulos Park, Tralleon Street, and both entrances to the National Garden, utilizing the decorations from previous years in all neighborhoods of Athens. Finally, for the first time, a Lit Arch with Nutcracker statues will be placed at the entrance of Ermou Street from Syntagma.
The 20-meter tall natural fir tree from the nursery will, after the holidays, be donated to the Athens School of Fine Arts (ASKT) to be used as raw material for woodcarving art projects by its students. Part of the decorations are made from 100% recycled PET plastic.
