Speaking to Euronews in December<\/strong><\/a>, Binder explained that he had spent \"most of his time on 'spotting shifts', looking out at the Turkish mainland a few (nautical) miles away, where smugglers push people into boats and send them over to seek asylum in Europe.\"<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe boats don\u2019t want to be caught, so there aren\u2019t any bright lights. Instead, we would be on the lookout for distress calls, screaming and shouting. I communicated with the coast guard weekly and would inform the port authority when we went out to sea,\" Binder recalled at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Binder's work came to a halt when he was arrested alongside Sarah Mardini, whose story of swimming across a stretch of the Mediterranean was fictionalised in a 2018 Netflix film. <\/p>\n<p>In 2023, the pair and a group of defendants were acquitted of misdemeanour crimes which included alleged forgery, illegally listening to radio frequencies and espionage. Outstanding misdemeanour charges for 16 other defendants were dropped the following year. <\/p>\n<h2>Aid workers slam Europe's migration enforcement<\/h2>\n<p>Humanitarian groups say this trial has deterred the work of humanitarian and rescue organisations on the Aegean islands, where the scale of such operations has been dramatically reduced.<\/p>\n<p>They also argue it epitomises broader European pushback against individuals and organisations assisting migrants and asylum seekers: an estimated 124 others faced similar judicial proceedings in Europe in 2024 alone, according to Brussels-based NGO PICUM.<\/p>\n<p>Reacting to the verdict, Eve Geddie, Amnesty\u2019s Director of International European Institutions Office urged the EU to \u201cintroduce stronger safeguards against the criminalization of humanitarian assistance under EU law.\"<\/p>\n<p>In recent years, European migration policy has shifted as the 27-member bloc's leaders increasingly embraced firmer views and <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2024//10//17//zelenskky-to-join-eu-leaders-summit-to-present-victory-plan/">explored new ways to curb arrivals.<\/p>\n<p>Greece and its islands have recently experienced a fresh uptick in migrant boat arrivals, with more than 1,000 migrants arriving on Crete and nearby Gavdos mostly from North Africa, according to Greek authorities.<\/p>\n<p>Smugglers operating from Libya increasingly favour Crete and Gavdos as destinations due to improved weather conditions and proximity to the North African coast, Greek officials said.<\/p>\n<p>Greece recorded 39,495 illegal border crossings by the end of October 2025, an 18% decrease from 48,415 arrivals in the same period in 2024, according to official figures.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1768491486,"updatedAt":1768585957,"publishedAt":1768567827,"firstPublishedAt":1768567827,"lastPublishedAt":1768572672,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/61\/43\/47\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_17b80791-e23b-529a-8b6b-489b9c5eb325-9614347.jpg","altText":"Rescue volunteers and their lawyer celebrate outside a courthouse in Mytilene, on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos, Greece, 15 January 2026.","caption":"Rescue volunteers and their lawyer celebrate outside a courthouse in Mytilene, on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos, Greece, 15 January 2026.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":2000,"height":1333}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":2662,"urlSafeValue":"nilsson","title":"Estelle 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News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":128,"urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article-video","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":0,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/my-europe\/2026\/01\/16\/greek-court-clears-group-of-humanitarian-workers-of-migrant-smuggling-charges","lastModified":1768572672},{"id":2847676,"cid":9553107,"versionId":4,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":1,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"MW - S01E04 - HEALTHCARE FOR VULNERABLE CITIZENS - MASTER","daletPyramidId":3345645,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"How Greece\u2019s local health units are expanding access to healthcare for vulnerable citizens","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"","titleListing2":"How Greece\u2019s local health units are expanding access to healthcare for vulnerable citizens","leadin":"A new model of community-level care in Greece is helping bridge long-standing gaps in healthcare access.","summary":"A new model of community-level care in Greece is helping bridge long-standing gaps in healthcare access.","keySentence":"","url":"how-greeces-local-health-units-are-expanding-access-to-healthcare-for-vulnerable-citizens","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2026\/01\/07\/how-greeces-local-health-units-are-expanding-access-to-healthcare-for-vulnerable-citizens","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"In Giannouli, near Larissa, a Local Health Unit (TOMY) is reshaping access to care for vulnerable residents. Patients like Vasiliki Moustaka, who lives with severe hypoglycemic episodes, rely on the unit for both medical and emotional support.\u00a0\u00a0\n\nStaffed by doctors including Dr. Zoi Papanikolaou, TOMY eases pressure on hospitals by offering primary care, referrals and mental-health assistance.\u00a0\u00a0\n\nSupported by \u20ac202.5 million from the\u00a0European Social Fund+, Greece\u2019s 127 TOMY units aim to reduce health inequalities, an effort experts say is essential for fair, universal healthcare across the EU.\u00a0This effort complements the\u00a0EU4Health Programme, the EU\u2019s flagship health initiative for 2021\u20132027.\n\nHealth inequality remains a key concern across Europe, said Caroline Costongs, Director of\u00a0EuroHealthNet.\u00a0She quoted a\u00a0European Commission report\u00a0showing that access to healthcare coverage is as vital as other forms of social protection.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>In Giannouli, near Larissa, a Local Health Unit (TOMY) is reshaping access to care for vulnerable residents. Patients like Vasiliki Moustaka, who lives with severe hypoglycemic episodes, rely on the unit for both medical and emotional support. <\/p>\n<p>Staffed by doctors including Dr. Zoi Papanikolaou, TOMY eases pressure on hospitals by offering primary care, referrals and mental-health assistance. <\/p>\n<p>Supported by \u20ac202.5 million from the <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////european-social-fund-plus.ec.europa.eu//en/" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">European Social Fund+<\/a>, Greece\u2019s 127 TOMY units aim to reduce health inequalities, an effort experts say is essential for fair, universal healthcare across the EU. This effort complements the <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////health.ec.europa.eu//funding//eu4health-programme-2021-2027-vision-healthier-european-union_en/" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">EU4Health Programme<\/a>, the EU\u2019s flagship health initiative for 2021\u20132027.<\/p>\n<p>Health inequality remains a key concern across Europe, said Caroline Costongs, Director of <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////eurohealthnet.eu/" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">EuroHealthNet<\/a>. She quoted a <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////health.ec.europa.eu//publications//factsheet-role-healthcare-reducing-inequalities-and-poverty-european-union_en/" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\">European Commission report<\/a> showing that access to healthcare coverage is as vital as other forms of social protection.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1763477340,"updatedAt":1767881862,"publishedAt":1767794457,"firstPublishedAt":1764165657,"lastPublishedAt":1767881861,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Euronews","altText":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1920,"caption":null,"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/31\/25\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_27bf9060-4bfe-532c-98cf-8c1e38dec198-9553125.jpg","captionUrl":null,"height":1080}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[{"urlSafeValue":"carter","twitter":null,"id":2076,"title":"Bryan Carter"}],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"urlSafeValue":"health","titleRaw":"Health","id":139,"title":"Health","slug":"health"},{"urlSafeValue":"medicine","titleRaw":"Medicine","id":12449,"title":"Medicine","slug":"medicine"},{"urlSafeValue":"greece","titleRaw":"Greece","id":128,"title":"Greece","slug":"greece"}],"widgets":[],"related":[{"id":2849743},{"id":2851551}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"V8Fbxx95JV0","dailymotionId":"x9u6ao0"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"duration":300000,"editor":"","filesizeBytes":42316866,"format":"mp4","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/ED\/29\/62\/24\/08\/ED_PYR_2962248_20251121082214.mp4","expiresAt":0,"quality":"md"},{"duration":300000,"editor":"","filesizeBytes":65215379,"format":"mp4","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/SHD\/29\/62\/24\/08\/SHD_PYR_2962248_20251121082214.mp4","expiresAt":0,"quality":"hd"},{"duration":300000,"editor":"","filesizeBytes":230788314,"format":"mp4","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/FHD\/29\/62\/24\/08\/FHD_PYR_2962248_20251121082214.mp4","expiresAt":0,"quality":"1080p"}],"liveStream":[{"endDate":0,"startDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"make-it-work","urlSafeValue":"make-it-work","title":"Make it Work","online":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/my-europe\/my-europe-series\/make-it-work"},"season":"MAKE IT WORK_S01","episode":"S01E04 - HEALTHCARE FOR VULNERABLE CITIZENS","episodeId":"1133","vertical":"my-europe","verticals":[{"urlSafeValue":"my-europe","id":2,"title":"Europe","slug":"my-europe"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":2,"slug":"my-europe","urlSafeValue":"my-europe","title":"Europe"},"themes":[{"urlSafeValue":"my-europe-series","id":"my-europe-series","title":"My Europe Series","url":"\/my-europe\/my-europe-series"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":60,"urlSafeValue":"my-europe-series","title":"Europe Series"},"advertising":1,"advertisingData":{"startDate":1751376343,"endDate":2114346346,"type":"sponsored","slug":"make-it-work","title":"Make it work","disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":"the European Commission","sponsorName":"make-it-work","sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/campaigns\/965\/300x96_cmsv2_3f81499f-1cfb-501d-a3ff-78eab129f3f9-965.jpg","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":128,"urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article-video","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":0,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/my-europe\/2026\/01\/07\/how-greeces-local-health-units-are-expanding-access-to-healthcare-for-vulnerable-citizens","lastModified":1767881861},{"id":2860359,"cid":9605185,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"GREEN_Greece's Epiphany events marking Christ's baptism highlight concerns about water scarcity (AP)","daletPyramidId":3811001,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"\u2018It used to rain a lot more\u2019: Greece's Epiphany events highlight concerns about water scarcity","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Water scarcity concerns highlighted during Greece's Epiphany events","titleListing2":"\u2018It used to rain a lot more\u2019: Greece's Epiphany events highlight concerns about water scarcity","leadin":"Prolonged droughts followed by intense rainfall have plunged Athens into a vicious cycle of weather whiplash.","summary":"Prolonged droughts followed by intense rainfall have plunged Athens into a vicious cycle of weather whiplash.","keySentence":"","url":"it-used-to-rain-a-lot-more-greeces-epiphany-events-highlight-concerns-about-water-scarcity","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/green\/2026\/01\/07\/it-used-to-rain-a-lot-more-greeces-epiphany-events-highlight-concerns-about-water-scarcity","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"As Orthodox Christians around the world attended Epiphany ceremonies on Tuesday to commemorate the baptism of Christ, worried officials in Greece used the moment to highlight growing water scarcity.\n\nA priest cast a wooden cross into the visibly depleted waters of Lake Marathon, an artificial reservoir north of Athens. Water stored there and in the other three reservoirs supplying Athens has dropped from more than 1 billion cubic metres in 2022 to about 390 million cubic metres.\n\nThe dramatic decline prompted authorities in November to declare a water emergency in the capital.\n\nProlonged droughts are becoming more frequent in Athens\n\n\u201cThis is the third consecutive year of a significant drop in reservoir levels. This means that the problem is right in front of us,\u201d George Stergiou, chairman of the greater Athens water utility, EYDAP, said after attending the Marathon ceremony.\n\nStergiou warned that prolonged droughts are becoming more frequent and are often followed by intense rainfall that does little to replenish supplies.\n\nThe state-run utility has announced a \u20ac2.5 billion, decade-long investment program to reduce water losses and boost water security, including pipe replacements, smart meters and expanded wastewater reuse.\n\n\u201cWhat we want to do, as a first step, is replace all those uses that today could be met with non-potable water by recycled water,\u201d Stergiou said.\n\nReservoir manager Sofia Nalpantidou said Marathon\u2019s low level should be viewed in context, noting the lake is connected with the wider system and partly managed for seasonal flood control.\n\n\u201cWe usually keep it lower in winter because we want to maintain a buffer,\u201d Nalpantidou said.\n\nResidents have noted the changes.\n\n\u201cIn the past, it used to rain a lot more, sometimes daily. That doesn\u2019t happen anymore,\u201d said Antonis Stamou, a 78-year-old retiree who attended Tuesday\u2019s service.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>As Orthodox Christians around the world attended <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//culture//2026//01//06//the-story-of-epiphany-tradition-religious-festivals-and-secular-rites/">Epiphany ceremonies on Tuesday to commemorate the baptism of Christ, worried officials in Greece used the moment to highlight growing water scarcity.<\/p>\n<p>A priest cast a wooden cross into the visibly depleted waters of Lake Marathon, an artificial reservoir north of <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2025//07//16//athens-reservoirs-approach-historic-lows-as-water-supplies-face-intense-pressure-study-sho/">Athens. Water stored there and in the other three reservoirs supplying Athens has dropped from more than 1 billion cubic metres in 2022 to about 390 million cubic metres.<\/p>\n<p>The dramatic decline prompted authorities in November to declare a <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2025//10//30//greece-announces-25-billion-plan-to-tackle-drought-and-secure-water-supply/">water emergency<\/strong><\/a> in the capital.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//60//51//85//808x454_cmsv2_64cf6b46-8fc5-588f-b797-ebf6189e7d7c-9605185.jpg/" alt=\"An islet that recently emerged is seen at Lake Marathon near Athens, Greece, on Jan. 6, 2026, as receding water levels reflect years of low rainfall.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/60\/51\/85\/384x216_cmsv2_64cf6b46-8fc5-588f-b797-ebf6189e7d7c-9605185.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/60\/51\/85\/640x360_cmsv2_64cf6b46-8fc5-588f-b797-ebf6189e7d7c-9605185.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/60\/51\/85\/750x422_cmsv2_64cf6b46-8fc5-588f-b797-ebf6189e7d7c-9605185.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/60\/51\/85\/828x466_cmsv2_64cf6b46-8fc5-588f-b797-ebf6189e7d7c-9605185.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/60\/51\/85\/1080x608_cmsv2_64cf6b46-8fc5-588f-b797-ebf6189e7d7c-9605185.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/60\/51\/85\/1200x675_cmsv2_64cf6b46-8fc5-588f-b797-ebf6189e7d7c-9605185.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/60\/51\/85\/1920x1080_cmsv2_64cf6b46-8fc5-588f-b797-ebf6189e7d7c-9605185.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">An islet that recently emerged is seen at Lake Marathon near Athens, Greece, on Jan. 6, 2026, as receding water levels reflect years of low rainfall.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">AP Photo\/Thanassis Stavrakis<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2>Prolonged droughts are becoming more frequent in Athens<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cThis is the third consecutive year of a significant drop in reservoir levels. This means that the problem is right in front of us,\u201d George Stergiou, chairman of the greater Athens water utility, EYDAP, said after attending the Marathon ceremony.<\/p>\n<p>Stergiou warned that prolonged droughts are becoming more frequent and are often followed by intense <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2023//03//14//weather-whiplash-flooding-and-droughts-to-happen-more-often-and-last-longer-as-climate-war/">rainfall that does little to replenish supplies.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2025//12//27//from-deadly-heatwaves-to-flash-floods-how-europes-extreme-weather-events-defined-2025/">From deadly heatwaves to flash floods: How Europe\u2019s extreme weather events defined 2025<\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2025//12//31//deadliest-climate-disasters-of-2025-revealed-as-experts-warn-women-and-the-poorest-hit-the/">Deadliest climate disasters of 2025 revealed as experts warn women and the poorest \u2018hit the hardest\u2019<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>The state-run utility has announced a \u20ac2.5 billion, decade-long investment program to reduce water losses and boost <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2025//10//27//europes-water-crisis-how-waste-is-amplifying-the-climate-crisis-and-costing-millions/">water security<\/strong><\/a>, including pipe replacements, smart meters and expanded wastewater reuse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we want to do, as a first step, is replace all those uses that today could be met with non-potable water by recycled water,\u201d Stergiou said.<\/p>\n<p>Reservoir manager Sofia Nalpantidou said Marathon\u2019s low level should be viewed in context, noting the lake is connected with the wider system and partly managed for seasonal flood control.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe usually keep it lower in winter because we want to maintain a buffer,\u201d Nalpantidou said.<\/p>\n<p>Residents have noted the changes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the past, it used to <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2024//08//29//no-rain-for-two-years-northern-greece-faces-significant-water-crisis-as-drought-persists/">rain a lot more, sometimes daily. That doesn\u2019t happen anymore,\u201d said Antonis Stamou, a 78-year-old retiree who attended Tuesday\u2019s service.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1767789770,"updatedAt":1767792349,"publishedAt":1767791597,"firstPublishedAt":1767791597,"lastPublishedAt":1767791597,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/60\/51\/85\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_2463ddf6-e6ea-5443-ada8-81583bcf5664-9605185.jpg","altText":"People attend the Epiphany ceremony as a Greek Orthodox priest throws a cross blessing the receding Lake Marathon, near Athens, on Jan. 6, 2026.","caption":"People attend the Epiphany ceremony as a Greek Orthodox priest throws a cross blessing the receding Lake Marathon, near Athens, on Jan. 6, 2026.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo\/Thanassis Stavrakis","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1920,"height":1080},{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/60\/51\/85\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_64cf6b46-8fc5-588f-b797-ebf6189e7d7c-9605185.jpg","altText":"An islet that recently emerged is seen at Lake Marathon near Athens, Greece, on Jan. 6, 2026, as receding water levels reflect years of low rainfall.","caption":"An islet that recently emerged is seen at Lake Marathon near Athens, Greece, on Jan. 6, 2026, as receding water levels reflect years of low rainfall.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo\/Thanassis Stavrakis","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1920,"height":1080}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":1712,"slug":"athens","urlSafeValue":"athens","title":"Athens","titleRaw":"Athens"},{"id":13368,"slug":"epiphany","urlSafeValue":"epiphany","title":"epiphany","titleRaw":"epiphany"},{"id":12169,"slug":"water","urlSafeValue":"water","title":"Water","titleRaw":"Water"},{"id":9509,"slug":"water-resources","urlSafeValue":"water-resources","title":"Water resources","titleRaw":"Water resources"},{"id":9403,"slug":"drought","urlSafeValue":"drought","title":"Drought","titleRaw":"Drought"},{"id":17856,"slug":"extreme-weather","urlSafeValue":"extreme-weather","title":"Extreme weather","titleRaw":"Extreme weather"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"image","count":1},{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"hasExternalVideo":0,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":0,"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":"AP","additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"Derek Gatopoulos","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"green-news","urlSafeValue":"green-news","title":"Green News","online":0,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/green\/green-news\/green-news"},"season":"","episode":"","episodeId":"","vertical":"green","verticals":[{"id":8,"slug":"green","urlSafeValue":"green","title":"Green"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":8,"slug":"green","urlSafeValue":"green","title":"Green"},"themes":[{"id":"green-news","urlSafeValue":"green-news","title":"Green News","url":"\/green\/green-news"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":35,"urlSafeValue":"green-news","title":"Green News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":128,"urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":0,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/green\/2026\/01\/07\/it-used-to-rain-a-lot-more-greeces-epiphany-events-highlight-concerns-about-water-scarcity","lastModified":1767791597},{"id":2859721,"cid":9602424,"versionId":4,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"TAX REDUCTIONS GREECE 2026","daletPyramidId":3783038,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Greece introduces 2026 tax cuts aimed at families and young workers","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Greece introduces 2026 tax cuts aimed at families and young workers","titleListing2":"","leadin":"Athens has lowered most income tax rates by two points and rolled out extra breaks tied to children and for younger workers, including zero income tax for under-25s earning up to \u20ac20,000.","summary":"Athens has lowered most income tax rates by two points and rolled out extra breaks tied to children and for younger workers, including zero income tax for under-25s earning up to \u20ac20,000.","keySentence":"","url":"greece-introduces-2026-tax-cuts-aimed-at-families-and-young-workers","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2026\/01\/06\/greece-introduces-2026-tax-cuts-aimed-at-families-and-young-workers","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Greece rang in 2026 with a new round of tax cuts \u2014 measures the prime minister first announced three months ago at the Thessaloniki International Fair.\n\nThe move comes as the country looks to shore up household incomes after years of inflation and steep price increases. Greece also now holds the rotating presidency of the Eurogroup, the forum that brings together the finance ministers of the eurozone to coordinate economic policy, following the election of Kyriakos Pierrakakis as its head.\n\nIn practical terms, most basic income-tax rates have been lowered by two percentage points in recent days, with the lowest bracket left unchanged at 9%.\n\nReduced taxation to combat demographic problems\n\nTax rates will drop depending on how many children a household has. For example, in the \u20ac10,000\u2013\u20ac20,000 income bracket, the current 22% rate will be cut to 18% for taxpayers with one child. It will fall to 16% for those with two children, to 9% for families with three children and to zero for families with four.\n\nThe Greek finance ministry estimates that a worker earning \u20ac20,000 a year would save \u20ac600 with two children, \u20ac1,300 with three, and \u20ac1,680 with four.\n\nFor someone earning \u20ac30,000 a year, the projected annual benefit is \u20ac400 with no children, rising to \u20ac800 if they have one child, \u20ac1,200 with two, \u20ac2,100 with three, and \u20ac4,100 with four.\n\nNew income-based tax rates\n\nUnder the new rules, workers aged up to 25 earning up to \u20ac20,000 a year will pay no income tax. For those aged 25 to 30, the tax rate will drop to an entry-level 9%, down from 22%.\n\nIn practice, the finance ministry says a 24-year-old earning \u20ac15,000 a year would save \u20ac1,283, rising to \u20ac2,480 on an income of \u20ac20,000. For a 28-year-old on the same salary, the estimated annual benefit would be about \u20ac1,300.\n\nFor an income from \u20ac40,000 to \u20ac60,000 the intermediate tax rate is set at 39% and down from 44%, the active rate until the end of 2025.\n\nProperty and housing\n\nIn 2026, ENFIA \u2014 Greece\u2019s annual property tax on real estate \u2014 will be cut in half for those with their main residences in settlements with fewer than 1,500 residents, before being scrapped entirely in 2027.\n\nThe prime minister has described the measure as an incentive for families to stay in, or even return to, their home villages.\n\nFrom 1 January, around 161,587 property owners who report annual rental income above \u20ac12,000 are set to receive a tax cut of up to \u20ac1,300 depending on how much rent they earn.\n\nThe reduction stems from a new intermediate tax band of 25%, replacing the 35% rate that applied last year to rental income between \u20ac12,000 and \u20ac24,000.\n\nUnder the revised scale, rental income up to \u20ac12,000 will still be taxed at 15%. Income from \u20ac12,001 to \u20ac24,000 will be taxed at 25%, rising to 35% for \u20ac24,001\u2013\u20ac35,000.\n\nAny amount at and above \u20ac35,001 will be taxed at 45%.\n\nProvision for short-term leases\n\nLandlords who rent out previously vacant homes \u2014 or switch properties from short-term to long-term rentals \u2014 by 31 December 2026 will receive a full income-tax exemption on that rental income for three years.\n\nThe exemption applies to homes that have been empty for at least three years, as well as properties that were previously used for short-term renting, provided the dwelling is up to 120 square metres.\n\nFor tenants with more than two children, the size cap increases by 20 square metres for each additional child. To qualify, the lease must run for at least three years.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Greece rang in 2026 with a new round of tax cuts \u2014 measures the prime minister first announced three months ago at the Thessaloniki International Fair.<\/p>\n<p>The move comes as the country looks to shore up household incomes after years of inflation and steep price increases. Greece also now holds the rotating presidency of the Eurogroup, the forum that brings together the finance ministers of the eurozone to coordinate economic policy, following the election of Kyriakos Pierrakakis as its head.<\/p>\n<p>In practical terms, most basic income-tax rates have been lowered by two percentage points in recent days, with the lowest bracket left unchanged at 9%.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Reduced taxation to combat demographic problems<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Tax rates will drop depending on how many children a household has. For example, in the \u20ac10,000\u2013\u20ac20,000 income bracket, the current 22% rate will be cut to 18% for taxpayers with one child. It will fall to 16% for those with two children, to 9% for families with three children and to zero for families with four.<\/p>\n<p>The Greek finance ministry estimates that a worker earning \u20ac20,000 a year would save \u20ac600 with two children, \u20ac1,300 with three, and \u20ac1,680 with four. <\/p>\n<p>For someone earning \u20ac30,000 a year, the projected annual benefit is \u20ac400 with no children, rising to \u20ac800 if they have one child, \u20ac1,200 with two, \u20ac2,100 with three, and \u20ac4,100 with four.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>New income-based tax rates<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Under the new rules, workers aged up to 25 earning up to \u20ac20,000 a year will pay no income tax. For those aged 25 to 30, the tax rate will drop to an entry-level 9%, down from 22%.<\/p>\n<p>In practice, the finance ministry says a 24-year-old earning \u20ac15,000 a year would save \u20ac1,283, rising to \u20ac2,480 on an income of \u20ac20,000. For a 28-year-old on the same salary, the estimated annual benefit would be about \u20ac1,300.<\/p>\n<p>For an income from \u20ac40,000 to \u20ac60,000 the intermediate tax rate is set at 39% and down from 44%, the active rate until the end of 2025.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6669921875\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//60//24//02//808x539_cmsv2_47237312-f214-53da-bed9-7785f542aabc-9602402.jpg/" alt=\"stock photo\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/60\/24\/02\/384x256_cmsv2_47237312-f214-53da-bed9-7785f542aabc-9602402.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/60\/24\/02\/640x427_cmsv2_47237312-f214-53da-bed9-7785f542aabc-9602402.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/60\/24\/02\/750x500_cmsv2_47237312-f214-53da-bed9-7785f542aabc-9602402.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/60\/24\/02\/828x552_cmsv2_47237312-f214-53da-bed9-7785f542aabc-9602402.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/60\/24\/02\/1080x720_cmsv2_47237312-f214-53da-bed9-7785f542aabc-9602402.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/60\/24\/02\/1200x800_cmsv2_47237312-f214-53da-bed9-7785f542aabc-9602402.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/60\/24\/02\/1920x1281_cmsv2_47237312-f214-53da-bed9-7785f542aabc-9602402.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Stock photo<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Petros Giannakouris\/Copyright 2025 The AP. All rights reserved<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2><strong>Property and housing<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>In 2026, ENFIA \u2014 Greece\u2019s annual property tax on real estate \u2014 will be cut in half for those with their main residences in settlements with fewer than 1,500 residents, before being scrapped entirely in 2027. <\/p>\n<p>The prime minister has described the measure as an incentive for families to stay in, or even return to, their home villages.<\/p>\n<p>From 1 January, around 161,587 property owners who report annual rental income above \u20ac12,000 are set to receive a tax cut of up to \u20ac1,300 depending on how much rent they earn. <\/p>\n<p>The reduction stems from a new intermediate tax band of 25%, replacing the 35% rate that applied last year to rental income between \u20ac12,000 and \u20ac24,000.<\/p>\n<p>Under the revised scale, rental income up to \u20ac12,000 will still be taxed at 15%. Income from \u20ac12,001 to \u20ac24,000 will be taxed at 25%, rising to 35% for \u20ac24,001\u2013\u20ac35,000. <\/p>\n<p>Any amount at and above \u20ac35,001 will be taxed at 45%.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Provision for short-term leases<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Landlords who rent out previously vacant homes \u2014 or switch properties from short-term to long-term rentals \u2014 by 31 December 2026 will receive a full income-tax exemption on that rental income for three years.<\/p>\n<p>The exemption applies to homes that have been empty for at least three years, as well as properties that were previously used for short-term renting, provided the dwelling is up to 120 square metres. <\/p>\n<p>For tenants with more than two children, the size cap increases by 20 square metres for each additional child. To qualify, the lease must run for at least three years.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1767608865,"updatedAt":1767715522,"publishedAt":1767715131,"firstPublishedAt":1767715131,"lastPublishedAt":1767715522,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Petros Giannakouris\/Copyright 2025 The AP. All rights reserved","altText":"stock photo","callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"caption":"stock photo","url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/60\/24\/02\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_c4fac899-a2df-5bae-a751-1e5ce23ecd7b-9602402.jpg","captionUrl":null,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"karagiorgas","twitter":"@IKaragiorgas","id":638,"title":"Ioannis Karagiorgas"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"urlSafeValue":"greece","titleRaw":"Greece","id":128,"title":"Greece","slug":"greece"},{"urlSafeValue":"salaries","titleRaw":"salaries","id":14546,"title":"salaries","slug":"salaries"},{"urlSafeValue":"tax","titleRaw":"Tax","id":21588,"title":"Tax","slug":"tax"}],"widgets":[{"count":1,"slug":"image"}],"related":[],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"hasExternalVideo":0,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":0,"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"endDate":0,"startDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"World News","online":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"season":"","episode":"","episodeId":"","vertical":"news","verticals":[{"urlSafeValue":"news","id":1,"title":"News","slug":"news"},{"urlSafeValue":"business","id":11,"title":"Business","slug":"business"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"urlSafeValue":"news","id":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"},{"urlSafeValue":"economy","id":"economy","title":"Economy","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"urlSafeValue":"europe","id":104,"title":"Europe"},"country":{"urlSafeValue":"greece","id":128,"title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":{"id":1,"slug":"deepl","isActive":1},"localisation":{"producerLanguage":"el","storyId":9602402,"online":1},"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":1,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/2026\/01\/06\/greece-introduces-2026-tax-cuts-aimed-at-families-and-young-workers","lastModified":1767715522},{"id":2860080,"cid":9603912,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"NC6 GREECE EPIPHANY","daletPyramidId":3800188,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":6},{"id":8},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Young men in Greece dive for wooden cross in Epiphany celebration","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":null,"titleListing2":"Greeks celebrate Epiphany with the traditional blessing of the waters. In Piraeus, men dove into the cold sea to retrieve a wooden cross for good fortune.","leadin":"Greeks celebrate Epiphany with the traditional blessing of the waters. In Piraeus, men dove into the cold sea to retrieve a wooden cross for good fortune.","summary":"Greeks celebrate Epiphany with the traditional blessing of the waters. In Piraeus, men dove into the cold sea to retrieve a wooden cross for good fortune.","keySentence":"","url":"young-men-in-greece-dive-for-wooden-cross-in-epiphany-celebration","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2026\/01\/06\/young-men-in-greece-dive-for-wooden-cross-in-epiphany-celebration","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Greece marked Epiphany on Tuesday with the traditional blessing of the waters, a ritual observed across the country each year on January 6. In the port city of Piraeus, dozens of young men plunged into the cold sea after an Orthodox priest threw a wooden cross into the harbour. The diver who retrieves it is believed to receive good fortune for the year ahead.\n\nThe ceremony followed a Divine Liturgy and a short procession to the waterfront. Families and onlookers gathered despite water temperatures of around 10 to 15\u00b0C. Similar rites took place in coastal towns, rivers and lakes throughout Greece and Cyprus.\n\nIn Nicosia, Epiphany was also observed. At Saint Barbara church, priests led a blessing of the waters attended by local families. Across the island, ceremonies focused on collective prayer rather than competition, reflecting the same spiritual meaning of purification and renewal.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Greece marked Epiphany on Tuesday with the traditional blessing of the waters, a ritual observed across the country each year on January 6. In the port city of Piraeus, dozens of young men plunged into the cold sea after an Orthodox priest threw a wooden cross into the harbour. The diver who retrieves it is believed to receive good fortune for the year ahead.<\/p>\n<p>The ceremony followed a Divine Liturgy and a short procession to the waterfront. Families and onlookers gathered despite water temperatures of around 10 to 15\u00b0C. Similar rites took place in coastal towns, rivers and lakes throughout Greece and Cyprus.<\/p>\n<p>In Nicosia, Epiphany was also observed. At Saint Barbara church, priests led a blessing of the waters attended by local families. Across the island, ceremonies focused on collective prayer rather than competition, reflecting the same spiritual meaning of purification and renewal.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1767705028,"updatedAt":1767707336,"publishedAt":1767706844,"firstPublishedAt":1767706844,"lastPublishedAt":1767706844,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/60\/39\/12\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_e20e8d24-5a86-537e-b964-11933753e70b-9603912.jpg","altText":"A pilgrim catches a cross after an Orthodox priest throw it into the water during an Epiphany ceremony to bless the sea in the southeastern village of Xylophagou, Cyprus","caption":"A pilgrim catches a cross after an Orthodox priest throw it into the water during an Epiphany ceremony to bless the sea in the southeastern village of Xylophagou, Cyprus","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":2000,"height":1333}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":176,"urlSafeValue":"caraco","title":"Alexis Caraco","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":13368,"slug":"epiphany","urlSafeValue":"epiphany","title":"epiphany","titleRaw":"epiphany"},{"id":128,"slug":"greece","urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","titleRaw":"Greece"},{"id":66,"slug":"cyprus","urlSafeValue":"cyprus","title":"Cyprus","titleRaw":"Cyprus"},{"id":12419,"slug":"orthodox-church","urlSafeValue":"orthodox-church","title":"Orthodox Church","titleRaw":"Orthodox Church"},{"id":378,"slug":"religion","urlSafeValue":"religion","title":"Religion","titleRaw":"Religion"},{"id":8735,"slug":"tradition","urlSafeValue":"tradition","title":"Tradition","titleRaw":"Tradition"}],"widgets":[],"related":[{"id":2857066},{"id":2859961},{"id":2733512}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"PbC3DUfLrCw","dailymotionId":"x9x6pa2"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"duration":60000,"editor":"","filesizeBytes":11516643,"format":"mp4","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/ED\/33\/28\/21\/08\/ED_PYR_3328218_20260106132126.mp4","expiresAt":0,"quality":"md"},{"duration":60000,"editor":"","filesizeBytes":15972834,"format":"mp4","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/SHD\/33\/28\/21\/08\/SHD_PYR_3328218_20260106132126.mp4","expiresAt":0,"quality":"hd"},{"duration":60000,"editor":"","filesizeBytes":48320488,"format":"mp4","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/FHD\/33\/28\/21\/08\/FHD_PYR_3328218_20260106132126.mp4","expiresAt":0,"quality":"1080p"}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":"AFP","additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"nocomment","urlSafeValue":"nocomment","title":"No Comment","online":1,"url":"\/nocomment"},"season":"","episode":"","episodeId":"","vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":128,"urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article-video","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":0,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/video\/2026\/01\/06\/young-men-in-greece-dive-for-wooden-cross-in-epiphany-celebration","lastModified":1767706844},{"id":2860006,"cid":9603667,"versionId":2,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"GREECE PINK PANTHERS HEIST","daletPyramidId":3797786,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Two 'Pink Panthers' jewel thieves arrested over \u20ac580,000 Greece hotel heist","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Two 'Pink Panthers' jewel thieves arrested over Greece hotel heist","titleListing2":"The \"Pink Panthers\" behind a robbery with mammoth loot in a jewelry store in Halkidiki","leadin":"Two suspected members of the Pink Panthers jewel thief network were arrested for a \u20ac580,000 valuables robbery in Halkidiki. The suspects were captured in Bulgaria and Croatia.","summary":"Two suspected members of the Pink Panthers jewel thief network were arrested for a \u20ac580,000 valuables robbery in Halkidiki. The suspects were captured in Bulgaria and Croatia.","keySentence":"","url":"two-pink-panthers-jewel-thieves-arrested-over-580000-greece-hotel-heist","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2026\/01\/06\/two-pink-panthers-jewel-thieves-arrested-over-580000-greece-hotel-heist","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Two suspects were arrested in Bulgaria and Croatia under European arrest warrants issued by Greek authorities for a jewellery store robbery in Halkidiki that netted nearly \u20ac580,000 in watches and valuables.\n\nThe robbery took place on 2 September 2025 at a jewellery store inside a hotel in the Greek resort town south of Thessaloniki.\n\nOfficers from the Sub-Directorate for Combating Organised Crime of Northern Greece identified the two suspects, said to be Serbian nationals aged 48 and 46.\n\nThe suspects are said to be members of the Pink Panthers, an international criminal network mostly composed of Serbian and Montenegrin nationals that specialises in jewellery robberies.\n\nThe group, which has roughly 800 core members according to Interpol, is responsible for some of the most audacious heists in the history of organised crime.\n\nGreek investigators, working with Europol and European police forces, determined that four members of the organisation operated in Greece between 20 August and 2 September 2025 to plan and execute the robbery.\n\nThe suspects entered Greece from abroad at different times using forged travel documents and rented vehicles fitted with stolen licence plates to avoid detection, according to authorities.\n\nDuring the robbery, the 48-year-old and an unknown accomplice held two employees at gunpoint and stole luxury watches and valuables worth around \u20ac580,000.\n\nThe 46-year-old and an unidentified female accomplice provided backup, posing as tourists while monitoring the surrounding area.\n\nThe 48-year-old is known to Swiss authorities for home burglary cases. Police are investigating both suspects' involvement in similar armed robberies in other European countries in 2024 and 2025. Greek authorities await extradition decisions from the competent judicial authorities in Bulgaria and Croatia.\n\nThe Pink Panthers have been active in Greece for years. Greek police have arrested multiple cells of the organisation since 2007, including arrests in Athens in 2022, 2023 and 2024 for separate jewellery store robberies.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Two suspects were arrested in Bulgaria and Croatia under European arrest warrants issued by Greek authorities for a jewellery store robbery in Halkidiki that netted nearly \u20ac580,000 in watches and valuables.<\/p>\n<p>The robbery took place on 2 September 2025 at a jewellery store inside a hotel in the Greek resort town south of Thessaloniki. <\/p>\n<p>Officers from the Sub-Directorate for Combating Organised Crime of Northern Greece identified the two suspects, said to be Serbian nationals aged 48 and 46.<\/p>\n<p>The suspects are said to be members of the Pink Panthers, an international criminal network mostly composed of Serbian and Montenegrin nationals that specialises in jewellery robberies. <\/p>\n<p>The group, which has roughly 800 core members according to Interpol, is responsible for some of the most audacious heists in the history of organised crime. <\/p>\n<p>Greek investigators, working with Europol and European police forces, determined that four members of the organisation operated in Greece between 20 August and 2 September 2025 to plan and execute the robbery. <\/p>\n<p>The suspects entered Greece from abroad at different times using forged travel documents and rented vehicles fitted with stolen licence plates to avoid detection, according to authorities.<\/p>\n<p>During the robbery, the 48-year-old and an unknown accomplice held two employees at gunpoint and stole luxury watches and valuables worth around \u20ac580,000. <\/p>\n<p>The 46-year-old and an unidentified female accomplice provided backup, posing as tourists while monitoring the surrounding area.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2025//11//11//russian-passports-and-listed-jewels-how-the-internet-went-wild-for-fake-news-about-the-lou/">Russian passports and listed jewels: How the internet went wild for fake news about the Louvre heist<\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2023//05//12//europol-arrests-balkan-drug-trafficking-leaders-using-a-secret-chat-platform-for-criminals/">Europol arrests Balkan drug trafficking leaders using a secret chat platform for criminals<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>The 48-year-old is known to Swiss authorities for home burglary cases. Police are investigating both suspects' involvement in similar armed robberies in other European countries in 2024 and 2025. Greek authorities await extradition decisions from the competent judicial authorities in Bulgaria and Croatia.<\/p>\n<p>The Pink Panthers have been active in Greece for years. Greek police have arrested multiple cells of the organisation since 2007, including arrests in Athens in 2022, 2023 and 2024 for separate jewellery store robberies.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1767695765,"updatedAt":1767699063,"publishedAt":1767698728,"firstPublishedAt":1767698728,"lastPublishedAt":1767699062,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo","altText":"Operation of the Greek police - file photo","callToActionText":null,"width":2000,"caption":"Operation of the Greek police - file photo","url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/60\/36\/51\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_22617af9-cce9-5212-b02b-2e94433e5c47-9603651.jpg","captionUrl":null,"height":1262}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"tsellos","twitter":"@costastse","id":646,"title":"Konstantinos Tsellos"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"urlSafeValue":"balkans","titleRaw":"Balkans","id":18,"title":"Balkans","slug":"balkans"},{"urlSafeValue":"greece","titleRaw":"Greece","id":128,"title":"Greece","slug":"greece"},{"urlSafeValue":"robbery","titleRaw":"Robbery","id":7999,"title":"Robbery","slug":"robbery"},{"urlSafeValue":"europol","titleRaw":"Europol","id":9975,"title":"Europol","slug":"europol"}],"widgets":[{"count":1,"slug":"related"}],"related":[],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"hasExternalVideo":0,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":0,"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"endDate":0,"startDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"Euronews","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"World News","online":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"season":"","episode":"","episodeId":"","vertical":"news","verticals":[{"urlSafeValue":"news","id":1,"title":"News","slug":"news"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"urlSafeValue":"news","id":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"urlSafeValue":"europe","id":104,"title":"Europe"},"country":{"urlSafeValue":"greece","id":128,"title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article-video","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":{"id":1,"slug":"deepl","isActive":1},"localisation":{"producerLanguage":"el","storyId":9603651,"online":1},"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":1,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/2026\/01\/06\/two-pink-panthers-jewel-thieves-arrested-over-580000-greece-hotel-heist","lastModified":1767699062},{"id":2858133,"cid":9596490,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"MIGRANT DEAD AT SHIPWRECK GREECE ","daletPyramidId":3726453,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"One dead and three missing after migrant boat sinks off Greek island","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"One dead and three missing after migrant boat sinks off Greek island","titleListing2":"Shipwreck with one dead and three missing migrants in Greek waters","leadin":"Twenty-six migrants reached shore and alerted authorities to others at sea. Search operations continue as Mediterranean crossings remain deadly.","summary":"Twenty-six migrants reached shore and alerted authorities to others at sea. Search operations continue as Mediterranean crossings remain deadly.","keySentence":"","url":"one-dead-and-three-missing-after-migrant-boat-sinks-off-greek-island","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2025\/12\/29\/one-dead-and-three-missing-after-migrant-boat-sinks-off-greek-island","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"One person died and three remained missing after a migrant boat sank off the Greek island of Samos early Monday, the coast guard said.\n\nTwenty-six migrants reached shore in the Petalides area and alerted authorities that others were still at sea. The boat had sunk in the early morning hours.\n\nCoast guard vessels, a helicopter, a private boat and ground teams launched a search and rescue operation. The woman's body was recovered during the search, whilst operations continued for the three missing people.\n\nThe nationalities of the migrants were not disclosed.\n\nGreece has been a major entry point for migrants and refugees into the European Union since 2015, with more than 1 million arrivals recorded. Hundreds have died attempting the sea crossing.\n\nRecent data from Frontex, the European border and coast guard agency, showed irregular migration flows through the eastern Mediterranean declined by 30% in the first 11 months of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, with about 46,200 arrivals recorded in Greek waters this year.\n\nHowever, Frontex reported a sharp increase in activity along the Libya-Crete corridor, with detections rising by 272% year-on-year during the same period.\n\nThe incident follows several recent migrant tragedies in Greek waters. On 6 December, Greek authorities recovered 17 bodies and rescued two migrants from a vessel off Crete.\n\nOn 8 December, a 12-year-old boy died after being struck by a boat propeller when a smuggler allegedly forced migrants to jump from a speedboat off Samos.\n\nOne week later, 28 migrants were rescued and three remained missing after their boat crashed into rocks off Samos.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>One person died and three remained missing after a migrant boat sank off the Greek island of Samos early Monday, the coast guard said.<\/p>\n<p>Twenty-six migrants reached shore in the Petalides area and alerted authorities that others were still at sea. The boat had sunk in the early morning hours.<\/p>\n<p>Coast guard vessels, a helicopter, a private boat and ground teams launched a search and rescue operation. The woman's body was recovered during the search, whilst operations continued for the three missing people.<\/p>\n<p>The nationalities of the migrants were not disclosed.<\/p>\n<p>Greece has been a major entry point for migrants and refugees into the European Union since 2015, with more than 1 million arrivals recorded. Hundreds have died attempting the sea crossing.<\/p>\n<p>Recent data from Frontex, the European border and coast guard agency, showed irregular migration flows through the eastern Mediterranean declined by 30% in the first 11 months of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, with about 46,200 arrivals recorded in Greek waters this year.<\/p>\n<p>However, Frontex reported a sharp increase in activity along the Libya-Crete corridor, with detections rising by 272% year-on-year during the same period.<\/p>\n<p>The incident follows several recent migrant tragedies in Greek waters. On 6 December, Greek authorities recovered 17 bodies and rescued two migrants from a vessel off Crete. <\/p>\n<p>On 8 December, a 12-year-old boy died after being struck by a boat propeller when a smuggler allegedly forced migrants to jump from a speedboat off Samos. <\/p>\n<p>One week later, 28 migrants were rescued and three remained missing after their boat crashed into rocks off Samos.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1766994684,"updatedAt":1767005012,"publishedAt":1767005008,"firstPublishedAt":1767005008,"lastPublishedAt":1767005008,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/59\/64\/90\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_f2a936f1-bdd0-5aa3-81ce-c5d348653ae3-9596490.jpg","altText":"stock photo","caption":"stock photo","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Panagiotis Balaskas\/Copyright 2025 The AP. All rights reserved.","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1619,"height":910}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":638,"urlSafeValue":"karagiorgas","title":"Ioannis Karagiorgas","twitter":"@IKaragiorgas"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":128,"slug":"greece","urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","titleRaw":"Greece"},{"id":147,"slug":"immigration","urlSafeValue":"immigration","title":"Immigration","titleRaw":"Immigration"},{"id":2094,"slug":"samos","urlSafeValue":"samos","title":"Samos","titleRaw":"Samos"}],"widgets":[],"related":[{"id":2856117},{"id":2855839},{"id":2855233}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"hasExternalVideo":0,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":0,"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"Euronews","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"World News","online":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"season":"","episode":"","episodeId":"","vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":128,"urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":{"id":1,"slug":"deepl","isActive":1},"localisation":{"producerLanguage":"el","storyId":9596486,"online":1},"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":1,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/2025\/12\/29\/one-dead-and-three-missing-after-migrant-boat-sinks-off-greek-island","lastModified":1767005008},{"id":2854755,"cid":9584471,"versionId":2,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"KONTAKTHOF IN ATHENS","daletPyramidId":3618056,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"'Kontakthof': Greece revives Pina Bausch at its National Theatre ","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Pina Bausch revived at Greek National Theatre with 'Kontakthof'","titleListing2":"The great German choreographer's landmark work, which was first presented in 1978 in Wuppertal, is revived on the main stage of the National Theatre with an entirely Greek company.","leadin":"The great German choreographer's landmark work, which was first presented in 1978 in Wuppertal, is revived on the main stage of Greece's National Theatre with an entirely Greek cast.","summary":"The great German choreographer's landmark work, which was first presented in 1978 in Wuppertal, is revived on the main stage of Greece's National Theatre with an entirely Greek cast.","keySentence":"","url":"kontakthof-pina-bausch-revives-at-the-national-theatre-with-greek-performers","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/culture\/2025\/12\/22\/kontakthof-pina-bausch-revives-at-the-national-theatre-with-greek-performers","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"\"Kontakthof\", one of the emblematic works of Pina Bausch, the German choreographer who had a decisive influence on the form and content of contemporary dance, is now on at the Greece's National Theatre, in collaboration with the Pina Bausch Foundation.\n\n37 years after its first performance in Greece at the Herodeion by Tanztheater Wuppertal, the landmark work is being staged at the Schiller Building, in a production featuring exclusively Greek performers aged 21 to 55.\n\nThis stage revival is under the artistic direction of Josephine Ann Endicott and Daphnis Kokkinou. Both have danced in dozens of the great artist's works and were the ones who selected the Greek cast, in collaboration with Ann Martin, also a member of the original cast, and Scott Jennings, rehearsal directors of the Pina Bausch Foundation. All of them know \"Kontakthof\" very well.\n\nJosephine Ann Endicott, 75, danced in the first performance in 1978 and was the choreographer's assistant for many years. She remembers the whole course of the group from the beginning:\n\n\"I participated mostly in Pina Bausch's early works. I joined the dance company in 1973, so by the time we got to the Kontakthof in 1978, we had already done many revolutionary works and many operas in dance form. We had already had tomatoes thrown at us, there were spectators leaving during the performance and banging on the doors. I was a member of the group at the time. Slowly, when we arrived at the \"Kontakthof\", people were no longer leaving. Pina Bausch had become quite well known, a cult figure with a new way of working that didn't have dancing. There was something about this woman, something so unique and special to me personally, that made me stay there for so many years. I only took a few breaks to have my children.\n\nShe herself as a woman was very beautiful. First of all, when she was younger, she could influence people. Her ideas were unique. She had this way of working with questions and answers. All the time I felt I could be myself in her group. That was what she was looking for and it was also what I was looking for. Jo was able to be herself under Pina's eyes because of her guidance. All the things I could do, I could offer her. We were able to create some works that had to do with people's everyday lives. Her work was always interesting to me and I liked all the musical pieces she put in her works. She was a genius. I didn't know it at the time. I wasn't there just because she was a genius. I was there because I loved her.\"\n\nDaphnis Kokkinou's life and dance career also changed radically when he saw performances by Pina Bausch in Athens in the 1980s. So he decided to continue her journey in Wuppertal, Germany, after completing his studies at the KST. He joined the German Dance Theatre in 1993 and in 2002 he became Pina Bausch's assistant.\n\n\"I saw this play for the first time at the Herodeion when I was a student in 1988, before I left for Germany. I was impressed. I remember very well, very vividly the smile the dancers had towards the audience during the cycle. It's amazing that I remember it after all these years. Then when I joined her chorus, I started learning the piece with Jo's help. I love dancing it so much. I danced it last year and will dance it again this summer,\" Kokkinou tells Euronews.\n\n\"With the work we did at the National Theatre, teaching every move, every scene, everything in the piece, I have a much better understanding of what I do on stage. Before, maybe I only knew things from my own perspective, through my own role. But now all of a sudden, when I was under the stage, I learned so many things, in terms of what my colleagues do on stage, all the preparation, all the steps. It's amazing the work we did for this show in Athens. It's not just the teaching, it's the whole experience. It's really wonderful to dance this particular piece, because you become a co-creator of it, part of its universe.\"\n\nJosephine Ann Endicott, who has been behind several stage revivals of Kontakthof, explains how she went about working with 23 Greek performers and picking the cast for the Greek production.\n\n\"I thought it was a great idea to do this particular play with Greek performers, because in Kontakthof, there is more acting than dancing. Of course we never pretend in the play, we are ourselves on stage. Anyone who came to the audition and pretended, we didn't take them, because we were looking for real people who can speak, stand, have rhythm, present themselves, show who they really are. We chose performers we liked and who said something with their eyes, with their faces, with their aura. Every person has an aura.\n\nMany of the actors took a little time to get into the spirit of the show. You can't get into the world of Pina Bausch that quickly and easily. That's why we had to motivate them to unlock, to find their own identity in the play. Just be themselves and show us who they are. It sounds very simple, but simple things are often the hardest. But we are very happy with the ones we chose. It was a real pleasure to produce this production. I have to admit that I love the humour of the Greeks. I love the way they use their hands when they talk all the time.\"\n\n\"Kontakthof\" was first performed in 1978 at the Wuppertal Opera House and is a landmark of Pina Bausch's early period and a pivotal example of her collaboration with set and costume designer Rolf Borzik, who shaped the visual language of the company in those pivotal years. The play continues to tour to this day, often with different generations: in 2000 with Ladies and Gentlemen Over 65 and in 2008 with teenagers aged 14 to 18.\n\nAt the heart of the play are human relationships. Love, desire, conflict, the need to communicate, tenderness, violence and loneliness. Men and women meet in a dance hall, reveal aspects of themselves, with the aim of connecting. The way these relationships are portrayed is sometimes humorous and sometimes cruel. A struggle of emotions, repetitive actions and gestures unfolds on stage, inviting the viewer to take part.\n\nMelina Konti, one of the perfomers, says: \"Kontakthof for me is a meeting place for 23 people, who meet in a dance hall in search of human contact. They are nuggets of our whole life and our whole being through the eyes of Pina Bausch, in a completely poetic way. But it is a place where we can all find ourselves. That is, we performers come with ourselves to lose ourselves and to find ourselves. I think that's what happens to the person watching the play. For me it is a place of freedom, a place where I can be me, with all my good and all my bad.\n\nThe biggest challenge for me is that it's an absolute combination of acting and dance. And for me that's a great happiness, because it's what I am and what I've done, which is an actor and a dancer. The way Pina Bausch has combined these two arts is a challenge in itself for me. What has it taken for me to do? I am very committed to this project. I have given everything I have and haven't physically and mentally. It took a lot of physical work and a lot of study. I've spent a lot of time finding my own story within this project, because it's not clear. This play doesn't have a clear story, so we each have our own journey. And I have spent a lot of time looking for that journey,\" adds Konti.\n\nAlexandros Vardaxoglou has also studied acting and dance. It was his dream to participate in this performance: \"We see all these small and big relationships that arise between them, their eroticism, their love affairs, their friendships, their rivalries, jealousies, the need to stand out, to be loved, to be noticed,\" he says.\n\n\"The play has so much great variety of relationships and emotions. It constantly transitions to different things. I think it's like seeing a miniature of a society in a way. I feel a lot of times like I'm in a village with all the good and bad of a closed world,which over here goes from the smallest to the biggest. There are big transitions. It's a poetic work, a poetic world.\n\n\"I treat this material with awe but also with a lot of love, because from a young age, when I was in dance school, I watched her works. Sometimes when I do her material, it feels like a lie. I can't believe I've suddenly entered this world. I feel very happy that I've been lucky enough to enter her world and feel something of what the people who met her felt. You often feel like you're meeting her because you're in her work\", adds Vardaxoglou.\n\nDaphnis Kokkinos, who's been a permanent member of the Wuppertal Dance Theatre since 1993, and was the German choreographer's assistant in 2002, has a particular insight regarding what made her work special.\n\n\"What makes Pina and her work special is the way she presented the dance. It's also what she wanted to say with the dance and how she used her dancers to touch a little bit of what was in her mind and soul. What she had was something very, very real. That's why it touches us all. It's something that belongs to everyone, something we all have in common. She was able to make it dance, make it move and bring it out on stage. It's stuff that touches all of us. It's stuff that burns us and engages us. These are the things we live with every day.\n\nThese everyday things, Pina Bausch was able to make them so that they are truly art. When we were working together and we were doing something very small, we said this is just stupid. But she would make it like that and put it somewhere else and suddenly this trivial thing became important. We had a lot of freedom when we worked with her on the projects. It was wonderful, the freedom it gave you to explore, to express yourself. So I think what makes her special is how she made little everyday things into art on stage.\"\n\nKontakthof is on at the Greek National Theatre until 8 February, 2026.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>\"Kontakthof\", one of the emblematic works of Pina Bausch, the German choreographer who had a decisive influence on the form and content of contemporary dance, is now on at the Greece's National Theatre, in collaboration with the Pina Bausch Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>37 years after its first performance in Greece at the Herodeion by Tanztheater Wuppertal, the landmark work is being staged at the Schiller Building, in a production featuring exclusively Greek performers aged 21 to 55.<\/p>\n<p>This stage revival is under the artistic direction of Josephine Ann Endicott and Daphnis Kokkinou. Both have danced in dozens of the great artist's works and were the ones who selected the Greek cast, in collaboration with Ann Martin, also a member of the original cast, and Scott Jennings, rehearsal directors of the Pina Bausch Foundation. All of them know \"Kontakthof\" very well.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6666666666666666\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//58//35//15//808x539_cmsv2_14807755-392d-5d30-9ad6-ecd47e3ff182-9583515.jpg/" alt=\"A scene from Kontakthof\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/384x256_cmsv2_14807755-392d-5d30-9ad6-ecd47e3ff182-9583515.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/640x427_cmsv2_14807755-392d-5d30-9ad6-ecd47e3ff182-9583515.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/750x500_cmsv2_14807755-392d-5d30-9ad6-ecd47e3ff182-9583515.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/828x552_cmsv2_14807755-392d-5d30-9ad6-ecd47e3ff182-9583515.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/1080x720_cmsv2_14807755-392d-5d30-9ad6-ecd47e3ff182-9583515.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/1200x800_cmsv2_14807755-392d-5d30-9ad6-ecd47e3ff182-9583515.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/1920x1280_cmsv2_14807755-392d-5d30-9ad6-ecd47e3ff182-9583515.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">A scene from Kontakthof<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Credit: Karol Jarek <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Josephine Ann Endicott, 75, danced in the first performance in 1978 and was the choreographer's assistant for many years. She remembers the whole course of the group from the beginning:<\/p>\n<p>\"I participated mostly in Pina Bausch's early works. I joined the dance company in 1973, so by the time we got to the Kontakthof in 1978, we had already done many revolutionary works and many operas in dance form. We had already had tomatoes thrown at us, there were spectators leaving during the performance and banging on the doors. I was a member of the group at the time. Slowly, when we arrived at the \"Kontakthof\", people were no longer leaving. Pina Bausch had become quite well known, a cult figure with a new way of working that didn't have dancing. There was something about this woman, something so unique and special to me personally, that made me stay there for so many years. I only took a few breaks to have my children.<\/p>\n<p>She herself as a woman was very beautiful. First of all, when she was younger, she could influence people. Her ideas were unique. She had this way of working with questions and answers. All the time I felt I could be myself in her group. That was what she was looking for and it was also what I was looking for. Jo was able to be herself under Pina's eyes because of her guidance. All the things I could do, I could offer her. We were able to create some works that had to do with people's everyday lives. Her work was always interesting to me and I liked all the musical pieces she put in her works. She was a genius. I didn't know it at the time. I wasn't there just because she was a genius. I was there because I loved her.\"<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6666666666666666\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//58//35//15//808x539_cmsv2_b4971460-dd75-5081-bb84-0d65b7d49fb8-9583515.jpg/" alt=\"A scene from Kontakthof\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/384x256_cmsv2_b4971460-dd75-5081-bb84-0d65b7d49fb8-9583515.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/640x427_cmsv2_b4971460-dd75-5081-bb84-0d65b7d49fb8-9583515.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/750x500_cmsv2_b4971460-dd75-5081-bb84-0d65b7d49fb8-9583515.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/828x552_cmsv2_b4971460-dd75-5081-bb84-0d65b7d49fb8-9583515.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/1080x720_cmsv2_b4971460-dd75-5081-bb84-0d65b7d49fb8-9583515.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/1200x800_cmsv2_b4971460-dd75-5081-bb84-0d65b7d49fb8-9583515.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/1920x1280_cmsv2_b4971460-dd75-5081-bb84-0d65b7d49fb8-9583515.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">A scene from Kontakthof<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Credit: Karol Jarek <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Daphnis Kokkinou's life and dance career also changed radically when he saw performances by Pina Bausch in Athens in the 1980s. So he decided to continue her journey in Wuppertal, Germany, after completing his studies at the KST. He joined the German Dance Theatre in 1993 and in 2002 he became Pina Bausch's assistant.<\/p>\n<p>\"I saw this play for the first time at the Herodeion when I was a student in 1988, before I left for Germany. I was impressed. I remember very well, very vividly the smile the dancers had towards the audience during the cycle. It's amazing that I remember it after all these years. Then when I joined her chorus, I started learning the piece with Jo's help. I love dancing it so much. I danced it last year and will dance it again this summer,\" Kokkinou tells Euronews.<\/p>\n<p>\"With the work we did at the National Theatre, teaching every move, every scene, everything in the piece, I have a much better understanding of what I do on stage. Before, maybe I only knew things from my own perspective, through my own role. But now all of a sudden, when I was under the stage, I learned so many things, in terms of what my colleagues do on stage, all the preparation, all the steps. It's amazing the work we did for this show in Athens. It's not just the teaching, it's the whole experience. It's really wonderful to dance this particular piece, because you become a co-creator of it, part of its universe.\"<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6666666666666666\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//58//35//15//808x539_cmsv2_7bce8f32-7878-5583-8bac-ecaa1ad25f7e-9583515.jpg/" alt=\"In the studio \" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/384x256_cmsv2_7bce8f32-7878-5583-8bac-ecaa1ad25f7e-9583515.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/640x427_cmsv2_7bce8f32-7878-5583-8bac-ecaa1ad25f7e-9583515.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/750x500_cmsv2_7bce8f32-7878-5583-8bac-ecaa1ad25f7e-9583515.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/828x552_cmsv2_7bce8f32-7878-5583-8bac-ecaa1ad25f7e-9583515.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/1080x720_cmsv2_7bce8f32-7878-5583-8bac-ecaa1ad25f7e-9583515.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/1200x800_cmsv2_7bce8f32-7878-5583-8bac-ecaa1ad25f7e-9583515.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/1920x1280_cmsv2_7bce8f32-7878-5583-8bac-ecaa1ad25f7e-9583515.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">In the studio <\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Credit: Karol Jarek <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Josephine Ann Endicott, who has been behind several stage revivals of Kontakthof, explains how she went about working with 23 Greek performers and picking the cast for the Greek production.<\/p>\n<p>\"I thought it was a great idea to do this particular play with Greek performers, because in Kontakthof, there is more acting than dancing. Of course we never pretend in the play, we are ourselves on stage. Anyone who came to the audition and pretended, we didn't take them, because we were looking for real people who can speak, stand, have rhythm, present themselves, show who they really are. We chose performers we liked and who said something with their eyes, with their faces, with their aura. Every person has an aura.<\/p>\n<p>Many of the actors took a little time to get into the spirit of the show. You can't get into the world of Pina Bausch that quickly and easily. That's why we had to motivate them to unlock, to find their own identity in the play. Just be themselves and show us who they are. It sounds very simple, but simple things are often the hardest. But we are very happy with the ones we chose. It was a real pleasure to produce this production. I have to admit that I love the humour of the Greeks. I love the way they use their hands when they talk all the time.\"<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6666666666666666\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//58//35//15//808x539_cmsv2_a0e87a8b-e332-5656-a413-93061e3ae29b-9583515.jpg/" alt=\"A scene from Kontakthof \" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/384x256_cmsv2_a0e87a8b-e332-5656-a413-93061e3ae29b-9583515.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/640x427_cmsv2_a0e87a8b-e332-5656-a413-93061e3ae29b-9583515.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/750x500_cmsv2_a0e87a8b-e332-5656-a413-93061e3ae29b-9583515.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/828x552_cmsv2_a0e87a8b-e332-5656-a413-93061e3ae29b-9583515.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/1080x720_cmsv2_a0e87a8b-e332-5656-a413-93061e3ae29b-9583515.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/1200x800_cmsv2_a0e87a8b-e332-5656-a413-93061e3ae29b-9583515.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/1920x1280_cmsv2_a0e87a8b-e332-5656-a413-93061e3ae29b-9583515.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">A scene from Kontakthof <\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Credit: Karol Jarek <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>\"Kontakthof\" was first performed in 1978 at the Wuppertal Opera House and is a landmark of Pina Bausch's early period and a pivotal example of her collaboration with set and costume designer Rolf Borzik, who shaped the visual language of the company in those pivotal years. The play continues to tour to this day, often with different generations: in 2000 with Ladies and Gentlemen Over 65 and in 2008 with teenagers aged 14 to 18.<\/p>\n<p>At the heart of the play are human relationships. Love, desire, conflict, the need to communicate, tenderness, violence and loneliness. Men and women meet in a dance hall, reveal aspects of themselves, with the aim of connecting. The way these relationships are portrayed is sometimes humorous and sometimes cruel. A struggle of emotions, repetitive actions and gestures unfolds on stage, inviting the viewer to take part.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6666666666666666\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//58//35//15//808x539_cmsv2_ae83b4ce-cb91-5172-b4f3-54d406ff1996-9583515.jpg/" alt=\"A scene from Kontakthof \" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/384x256_cmsv2_ae83b4ce-cb91-5172-b4f3-54d406ff1996-9583515.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/640x427_cmsv2_ae83b4ce-cb91-5172-b4f3-54d406ff1996-9583515.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/750x500_cmsv2_ae83b4ce-cb91-5172-b4f3-54d406ff1996-9583515.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/828x552_cmsv2_ae83b4ce-cb91-5172-b4f3-54d406ff1996-9583515.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/1080x720_cmsv2_ae83b4ce-cb91-5172-b4f3-54d406ff1996-9583515.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/1200x800_cmsv2_ae83b4ce-cb91-5172-b4f3-54d406ff1996-9583515.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/1920x1280_cmsv2_ae83b4ce-cb91-5172-b4f3-54d406ff1996-9583515.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">A scene from Kontakthof <\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Credit: Karol Jarek <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Melina Konti, one of the perfomers, says: \"Kontakthof for me is a meeting place for 23 people, who meet in a dance hall in search of human contact. They are nuggets of our whole life and our whole being through the eyes of Pina Bausch, in a completely poetic way. But it is a place where we can all find ourselves. That is, we performers come with ourselves to lose ourselves and to find ourselves. I think that's what happens to the person watching the play. For me it is a place of freedom, a place where I can be me, with all my good and all my bad.<\/p>\n<p>The biggest challenge for me is that it's an absolute combination of acting and dance. And for me that's a great happiness, because it's what I am and what I've done, which is an actor and a dancer. The way Pina Bausch has combined these two arts is a challenge in itself for me. What has it taken for me to do? I am very committed to this project. I have given everything I have and haven't physically and mentally. It took a lot of physical work and a lot of study. I've spent a lot of time finding my own story within this project, because it's not clear. This play doesn't have a clear story, so we each have our own journey. And I have spent a lot of time looking for that journey,\" adds Konti.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6666666666666666\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//58//35//15//808x539_cmsv2_d38fe247-2006-568f-8245-84a9b170d769-9583515.jpg/" alt=\"A scene from Kontakthof \" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/384x256_cmsv2_d38fe247-2006-568f-8245-84a9b170d769-9583515.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/640x427_cmsv2_d38fe247-2006-568f-8245-84a9b170d769-9583515.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/750x500_cmsv2_d38fe247-2006-568f-8245-84a9b170d769-9583515.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/828x552_cmsv2_d38fe247-2006-568f-8245-84a9b170d769-9583515.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/1080x720_cmsv2_d38fe247-2006-568f-8245-84a9b170d769-9583515.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/1200x800_cmsv2_d38fe247-2006-568f-8245-84a9b170d769-9583515.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/1920x1280_cmsv2_d38fe247-2006-568f-8245-84a9b170d769-9583515.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">A scene from Kontakthof <\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Credit: Karol Jarek <\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Alexandros Vardaxoglou has also studied acting and dance. It was his dream to participate in this performance: \"We see all these small and big relationships that arise between them, their eroticism, their love affairs, their friendships, their rivalries, jealousies, the need to stand out, to be loved, to be noticed,\" he says.<\/p>\n<p>\"The play has so much great variety of relationships and emotions. It constantly transitions to different things. I think it's like seeing a miniature of a society in a way. I feel a lot of times like I'm in a village with all the good and bad of a closed world,which over here goes from the smallest to the biggest. There are big transitions. It's a poetic work, a poetic world.<\/p>\n<p>\"I treat this material with awe but also with a lot of love, because from a young age, when I was in dance school, I watched her works. Sometimes when I do her material, it feels like a lie. I can't believe I've suddenly entered this world. I feel very happy that I've been lucky enough to enter her world and feel something of what the people who met her felt. You often feel like you're meeting her because you're in her work\", adds Vardaxoglou.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6666666666666666\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//58//35//15//808x539_cmsv2_d531fd0c-76c1-5ecd-b936-d667e9b89cbe-9583515.jpg/" alt=\"A scene from Kontakthof \" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/384x256_cmsv2_d531fd0c-76c1-5ecd-b936-d667e9b89cbe-9583515.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/640x427_cmsv2_d531fd0c-76c1-5ecd-b936-d667e9b89cbe-9583515.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/750x500_cmsv2_d531fd0c-76c1-5ecd-b936-d667e9b89cbe-9583515.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/828x552_cmsv2_d531fd0c-76c1-5ecd-b936-d667e9b89cbe-9583515.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/1080x720_cmsv2_d531fd0c-76c1-5ecd-b936-d667e9b89cbe-9583515.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/1200x800_cmsv2_d531fd0c-76c1-5ecd-b936-d667e9b89cbe-9583515.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/1920x1280_cmsv2_d531fd0c-76c1-5ecd-b936-d667e9b89cbe-9583515.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">A scene from Kontakthof <\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Credit: Karol Jarek<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Daphnis Kokkinos, who's been a permanent member of the Wuppertal Dance Theatre since 1993, and was the German choreographer's assistant in 2002, has a particular insight regarding what made her work special.<\/p>\n<p>\"What makes Pina and her work special is the way she presented the dance. It's also what she wanted to say with the dance and how she used her dancers to touch a little bit of what was in her mind and soul. What she had was something very, very real. That's why it touches us all. It's something that belongs to everyone, something we all have in common. She was able to make it dance, make it move and bring it out on stage. It's stuff that touches all of us. It's stuff that burns us and engages us. These are the things we live with every day.<\/p>\n<p>These everyday things, Pina Bausch was able to make them so that they are truly art. When we were working together and we were doing something very small, we said this is just stupid. But she would make it like that and put it somewhere else and suddenly this trivial thing became important. We had a lot of freedom when we worked with her on the projects. It was wonderful, the freedom it gave you to explore, to express yourself. So I think what makes her special is how she made little everyday things into art on stage.\"<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-youtube-embed\nwidget--size-fullwidth\nwidget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <div class=\"auto widget__ratio widget__ratio--16x9\">\n <iframe type=\"text\/html\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.youtube.com//embed//xSOz1j0tly4/" width=\"100%\" loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen seamless>\n <\/iframe>\n <\/div>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p><strong><em>Kontakthof<\/em> is on at the Greek National Theatre until 8 February, 2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1765879469,"updatedAt":1766385579,"publishedAt":1766385560,"firstPublishedAt":1766262140,"lastPublishedAt":1766385579,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"KAROL JAREK (c)\/KAROL JAREK","altText":"\"Contact Courtyard\"","callToActionText":null,"width":1800,"caption":"\"Contact Courtyard\"","url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/35\/15\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_fc065d74-018e-547f-ac8d-ea312011318f-9583515.jpg","captionUrl":null,"height":1200}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"urlSafeValue":"dance","titleRaw":"Dance","id":4145,"title":"Dance","slug":"dance"},{"urlSafeValue":"theater","titleRaw":"Theater","id":4154,"title":"Theater","slug":"theater"},{"urlSafeValue":"performance","titleRaw":"performance","id":13370,"title":"performance","slug":"performance"}],"widgets":[{"count":7,"slug":"image"},{"count":1,"slug":"youtube"}],"related":[{"id":2847552},{"id":2847763},{"id":2828293}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"dailymotionId":"x9w451m"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"duration":210000,"editor":"","filesizeBytes":30853110,"format":"mp4","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/ED\/32\/18\/94\/03\/ED_PYR_3218943_20251220203607.mp4","expiresAt":0,"quality":"md"},{"duration":210000,"editor":"","filesizeBytes":46758359,"format":"mp4","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/SHD\/32\/18\/94\/03\/SHD_PYR_3218943_20251220203607.mp4","expiresAt":0,"quality":"hd"},{"duration":210000,"editor":"","filesizeBytes":161773255,"format":"mp4","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/FHD\/32\/18\/94\/03\/FHD_PYR_3218943_20251220203607.mp4","expiresAt":0,"quality":"1080p"}],"liveStream":[{"endDate":0,"startDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"Giorgos Mitropoulos","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"culture-news","urlSafeValue":"culture-news","title":"Culture News","online":0,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/culture\/culture-news\/culture-news"},"season":"","episode":"","episodeId":"","vertical":"culture","verticals":[{"urlSafeValue":"culture","id":10,"title":"Culture","slug":"culture"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":10,"slug":"culture","urlSafeValue":"culture","title":"Culture"},"themes":[{"urlSafeValue":"culture-news","id":"culture-news","title":"Culture news","url":"\/culture\/culture-news"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":53,"urlSafeValue":"culture-news","title":"Culture news"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":128,"urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":{"id":1712,"urlSafeValue":"athens","title":"Athens"},"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article-video","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":{"id":1,"slug":"deepl","isActive":1},"localisation":{"producerLanguage":"el","storyId":9583515,"online":1},"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":1,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/culture\/2025\/12\/22\/kontakthof-pina-bausch-revives-at-the-national-theatre-with-greek-performers","lastModified":1766385579},{"id":2856117,"cid":9589467,"versionId":4,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"CRETE MIGRANTS","daletPyramidId":3665140,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Over 600 migrants reach Crete in 24 hours amid route shift","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Over 600 migrants reach Crete in 24 hours amid route shift","titleListing2":"There has been hundreds of arrivals at the Greek island in the last 24 hours.","leadin":"More than 600 migrants arrived on Crete in 24 hours as smugglers shift routes from Libya. Greece saw 18% decline overall but Crete sees concentrated arrivals.","summary":"More than 600 migrants arrived on Crete in 24 hours as smugglers shift routes from Libya. Greece saw 18% decline overall but Crete sees concentrated arrivals.","keySentence":"","url":"over-1000-migrants-have-arrivied-in-crete-in-december","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2025\/12\/20\/over-1000-migrants-have-arrivied-in-crete-in-december","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"More than 600 migrants arrived on Crete over a 24-hour period, in a shift in Mediterranean migration routes toward the Greek island and nearby Gavdos.\n\nGreek port authorities rescued 545 migrants off the coast of Gavdos on Friday with assistance from the European border and coast guard agency Frontex. The migrants were transported to Crete.\n\nOvernight, Greek authorities conducted two separate rescue operations. A Coast Guard patrol boat spotted 27 people in a dinghy 45 nautical miles southeast of Kales Limeni.\n\nA second boat carrying 35 people was located 2.5 nautical miles southeast of Psari Forada in the municipality of Viannos.\n\nMore than 1,000 migrants arrived on Crete's coast in December alone, according to Greek authorities.\n\nSmugglers operating from Libya increasingly favour Crete and Gavdos as destinations due to improved weather conditions and proximity to the North African coast, Greek officials said.\n\nGreece recorded 39,495 illegal border crossings by the end of October, an 18% decrease from 48,415 arrivals in the same period in 2024, according to official figures.\n\nThe shift reflects broader changes in Mediterranean migration patterns. Italy recorded 65,642 arrivals in 2025, compared with 65,471 in 2024, indicating a stabilisation. December arrivals fell from 3,080 in 2024 to 2,336 this year, according to Italian Interior Ministry figures.\n\nSpain saw the sharpest decline, with arrivals falling 44.3% to 32,212 between 1 January and 15 December, down from 57,833 in the same period in 2024, Spanish officials said.\n\nIncreased surveillance and stricter policies\n\nAuthorities attributed the decline in Mediterranean arrivals to increased surveillance and stricter migration policies across European countries.\n\nHowever, the concentration of arrivals on Crete indicates smuggling networks are adapting routes to avoid heightened enforcement elsewhere in the Mediterranean.\n\nGreece has struggled to manage migration since 2015, when more than 850,000 people arrived on Greek islands from Turkey. The country has built detention centres on several islands and increased patrols in the Aegean Sea.\n\nCrete, Greece's largest island, sits approximately 300 kilometres north of Libya. Gavdos, located about 40 kilometres south of Crete, is the southernmost point of Europe.\n\nThe UN refugee agency UNHCR has criticised conditions in Greek reception centres and called for better coordination among EU member states to share responsibility for asylum seekers arriving via Mediterranean routes.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>More than 600 migrants arrived on Crete over a 24-hour period, in a shift in Mediterranean migration routes toward the Greek island and nearby Gavdos.<\/p>\n<p>Greek port authorities rescued 545 migrants off the coast of Gavdos on Friday with assistance from the European border and coast guard agency Frontex. The migrants were transported to Crete.<\/p>\n<p>Overnight, Greek authorities conducted two separate rescue operations. A Coast Guard patrol boat spotted 27 people in a dinghy 45 nautical miles southeast of Kales Limeni. <\/p>\n<p>A second boat carrying 35 people was located 2.5 nautical miles southeast of Psari Forada in the municipality of Viannos.<\/p>\n<p>More than 1,000 migrants arrived on Crete's coast in December alone, according to Greek authorities.<\/p>\n<p>Smugglers operating from Libya increasingly favour Crete and Gavdos as destinations due to improved weather conditions and proximity to the North African coast, Greek officials said.<\/p>\n<p>Greece recorded 39,495 illegal border crossings by the end of October, an 18% decrease from 48,415 arrivals in the same period in 2024, according to official figures.<\/p>\n<p>The shift reflects broader changes in Mediterranean migration patterns. Italy recorded 65,642 arrivals in 2025, compared with 65,471 in 2024, indicating a stabilisation. December arrivals fell from 3,080 in 2024 to 2,336 this year, according to Italian Interior Ministry figures.<\/p>\n<p>Spain saw the sharpest decline, with arrivals falling 44.3% to 32,212 between 1 January and 15 December, down from 57,833 in the same period in 2024, Spanish officials said.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Increased surveillance and stricter policies<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Authorities attributed the decline in Mediterranean arrivals to increased surveillance and stricter migration policies across European countries.<\/p>\n<p>However, the concentration of arrivals on Crete indicates smuggling networks are adapting routes to avoid heightened enforcement elsewhere in the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n<p>Greece has struggled to manage migration since 2015, when more than 850,000 people arrived on Greek islands from Turkey. The country has built detention centres on several islands and increased patrols in the Aegean Sea.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2025//12//19//greece-rescues-545-migrants-off-gavdos-as-libya-route-sees-surge-in-crossings/">Greece rescues 545 migrants off Gavdos as Libya route sees surge in crossings<\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2025//12//08//migrant-boy-killed-by-boat-propeller-in-greece-hours-after-crete-shipwreck/">Migrant boy killed by boat propeller in Greece hours after Crete shipwreck<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Crete, Greece's largest island, sits approximately 300 kilometres north of Libya. Gavdos, located about 40 kilometres south of Crete, is the southernmost point of Europe.<\/p>\n<p>The UN refugee agency UNHCR has criticised conditions in Greek reception centres and called for better coordination among EU member states to share responsibility for asylum seekers arriving via Mediterranean routes.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1766227401,"updatedAt":1766271278,"publishedAt":1766239627,"firstPublishedAt":1766239627,"lastPublishedAt":1766271277,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo","altText":"File image - Migrants board a bus at the port of Paleochora, Crete, Sunday 19 October 2025.","callToActionText":null,"width":2000,"caption":"File image - Migrants board a bus at the port of Paleochora, Crete, Sunday 19 October 2025.","url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/60\/30\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_6ee42a30-1def-5569-964b-1ed71df17d70-9576030.jpg","captionUrl":null,"height":1333}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"touchtidou","twitter":"@stouchtidou","id":574,"title":"Symela Touchtidou"},{"urlSafeValue":"aivaliotis","twitter":"@GAivaliotis","id":640,"title":"Georgios Aivaliotis"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"urlSafeValue":"greece","titleRaw":"Greece","id":128,"title":"Greece","slug":"greece"},{"urlSafeValue":"immigration","titleRaw":"Immigration","id":147,"title":"Immigration","slug":"immigration"},{"urlSafeValue":"migrants","titleRaw":"Migrants","id":13190,"title":"Migrants","slug":"migrants"},{"urlSafeValue":"crete","titleRaw":"Crete","id":13468,"title":"Crete","slug":"crete"}],"widgets":[{"count":1,"slug":"related"}],"related":[{"id":2852938},{"id":2855423}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"-NnlL2n8HBk","dailymotionId":"x9w3lzi"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"duration":62680,"editor":"","filesizeBytes":13061090,"format":"mp4","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/ED\/32\/18\/30\/01\/ED_PYR_3218301_20251220150706.mp4","expiresAt":0,"quality":"md"},{"duration":62680,"editor":"","filesizeBytes":18445637,"format":"mp4","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/SHD\/32\/18\/30\/01\/SHD_PYR_3218301_20251220150706.mp4","expiresAt":0,"quality":"hd"},{"duration":62680,"editor":"","filesizeBytes":50974069,"format":"mp4","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/FHD\/32\/18\/30\/01\/FHD_PYR_3218301_20251220150706.mp4","expiresAt":0,"quality":"1080p"}],"liveStream":[{"endDate":0,"startDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"Fortunato Pinto, Jes\u00fas Maturana and Euronews","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"World News","online":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"season":"","episode":"","episodeId":"","vertical":"news","verticals":[{"urlSafeValue":"news","id":1,"title":"News","slug":"news"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"urlSafeValue":"news","id":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"urlSafeValue":"europe","id":104,"title":"Europe"},"country":{"urlSafeValue":"greece","id":128,"title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article-video","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":{"id":1,"slug":"deepl","isActive":1},"localisation":{"producerLanguage":"el","storyId":9589400,"online":1},"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":1,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/2025\/12\/20\/over-1000-migrants-have-arrivied-in-crete-in-december","lastModified":1766271277},{"id":2855839,"cid":9588385,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"500 MIGRANTS RESCUED IN GREECE","daletPyramidId":3655753,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Greece rescues 545 migrants off Gavdos as Libya route sees surge in crossings","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Greece rescues 545 migrants off Gavdos as Libya route sees surge","titleListing2":"Greek authorities rescued 545 migrants from a vessel off Gavdos Friday, one of the largest recent operations as arrivals from Libya continue to rise sharply.","leadin":"Greek authorities rescued 545 migrants from a vessel off Gavdos Friday, one of the largest recent operations as arrivals from Libya continue to rise sharply.","summary":"Greek authorities rescued 545 migrants from a vessel off Gavdos Friday, one of the largest recent operations as arrivals from Libya continue to rise sharply.","keySentence":"","url":"greece-rescues-545-migrants-off-gavdos-as-libya-route-sees-surge-in-crossings","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2025\/12\/19\/greece-rescues-545-migrants-off-gavdos-as-libya-route-sees-surge-in-crossings","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Greek authorities rescued 545 migrants from a fishing vessel off Gavdos on Friday in one of the largest operations in recent months, as arrivals from Libya to Greece's southernmost islands continue to surge.\n\nThe Hellenic Coast Guard received a distress signal shortly after 3 am on Friday. Three coast guard vessels, three Frontex ships and three commercial vessels responded to the emergency approximately 16 nautical miles southeast of Gavdos.\n\nRescuers located hundreds of migrants packed aboard a fishing boat. After several hours, the operation was completed safely and all 545 people were transferred to the port of Agia Galini on nearby Crete in good health.\n\nMayor Giannis Tatarakis of the Agios Vasilios municipality said the migrants would remain briefly in Agia Galini before being moved to Rethymno. Municipal authorities arranged food provisions for the arrivals.\n\nIn a separate incident Friday, Frontex located 32 migrants aboard another vessel off Gavdos. They were taken to Hania on Crete. All those rescued were reported to be in good health.\n\nSmugglers target Gavdos\n\nThe southernmost Greek island with fewer than 100 permanent residents, Gavdos has recently emerged as a migration hotspot, with rescue missions now occurring almost daily.\n\nSmuggling networks operating from Tobruk in eastern Libya have identified the 180-mile stretch to Gavdos as a gap in Mediterranean surveillance.\n\nMore than 7,300 migrants reached Crete and Gavdos in the first half of 2025 alone, surpassing the total for all of 2024. The vast majority depart from Libya's eastern coast, particularly Tobruk, on journeys lasting at least 36 hours across open water.\n\nThe route has become increasingly active as smugglers shift eastward in response to tighter European surveillance of traditional western Libyan departure points.\n\nMigrants, primarily from Egypt, Sudan and Bangladesh, pay between \u20ac2,000 and \u20ac5,000 to traffickers for passage on overcrowded and often unseaworthy vessels.\n\nGavdos lacks proper facilities to accommodate large migrant groups. The island has no official reception centre, forcing authorities to rely on temporary transfers to Crete, where municipalities struggle with limited infrastructure.\n\nGreece suspended asylum processing for arrivals from North Africa for three months in July 2025 amid the surge. The government has deployed naval frigates near Libyan territorial waters and increased patrols in coordination with Frontex.\n\nThe European Union earlier this month approved major tightening of migration rules, including controversial \"return hubs\" for rejected asylum seekers.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Greek authorities rescued 545 migrants from a fishing vessel off Gavdos on Friday in one of the largest operations in recent months, as arrivals from Libya to Greece's southernmost islands continue to surge.<\/p>\n<p>The Hellenic Coast Guard received a distress signal shortly after 3 am on Friday. Three coast guard vessels, three Frontex ships and three commercial vessels responded to the emergency approximately 16 nautical miles southeast of Gavdos.<\/p>\n<p>Rescuers located hundreds of migrants packed aboard a fishing boat. After several hours, the operation was completed safely and all 545 people were transferred to the port of Agia Galini on nearby Crete in good health.<\/p>\n<p>Mayor Giannis Tatarakis of the Agios Vasilios municipality said the migrants would remain briefly in Agia Galini before being moved to Rethymno. Municipal authorities arranged food provisions for the arrivals.<\/p>\n<p>In a separate incident Friday, Frontex located 32 migrants aboard another vessel off Gavdos. They were taken to Hania on Crete. All those rescued were reported to be in good health.<\/p>\n<h2>Smugglers target Gavdos<\/h2>\n<p>The southernmost Greek island with fewer than 100 permanent residents, Gavdos has recently emerged as a migration hotspot, with rescue missions now occurring almost daily. <\/p>\n<p>Smuggling networks operating from Tobruk in eastern Libya have identified the 180-mile stretch to Gavdos as a gap in Mediterranean surveillance.<\/p>\n<p>More than 7,300 migrants reached Crete and Gavdos in the first half of 2025 alone, surpassing the total for all of 2024. The vast majority depart from Libya's eastern coast, particularly Tobruk, on journeys lasting at least 36 hours across open water.<\/p>\n<p>The route has become increasingly active as smugglers shift eastward in response to tighter European surveillance of traditional western Libyan departure points. <\/p>\n<p>Migrants, primarily from Egypt, Sudan and Bangladesh, pay between \u20ac2,000 and \u20ac5,000 to traffickers for passage on overcrowded and often unseaworthy vessels.<\/p>\n<p>Gavdos lacks proper facilities to accommodate large migrant groups. The island has no official reception centre, forcing authorities to rely on temporary transfers to Crete, where municipalities struggle with limited infrastructure.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2025//12//08//migrant-boy-killed-by-boat-propeller-in-greece-hours-after-crete-shipwreck/">Migrant boy killed by boat propeller in Greece hours after Crete shipwreck<\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2025//12//11//from-return-hubs-to-sanctions-for-smugglers-eu-strikes-harder-line-on-illegal-migration/">From return hubs to sanctions for smugglers: EU strikes harder line on illegal migration<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Greece suspended asylum processing for arrivals from North Africa for three months in July 2025 amid the surge. The government has deployed naval frigates near Libyan territorial waters and increased patrols in coordination with Frontex.<\/p>\n<p>The European Union earlier this month approved major tightening of migration rules, including controversial \"return hubs\" for rejected asylum seekers.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1766134174,"updatedAt":1766137292,"publishedAt":1766137288,"firstPublishedAt":1766137288,"lastPublishedAt":1766137288,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/83\/39\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_8b04087b-aad1-5e07-8231-d9144480a12e-9588339.jpg","altText":"stock photo","caption":"stock photo","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Michael Varaklas\/Copyright 2020 The AP. All rights reserved","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":638,"urlSafeValue":"karagiorgas","title":"Ioannis Karagiorgas","twitter":"@IKaragiorgas"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":128,"slug":"greece","urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","titleRaw":"Greece"},{"id":12754,"slug":"frontex","urlSafeValue":"frontex","title":"Frontex","titleRaw":"Frontex"},{"id":13190,"slug":"migrants","urlSafeValue":"migrants","title":"Migrants","titleRaw":"Migrants"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"hasExternalVideo":0,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":0,"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"Euronews","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"World News","online":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"season":"","episode":"","episodeId":"","vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":128,"urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article-video","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":{"id":1,"slug":"deepl","isActive":1},"localisation":{"producerLanguage":"el","storyId":9588339,"online":1},"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":1,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/2025\/12\/19\/greece-rescues-545-migrants-off-gavdos-as-libya-route-sees-surge-in-crossings","lastModified":1766137288},{"id":2855649,"cid":9587582,"versionId":2,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"FRANCE GREECE FRIGATE DELIVERY","daletPyramidId":3647419,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Greece takes delivery of Kimon frigate from France as \u20ac25bn military upgrade continues","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Greece receives navy frigate from France as military upgrade continues","titleListing2":"Greece takes delivery of F601 Kimon frigate from France as \u20ac25bn military upgrade continues","leadin":"Athens has the option for a fourth frigate, which was approved by parliament in summer and formally agreed with Paris in November.","summary":"Athens has the option for a fourth frigate, which was approved by parliament in summer and formally agreed with Paris in November.","keySentence":"","url":"greece-takes-delivery-of-kimon-frigate-from-france-as-25bn-military-upgrade-continues","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2025\/12\/18\/greece-takes-delivery-of-kimon-frigate-from-france-as-25bn-military-upgrade-continues","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Greece has taken delivery of the first of four advanced frigates from France, which Greek officials say symbolises its navy entering a \"new era\".\n\nThe handover ceremony for the F601 Kimon took place on Thursday in the western port city of Lorient and was attended by Greece\u2019s Defence Minister Nikos Dendias.\n\n\"We are witnessing proof of the strategic relationship between Greece and France that also bears my signature,\" Dendias said.\n\n\"It is not just the delivery of an exceptional ship, but the entry of the Armed Forces and the Navy into a new era.\"\n\nDendias thanked the French government and described bilateral relations as \"very warm.\"\n\nGreece agreed to purchase three Kimon vessels in September 2021 as part of a \u20ac3 billion defence package.\n\nAthens has the option for a fourth, which was approved by parliament in summer and formally agreed with Paris in November.\n\nThe Greek flag was raised on the new frigate and will be fully integrated into the Greek navy and operational in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean in 2026.\n\nCommenting on Greece\u2019s ambitious defence procurement programme in Brussels, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described the handover as \"a moment that should make all Greeks proud.\"\n\n\"I am at the European Council today but I believe that the heart of Greece beats a few kilometres from here, at the Lorient shipyard, where the Greek flag will be raised on the first of the four Belharra frigates.\"\n\nThe Kimon is due to sail to Brest where its weapons systems, including Exocet Block III anti-ship missiles and Aster 30 air-defence missiles, will be installed and is expected to arrive at the Salamina Naval Base near Athens at the start of 2026.\n\nGreece upgrades defence capabilities\n\nGreece signed a new defence agreement with France in April to acquire 16 Exocet anti-ship missiles, the latest in a series of arms purchases aimed at enhancing the country's military capabilities.\n\nDefence Minister Nikos Dendias signed the deal in Athens alongside his French counterpart, then Defence Minister S\u00e9bastien Lecornu, during a visit to the Greek capital.\u00a0\n\nWhile the ministers did not disclose the value of the contract, it marks a continuation of Greece\u2019s growing defence ties with France.\n\n\"Greece does not threaten, but is threatened,\" Dendias said in a joint statement to the press, referring to Greece's fraught relationship with Turkey, with whom it has long-standing disputes over territorial boundaries in the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean.\u00a0\n\nThe missile acquisition adds to Greece's broader modernisation programme, launched after years of defence spending cuts during the 2010\u20132018 financial crisis.\u00a0\n\nPrevious procurements from France include 24 Rafale fighter jets, while Paris is also supplying NH-90 military helicopters.\n\nAthens plans to invest \u20ac25 billion over the next decade to modernise its armed forces.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Greece has taken delivery of the first of four advanced frigates from France, which Greek officials say symbolises its navy entering a \"new era\".<\/p>\n<p>The handover ceremony for the F601 Kimon took place on Thursday in the western port city of Lorient and was attended by Greece\u2019s Defence Minister Nikos Dendias.<\/p>\n<p>\"We are witnessing proof of the strategic relationship between Greece and France that also bears my signature,\" Dendias said.<\/p>\n<p>\"It is not just the delivery of an exceptional ship, but the entry of the Armed Forces and the Navy into a new era.\"<\/p>\n<p>Dendias thanked the French government and described bilateral relations as \"very warm.\"<\/p>\n<p>Greece agreed to purchase three Kimon vessels in September 2021 as part of a \u20ac3 billion defence package.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.75\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//58//75//61//808x608_cmsv2_484352b7-3066-5d72-84b8-7de9aafa3c11-9587561.jpg/" alt=\"The FDI Frigate Kimon in Lorian\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/75\/61\/384x288_cmsv2_484352b7-3066-5d72-84b8-7de9aafa3c11-9587561.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/75\/61\/640x480_cmsv2_484352b7-3066-5d72-84b8-7de9aafa3c11-9587561.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/75\/61\/750x563_cmsv2_484352b7-3066-5d72-84b8-7de9aafa3c11-9587561.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/75\/61\/828x621_cmsv2_484352b7-3066-5d72-84b8-7de9aafa3c11-9587561.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/75\/61\/1080x810_cmsv2_484352b7-3066-5d72-84b8-7de9aafa3c11-9587561.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/75\/61\/1200x900_cmsv2_484352b7-3066-5d72-84b8-7de9aafa3c11-9587561.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/75\/61\/1920x1440_cmsv2_484352b7-3066-5d72-84b8-7de9aafa3c11-9587561.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">The FDI Frigate Kimon in Lorian<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Facebook\/Ioannis Alexandros Ioannidis<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Athens has the option for a fourth, which was approved by parliament in summer and formally agreed with Paris in November.<\/p>\n<p>The Greek flag was raised on the new frigate and will be fully integrated into the Greek navy and operational in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Commenting on Greece\u2019s ambitious defence procurement programme in Brussels, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described the handover as \"a moment that should make all Greeks proud.\"<\/p>\n<p>\"I am at the European Council today but I believe that the heart of Greece beats a few kilometres from here, at the Lorient shipyard, where the Greek flag will be raised on the first of the four Belharra frigates.\"<\/p>\n<p>The Kimon is due to sail to Brest where its weapons systems, including Exocet Block III anti-ship missiles and Aster 30 air-defence missiles, will be installed and is expected to arrive at the Salamina Naval Base near Athens at the start of 2026.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2025//04//02//greece-to-spend-25-billion-over-next-decade-on-hi-tech-overhaul-of-military/">Greece to spend \u20ac25 billion over next decade on hi-tech overhaul of military<\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2025//04//14//greece-strengthens-military-with-16-anti-ship-missiles-from-france/">Greece strengthens military with 16 anti-ship missiles from France<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2><strong>Greece upgrades defence capabilities<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Greece signed a new defence agreement with France in April to acquire 16 Exocet anti-ship missiles, the latest in a series of arms purchases aimed at enhancing the country's military capabilities.<\/p>\n<p>Defence Minister Nikos Dendias signed the deal in Athens alongside his French counterpart, then Defence Minister S\u00e9bastien Lecornu, during a visit to the Greek capital. <\/p>\n<p>While the ministers did not disclose the value of the contract, it marks a continuation of Greece\u2019s growing defence ties with France.<\/p>\n<p>\"Greece does not threaten, but is threatened,\" Dendias said in a joint statement to the press, referring to Greece's fraught relationship with Turkey, with whom it has long-standing disputes over territorial boundaries in the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean. <\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6665\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//58//75//82//808x539_cmsv2_de2f5ea9-8904-5512-8380-5ff3fc5f14a7-9587582.jpg/" alt=\"Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias and his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu shake hands during a press conference in Athens, 14 April, 2025\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/75\/82\/384x256_cmsv2_de2f5ea9-8904-5512-8380-5ff3fc5f14a7-9587582.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/75\/82\/640x427_cmsv2_de2f5ea9-8904-5512-8380-5ff3fc5f14a7-9587582.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/75\/82\/750x500_cmsv2_de2f5ea9-8904-5512-8380-5ff3fc5f14a7-9587582.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/75\/82\/828x552_cmsv2_de2f5ea9-8904-5512-8380-5ff3fc5f14a7-9587582.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/75\/82\/1080x720_cmsv2_de2f5ea9-8904-5512-8380-5ff3fc5f14a7-9587582.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/75\/82\/1200x800_cmsv2_de2f5ea9-8904-5512-8380-5ff3fc5f14a7-9587582.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/75\/82\/1920x1280_cmsv2_de2f5ea9-8904-5512-8380-5ff3fc5f14a7-9587582.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias and his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu shake hands during a press conference in Athens, 14 April, 2025<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">AP Photo<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>The missile acquisition adds to Greece's broader modernisation programme, launched after years of defence spending cuts during the 2010\u20132018 financial crisis. <\/p>\n<p>Previous procurements from France include 24 Rafale fighter jets, while Paris is also supplying NH-90 military helicopters.<\/p>\n<p>Athens plans to invest \u20ac25 billion over the next decade to modernise its armed forces.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1766063812,"updatedAt":1766067040,"publishedAt":1766066605,"firstPublishedAt":1766066605,"lastPublishedAt":1766067039,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/navalgroup\/","altText":"The Frigate Kimon","callToActionText":null,"width":1622,"caption":"The Frigate Kimon","url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/75\/82\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_a828b413-ffc3-54c0-9722-708dcc958548-9587582.jpg","captionUrl":null,"height":912},{"sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo","altText":"Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias and his French counterpart S\u00e9bastien Lecornu shake hands during a press conference in Athens, 14 April, 2025","callToActionText":null,"width":2000,"caption":"Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias and his French counterpart S\u00e9bastien Lecornu shake hands during a press conference in Athens, 14 April, 2025","url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/75\/82\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_de2f5ea9-8904-5512-8380-5ff3fc5f14a7-9587582.jpg","captionUrl":null,"height":1333}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"urlSafeValue":"karagiorgas","twitter":"@IKaragiorgas","id":638,"title":"Ioannis Karagiorgas"},{"urlSafeValue":"blackburn","twitter":null,"id":2972,"title":"Gavin Blackburn"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"urlSafeValue":"france","titleRaw":"France","id":117,"title":"France","slug":"france"},{"urlSafeValue":"greece","titleRaw":"Greece","id":128,"title":"Greece","slug":"greece"},{"urlSafeValue":"frigate","titleRaw":"Frigate","id":25306,"title":"Frigate","slug":"frigate"},{"urlSafeValue":"navy","titleRaw":"navy","id":13526,"title":"navy","slug":"navy"},{"urlSafeValue":"defence","titleRaw":"Defence","id":68,"title":"Defence","slug":"defence"}],"widgets":[{"count":2,"slug":"image"},{"count":1,"slug":"related"}],"related":[{"id":2854978},{"id":2852927},{"id":2852764}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"hasExternalVideo":0,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":0,"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"endDate":0,"startDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"World News","online":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"season":"","episode":"","episodeId":"","vertical":"news","verticals":[{"urlSafeValue":"news","id":1,"title":"News","slug":"news"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"urlSafeValue":"news","id":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":128,"urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article-video","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":{"id":1,"slug":"deepl","isActive":1},"localisation":{"producerLanguage":"el","storyId":9587561,"online":1},"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":1,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/2025\/12\/18\/greece-takes-delivery-of-kimon-frigate-from-france-as-25bn-military-upgrade-continues","lastModified":1766067039},{"id":2855408,"cid":9586476,"versionId":2,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"MEP NIKOS PAPPAS ATTACKED JOURNALIST","daletPyramidId":3638000,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Greek MEP Nikos Pappas suspended from Syriza party after alleged assault on journalist","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Greek MEP suspended from Syriza after alleged assault on journalist","titleListing2":"Greek MEP Nikos Pappas suspended from SYRIZA party after alleged assault on journalist","leadin":"The journalist Nikos Giannopoulos, a reporter for Greece's News24\/7 website, said he had filed a police complaint in Strasbourg on Wednesday.","summary":"The journalist Nikos Giannopoulos, a reporter for Greece's News24\/7 website, said he had filed a police complaint in Strasbourg on Wednesday.","keySentence":"","url":"greek-mep-nikos-pappas-suspended-from-syriza-party-after-alleged-assault-on-journalist","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2025\/12\/17\/greek-mep-nikos-pappas-suspended-from-syriza-party-after-alleged-assault-on-journalist","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Greek MEP Nikos Pappas has been suspended from the left-leaning Syriza party and will be referred to the ethics committee after he attacked a journalist at a bar in Strasbourg.\n\nIn a statement, Syriza said that party president, Socrates Famellos, had also suspended Pappas from the party\u2019s group in the European Parliament for what the statement called his unacceptable behaviour.\n\nIt comes after the journalist Nikos Giannopoulos, a reporter for Greece's News24\/7 website, said he was attacked by Pappas on Tuesday evening.\n\nGiannopoulos claims that as he was about to leave the bar, Pappas deliberately tripped him, and when confronted, challenged Giannopoulos to take the problem outside and \"settle the score\".\n\nAs Giannopoulos was leaving the bar, Pappas allegedly hit him twice on the head from behind, causing him to fall over.\n\nThe journalist said he had filed a police complaint with the Strasbourg authorities on Wednesday.\n\nA spokesperson for the Greek government released a statement after news of the alleged assault broke.\n\n\"This incident follows previous disparaging and aggressive behaviour by this MEP, with many different victims, for which his party followed the tactic of silence and political cover-up. He had to go out on a limb to force Syriza to expel him,\" the statement said.\n\n\"Be that as it may, the fact that for so long they kept a man with such recurring behaviour in their party is further proof that those who pretend to be the preachers of morality and the honourees of the rule of law are in fact the biggest hypocrites.\"\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Greek MEP Nikos Pappas has been suspended from the left-leaning Syriza party and will be referred to the ethics committee after he attacked a journalist at a bar in Strasbourg.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement, Syriza said that party president, Socrates Famellos, had also suspended Pappas from the party\u2019s group in the European Parliament for what the statement called his unacceptable behaviour.<\/p>\n<p>It comes after the journalist Nikos Giannopoulos, a reporter for Greece's News24\/7 website, said he was attacked by Pappas on Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n<p>Giannopoulos claims that as he was about to leave the bar, Pappas deliberately tripped him, and when confronted, challenged Giannopoulos to take the problem outside and \"settle the score\".<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6665\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//58//64//76//808x539_cmsv2_db6bbad0-86d4-55cc-ad50-c02377eea46b-9586476.jpg/" alt=\"MEPs vote during a session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, 16 December, 2025\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/64\/76\/384x256_cmsv2_db6bbad0-86d4-55cc-ad50-c02377eea46b-9586476.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/64\/76\/640x427_cmsv2_db6bbad0-86d4-55cc-ad50-c02377eea46b-9586476.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/64\/76\/750x500_cmsv2_db6bbad0-86d4-55cc-ad50-c02377eea46b-9586476.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/64\/76\/828x552_cmsv2_db6bbad0-86d4-55cc-ad50-c02377eea46b-9586476.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/64\/76\/1080x720_cmsv2_db6bbad0-86d4-55cc-ad50-c02377eea46b-9586476.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/64\/76\/1200x800_cmsv2_db6bbad0-86d4-55cc-ad50-c02377eea46b-9586476.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/64\/76\/1920x1280_cmsv2_db6bbad0-86d4-55cc-ad50-c02377eea46b-9586476.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">MEPs vote during a session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, 16 December, 2025<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">AP Photo<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>As Giannopoulos was leaving the bar, Pappas allegedly hit him twice on the head from behind, causing him to fall over.<\/p>\n<p>The journalist said he had filed a police complaint with the Strasbourg authorities on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for the Greek government released a statement after news of the alleged assault broke.<\/p>\n<p>\"This incident follows previous disparaging and aggressive behaviour by this MEP, with many different victims, for which his party followed the tactic of silence and political cover-up. He had to go out on a limb to force Syriza to expel him,\" the statement said.<\/p>\n<p>\"Be that as it may, the fact that for so long they kept a man with such recurring behaviour in their party is further proof that those who pretend to be the preachers of morality and the honourees of the rule of law are in fact the biggest hypocrites.\"<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1765985409,"updatedAt":1766048924,"publishedAt":1765990447,"firstPublishedAt":1765990447,"lastPublishedAt":1766048923,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/64\/47\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_93def26e-edcf-5c42-a618-089969e992b9-9586447.jpg","altText":"Nikos Pappas","caption":"Nikos Pappas","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"European Parliament","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":800,"height":446},{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/58\/64\/76\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_db6bbad0-86d4-55cc-ad50-c02377eea46b-9586476.jpg","altText":"MEPs vote during a session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, 16 December, 2025","caption":"MEPs vote during a session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, 16 December, 2025","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":2000,"height":1333}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":3467,"urlSafeValue":"gavin.blackburn@euronews.com","title":"Gavin Blackburn","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":95,"slug":"eu-parliament","urlSafeValue":"eu-parliament","title":"EU Parliament","titleRaw":"EU Parliament"},{"id":4472,"slug":"journalist","urlSafeValue":"journalist","title":"Journalist","titleRaw":"Journalist"},{"id":7815,"slug":"attack","urlSafeValue":"attack","title":"Attack","titleRaw":"Attack"},{"id":10923,"slug":"justice","urlSafeValue":"justice","title":"Justice","titleRaw":"Justice"},{"id":19632,"slug":"syriza","urlSafeValue":"syriza","title":"SYRIZA","titleRaw":"SYRIZA"},{"id":30002,"slug":"mep","urlSafeValue":"mep","title":"MEP","titleRaw":"MEP"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"image","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2854978},{"id":2852773},{"id":2852764}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"SoDHQb1A_OY","dailymotionId":"x9vwssk"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"format":"mp4","quality":"md","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/ED\/31\/97\/75\/05\/ED_PYR_3197755_20251217193001.mp4","editor":"","duration":55360,"filesizeBytes":10869270,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"hd","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/SHD\/31\/97\/75\/05\/SHD_PYR_3197755_20251217193001.mp4","editor":"","duration":55360,"filesizeBytes":14903563,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"1080p","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/FHD\/31\/97\/75\/05\/FHD_PYR_3197755_20251217193001.mp4","editor":"","duration":55360,"filesizeBytes":43571803,"expiresAt":0}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"Euronews","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"World News","online":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"season":"","episode":"","episodeId":"","vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":128,"urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article-video","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":{"id":1,"slug":"deepl","isActive":1},"localisation":{"producerLanguage":"el","storyId":9586447,"online":1},"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":1,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/2025\/12\/17\/greek-mep-nikos-pappas-suspended-from-syriza-party-after-alleged-assault-on-journalist","lastModified":1766048923},{"id":2854978,"cid":9584558,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"GREECE PAYS OFF DEBT AHEAD OF TIME","daletPyramidId":3618911,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Greece pays EU creditors ahead of schedule to boost market confidence","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Greece cuts an early cheque to EU creditors to boost market confidence","titleListing2":"","leadin":"Greece\u2019s early repayment of its first bailout loans underscores an important turnaround, cutting future interest costs and accelerating debt reduction as the country seeks to strengthen market confidence.","summary":"Greece\u2019s early repayment of its first bailout loans underscores an important turnaround, cutting future interest costs and accelerating debt reduction as the country seeks to strengthen market confidence.","keySentence":"","url":"greece-pays-eu-creditors-ahead-of-schedule-to-boost-market-confidence","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/business\/2025\/12\/16\/greece-pays-eu-creditors-ahead-of-schedule-to-boost-market-confidence","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Greece completed an early repayment of \u20ac5.3bn in loans from its first eurozone bailout programme this week.\n\nThe settlement of the debt, originally scheduled to mature after 2031 or even into the 2040s, marks a positive step in Greece\u2019s decades-long effort to stabilise its public finances.\n\nCoordinated by the European Commission, the payment is a strong indication that the country is relying less on crisis-era debt and lowering the burden of future interest payments.\n\nThe Greek Loan Facility (GLF) was the first emergency rescue mechanism ever created inside the euro area at a time when a permanent eurozone bailout system did not exist.\n\nIt was established before the creation of the European Stability Mechanism and alongside other adjustment programmes during the eurozone sovereign debt crisis.\n\nGreece lost access to financial markets in 2010 and the loan facility prevented the country from defaulting immediately, limiting risk to other EU members.\n\nLocal outlets report that retiring this debt ahead of schedule will save around \u20ac1.6bn in interest payments through to 2041. By directly lowering future budgetary charges, the debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to drop below 120% by 2029.\n\nThis is particularly significant for a country that carries the highest public debt ratio per GDP in the euro area.\n\nA Greek financial tragedy in three acts\n\nBetween late 2009 and 2018, Greece suffered a severe sovereign debt crisis triggered by years of fiscal mismanagement, large deficits, and weak economic competitiveness.\n\nThe crisis necessitated three international bailouts from the EU and International Monetary Fund, accompanied by severe austerity measures and painful structural reforms.\n\nGreece\u2019s bailout unfolded in phases, first through an emergency state rescue of bilateral euro area loans via the GLF and the IMF in 2010\u20132012. Then, a restructuring phase was launched from 2012 that imposed losses on private investors and shifted debt onto public institutions. Finally, a third phase in the form of a stabilisation programme under the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) was set up, ending in 2018.\n\nThe GLF is no longer active as a lending facility, but its remaining loans are still being repaid even today. Private businesses are affected indirectly through the effect on borrowing costs, investor confidence, and credit ratings.\n\nBy around 2023, Greece had restored investment-grade credit ratings from major agencies, reflecting improved fiscal performance and institutional stability. In turn, this has helped to push down borrowing costs.\n\nGreek 10-year bond yields have at times fallen below those of larger economies such as Italy and France, a striking reversal from the crisis era when markets priced Greek debt as a high-risk \u201cjunk\u201d asset.\n\nIs repaying early a smart move?\n\nIn 2023, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis pledged that Greece would make an early debt repayment of \u20ac5.3bn in the coming years.\n\nAs of June 2025, the country's total public debt stood at around \u20ac403.2bn, or roughly 151% of gross domestic product. This figure represents the combined value of all outstanding government obligations.\n\nGreece asked its eurozone lenders for permission to pay back part of its old bailout loans early. After the ESM and EFSF agreed and announced a waiver for the procedure earlier in December, the government used money it had already set aside in a special savings account to make the payment, rather than borrowing new funds.\n\n\u201cGreece continues to make significant progress in strengthening its economy. This additional early repayment of the GLF loan sends another positive signal to financial markets, improves Greece\u2019s debt structure and reflects the country\u2019s improving fiscal position,\" Pierre Gramenia, ESM managing director and EFSF CEO said at the time.\n\nCritics of the early repayment argue that while it may improve Greece\u2019s debt profile on paper, it comes at the expense of domestic liquidity at a time when households and businesses continue to face cost-of-living pressures.\n\nOpposition parties say the funds used for accelerated debt repayments could instead be channelled into public investment, wage support, or targeted relief measures, generating a more immediate boost to incomes and economic activity.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Greece completed an early repayment of \u20ac5.3bn in loans from its first eurozone bailout programme this week.<\/p>\n<p>The settlement of the debt, originally scheduled to mature after 2031 or even into the 2040s, marks a positive step in Greece\u2019s decades-long effort to stabilise its public finances. <\/p>\n<p>Coordinated by the European Commission, the payment is a strong indication that the country is relying less on crisis-era debt and lowering the burden of future interest payments.<\/p>\n<p>The Greek Loan Facility (GLF) was the first emergency rescue mechanism ever created inside the euro area at a time when a permanent eurozone bailout system did not exist. <\/p>\n<p>It was established before the creation of the European Stability Mechanism and alongside other adjustment programmes during the eurozone sovereign debt crisis.<\/p>\n<p>Greece lost access to financial markets in 2010 and the loan facility prevented the country from defaulting immediately, limiting risk to other EU members.<\/p>\n<p>Local outlets report that retiring this debt ahead of schedule will save around \u20ac1.6bn in interest payments through to 2041. By directly lowering future budgetary charges, the debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to drop below 120% by 2029. <\/p>\n<p>This is particularly significant for a country that carries the highest public debt ratio per GDP in the euro area.<\/p>\n<h2>A Greek financial tragedy in three acts<\/h2>\n<p>Between late 2009 and 2018, Greece suffered a severe sovereign debt crisis triggered by years of fiscal mismanagement, large deficits, and weak economic competitiveness. <\/p>\n<p>The crisis necessitated three international bailouts from the EU and International Monetary Fund, accompanied by severe austerity measures and painful structural reforms.<\/p>\n<p>Greece\u2019s bailout unfolded in phases, first through an emergency state rescue of bilateral euro area loans via the GLF and the IMF in 2010\u20132012. Then, a restructuring phase was launched from 2012 that imposed losses on private investors and shifted debt onto public institutions. Finally, a third phase in the form of a stabilisation programme under the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) was set up, ending in 2018. <\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//business//2025//10//27//us-borrowing-expected-to-rival-europes-most-indebted-states-says-imf/">US borrowing expected to rival Europe\u2019s most indebted states, says IMF<\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//business//2025//12//16//german-manufacturing-contracts-again-is-eurozone-growth-at-risk/">German manufacturing contracts again: Is eurozone growth at risk?<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>The GLF is no longer active as a lending facility, but its remaining loans are still being repaid even today. Private businesses are affected indirectly through the effect on borrowing costs, investor confidence, and credit ratings.<\/p>\n<p>By around 2023, Greece had restored investment-grade credit ratings from major agencies, reflecting improved fiscal performance and institutional stability. In turn, this has helped to push down borrowing costs. <\/p>\n<p>Greek 10-year bond yields have at times fallen below those of larger economies such as Italy and France, a striking reversal from the crisis era when markets priced Greek debt as a high-risk \u201cjunk\u201d asset.<\/p>\n<h2>Is repaying early a smart move?<\/h2>\n<p>In 2023, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis pledged that Greece would make an early debt repayment of \u20ac5.3bn in the coming years.<\/p>\n<p>As of June 2025, the country's total public debt stood at around \u20ac403.2bn, or roughly 151% of gross domestic product. This figure represents the combined value of all outstanding government obligations.<\/p>\n<p>Greece asked its eurozone lenders for permission to pay back part of its old bailout loans early. After the ESM and EFSF agreed and announced a waiver for the procedure earlier in December, the government used money it had already set aside in a special savings account to make the payment, rather than borrowing new funds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGreece continues to make significant progress in strengthening its economy. This additional early repayment of the GLF loan sends another positive signal to financial markets, improves Greece\u2019s debt structure and reflects the country\u2019s improving fiscal position,\" Pierre Gramenia, ESM managing director and EFSF CEO said at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Critics of the early repayment argue that while it may improve Greece\u2019s debt profile on paper, it comes at the expense of domestic liquidity at a time when households and businesses continue to face cost-of-living pressures. <\/p>\n<p>Opposition parties say the funds used for accelerated debt repayments could instead be channelled into public investment, wage support, or targeted relief measures, generating a more immediate boost to incomes and economic activity.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1765882387,"updatedAt":1765897158,"publishedAt":1765895992,"firstPublishedAt":1765895992,"lastPublishedAt":1765896044,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/static.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/06\/95\/81\/16\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_d454d925-a715-54ac-b184-42fd67b54077-6958116.jpg","altText":"FILE. The Greek, right, and the European flags wave under the ancient Acropolis hill in Athens, 5 July, 2015.","caption":"FILE. The Greek, right, and the European flags wave under the ancient Acropolis hill in Athens, 5 July, 2015.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Petr David Josek\/AP","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":648}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":3408,"urlSafeValue":"hajdari","title":"Una Hajdari","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":10693,"slug":"greek-economy","urlSafeValue":"greek-economy","title":"Greek economy","titleRaw":"Greek economy"},{"id":4351,"slug":"financial-crisis","urlSafeValue":"financial-crisis","title":"Financial Crisis","titleRaw":"Financial Crisis"},{"id":128,"slug":"greece","urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","titleRaw":"Greece"},{"id":20790,"slug":"debt-instalments","urlSafeValue":"debt-instalments","title":"Debt Instalments","titleRaw":"Debt Instalments"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2849415},{"id":2855257},{"id":2855408}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"hasExternalVideo":0,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":0,"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"economy","urlSafeValue":"economy","title":"Economy","online":0,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/business\/economy\/economy"},"season":"","episode":"","episodeId":"","vertical":"business","verticals":[{"id":11,"slug":"business","urlSafeValue":"business","title":"Business"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":11,"slug":"business","urlSafeValue":"business","title":"Business"},"themes":[{"id":"economy","urlSafeValue":"economy","title":"Economy","url":"\/business\/economy"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":72,"urlSafeValue":"economy","title":"Economy"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":128,"urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article-video","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":0,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/business\/2025\/12\/16\/greece-pays-eu-creditors-ahead-of-schedule-to-boost-market-confidence","lastModified":1765896044},{"id":2852927,"cid":9575898,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"NC8 GREECE FARMERS CLASHES","daletPyramidId":3539588,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Clashes erupt between farmers and police in Greece amid protests over EU subsidy delays","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":null,"titleListing2":"Clashes erupt between farmers and police in Crete amid protests over EU subsidy delays","leadin":"Farmers in Crete clashed with riot police as protests over delayed EU subsidies spread to areas near the island\u2019s two international airports.","summary":"Farmers in Crete clashed with riot police as protests over delayed EU subsidies spread to areas near the island\u2019s two international airports.","keySentence":"","url":"clashes-erupt-between-farmers-and-police-in-greece-amid-protests-over-eu-subsidy-delays","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2025\/12\/09\/clashes-erupt-between-farmers-and-police-in-greece-amid-protests-over-eu-subsidy-delays","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Farmers on the Greek island of Crete clashed with riot police on Monday as anger over delayed European Union subsidies escalated.\n\nDemonstrators confronted officers near the Chania and Heraklion airports, throwing stones, damaging police vehicles, and overturning one after officers withdrew.\n\nPolice used tear gas as tensions flared. The unrest is part of nationwide protests that have blocked major highways since late November.\n\nPrime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis urged farmers to ease their blockades, saying payments and support would be delivered by the end of December.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Farmers on the Greek island of Crete clashed with riot police on Monday as anger over delayed European Union subsidies escalated. <\/p>\n<p>Demonstrators confronted officers near the Chania and Heraklion airports, throwing stones, damaging police vehicles, and overturning one after officers withdrew. <\/p>\n<p>Police used tear gas as tensions flared. The unrest is part of nationwide protests that have blocked major highways since late November. <\/p>\n<p>Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis urged farmers to ease their blockades, saying payments and support would be delivered by the end of December.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1765210276,"updatedAt":1765260057,"publishedAt":1765259622,"firstPublishedAt":1765259622,"lastPublishedAt":1765259622,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/58\/98\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_3d45be35-3e6d-5bed-bce5-707e48f87f85-9575898.jpg","altText":"GREECE FARMERS CLASHES","caption":"GREECE FARMERS CLASHES","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"EBU","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":2000,"height":1043}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":18298,"slug":"farmers","urlSafeValue":"farmers","title":"Farmers","titleRaw":"Farmers"},{"id":128,"slug":"greece","urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","titleRaw":"Greece"},{"id":27110,"slug":"protestas","urlSafeValue":"protestas","title":"Protests","titleRaw":"Protests"}],"widgets":[],"related":[{"id":2855052},{"id":2855559}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"f0CU-bsl4dY","dailymotionId":"x9v9ef8"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"format":"mp4","quality":"md","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/ED\/31\/15\/72\/02\/ED_PYR_3115722_20251208162538.mp4","editor":"","duration":60000,"filesizeBytes":11776794,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"hd","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/SHD\/31\/15\/72\/02\/SHD_PYR_3115722_20251208162538.mp4","editor":"","duration":60000,"filesizeBytes":16639003,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"1080p","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/FHD\/31\/15\/72\/02\/FHD_PYR_3115722_20251208162538.mp4","editor":"","duration":60000,"filesizeBytes":48667316,"expiresAt":0}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"euronews","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"nocomment","urlSafeValue":"nocomment","title":"No Comment","online":1,"url":"\/nocomment"},"season":"","episode":"","episodeId":"","vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":128,"urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article-video","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":0,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/video\/2025\/12\/09\/clashes-erupt-between-farmers-and-police-in-greece-amid-protests-over-eu-subsidy-delays","lastModified":1765259622},{"id":2852773,"cid":9575138,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"FARMERS IN GREECE TARGET AIRPORTS","daletPyramidId":3537705,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Protesting Greek farmers force their way onto Crete airport tarmac, causing flight suspensions","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Protesting Greek farmers force their way onto Crete airport tarmac","titleListing2":"Greek farmers swarm onto apron area of international airport on Crete forcing flight suspensions","leadin":"The demonstrations on Monday are the latest escalation in protests over delays in the payment of EU-backed agricultural subsidies in the wake of a scandal which revealed fraudulent subsidy claims.","summary":"The demonstrations on Monday are the latest escalation in protests over delays in the payment of EU-backed agricultural subsidies in the wake of a scandal which revealed fraudulent subsidy claims.","keySentence":"","url":"protesting-greek-farmers-force-their-way-onto-crete-airport-tarmac-causing-flight-suspensi","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2025\/12\/08\/protesting-greek-farmers-force-their-way-onto-crete-airport-tarmac-causing-flight-suspensi","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Farmers protesting delays in subsidy payments forced their way onto the airfield of the international airport on the southern Greek island of Crete on Monday, evading riot police who used tear gas and stun grenades to keep them back.\n\nImages from local media showed dozens of farmers standing on the apron at the Nikos Kazantzakis international airport in Heraklion, the main town on Crete, forcing the airport to suspend all flights.\n\nClashes also broke out near the airport of Crete\u2019s second-largest city of Chania, with riot police using tear gas to disperse protesting farmers who pelted them with rocks and overturned a police patrol car, local media reported. Two people were reportedly injured in the clashes.\n\nThe demonstrations in Crete are\u00a0the latest escalation\u00a0in farmer protests over delays in the payment of European Union-backed agricultural subsidies, following a scandal that revealed fraudulent subsidy claims.\n\nFarmers have deployed thousands of tractors and other agricultural vehicles at border crossings and key points along highways across the country, periodically stopping traffic and threatening to completely block roads, ports and airports.\n\nOn Friday, riot police fired tear gas at protesting farmers attempting to block the main access road to the international airport outside the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki.\n\nPolice have been enforcing traffic diversions in several parts of northern and central Greece to circumvent the blockades, while farmer roadblocks at the country's northern borders with Bulgaria, Turkey and North Macedonia have already hampered truck traffic, causing long queues of freight vehicles.\n\n\"Everyone must understand that problems are solved through dialogue and some red lines should not be crossed,\" Greek Minister of Rural Development and Food Costas Tsiaras said on state television on Monday.\n\nPayment delays\n\nThe payment delays come as authorities review all requests following revelations of widespread fraudulent claims for EU farm subsidies.\n\nProtesters have argued that the delays amount to collective punishment, leaving honest farmers in debt and unable to plant their fields for next season.\n\nGreece\u2019s farming sector has also been hit this year by an outbreak of goat and sheep pox that led to a mass cull of livestock.\n\nMichalis Chrisochoidis, the minister for public order, said last week that the government remained open to talks with protest leaders, but warned that it wouldn\u2019t tolerate the shutdown of major transit points.\n\nProtests by farmers are common\u00a0in Greece and similar blockades in the past have sometimes severed all road traffic between the north and south of the country for weeks.\n\nThe subsidy scandal prompted the\u00a0resignation of five senior government officials\u00a0in June and the phased shutdown of a state agency that handled agricultural subsidies.\n\nDozens of people have been arrested for allegedly filing false claims in response to an investigation led by the European Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office (EPPO).\n\nDuring a preliminary investigation by EPPO, some 324 people were identified as recipients of subsidies totalling \u20ac19.6 million.\n\nThe independent EU body dealing with financial crime said at the end of October that the investigation was linked to \"a systematic large-scale subsidy fraud scheme and money-laundering activities.\"\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Farmers protesting delays in subsidy payments forced their way onto the airfield of the international airport on the southern Greek island of Crete on Monday, evading riot police who used tear gas and stun grenades to keep them back.<\/p>\n<p>Images from local media showed dozens of farmers standing on the apron at the Nikos Kazantzakis international airport in Heraklion, the main town on Crete, forcing the airport to suspend all flights.<\/p>\n<p>Clashes also broke out near the airport of Crete\u2019s second-largest city of Chania, with riot police using tear gas to disperse protesting farmers who pelted them with rocks and overturned a police patrol car, local media reported. Two people were reportedly injured in the clashes.<\/p>\n<p>The demonstrations in Crete are the latest escalation in farmer protests over delays in the payment of European Union-backed agricultural subsidies, following a scandal that revealed fraudulent subsidy claims.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6665\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//57//51//38//808x539_cmsv2_c00c0a43-cd56-5b8d-8379-8e4f9f4927de-9575138.jpg/" alt=\"Police use tear gas against farmers during clashes with officers blocking their march to Chania's airport on Crete, 8 December, 2025\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/51\/38\/384x256_cmsv2_c00c0a43-cd56-5b8d-8379-8e4f9f4927de-9575138.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/51\/38\/640x427_cmsv2_c00c0a43-cd56-5b8d-8379-8e4f9f4927de-9575138.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/51\/38\/750x500_cmsv2_c00c0a43-cd56-5b8d-8379-8e4f9f4927de-9575138.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/51\/38\/828x552_cmsv2_c00c0a43-cd56-5b8d-8379-8e4f9f4927de-9575138.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/51\/38\/1080x720_cmsv2_c00c0a43-cd56-5b8d-8379-8e4f9f4927de-9575138.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/51\/38\/1200x800_cmsv2_c00c0a43-cd56-5b8d-8379-8e4f9f4927de-9575138.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/51\/38\/1920x1280_cmsv2_c00c0a43-cd56-5b8d-8379-8e4f9f4927de-9575138.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Police use tear gas against farmers during clashes with officers blocking their march to Chania's airport on Crete, 8 December, 2025<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">AP Photo<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Farmers have deployed thousands of tractors and other agricultural vehicles at border crossings and key points along highways across the country, periodically stopping traffic and threatening to completely block roads, ports and airports.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, riot police fired tear gas at protesting farmers attempting to block the main access road to the international airport outside the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki.<\/p>\n<p>Police have been enforcing traffic diversions in several parts of northern and central Greece to circumvent the blockades, while farmer roadblocks at the country's northern borders with Bulgaria, Turkey and North Macedonia have already hampered truck traffic, causing long queues of freight vehicles.<\/p>\n<p>\"Everyone must understand that problems are solved through dialogue and some red lines should not be crossed,\" Greek Minister of Rural Development and Food Costas Tsiaras said on state television on Monday.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2025//12//05//greek-police-fire-tear-gas-at-protesting-farmers-threatening-to-blockade-thessaloniki-airp/">Greek police fire tear gas at protesting farmers threatening to blockade Thessaloniki airport<\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2025//12//01//greek-farmers-block-athens-motorway-as-fallout-from-illegal-subsidies-fraud-continues/">Greek farmers block Athens motorway as fallout from illegal subsidies fraud continues<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2>Payment delays<\/h2>\n<p>The payment delays come as authorities review all requests following revelations of widespread fraudulent claims for EU farm subsidies.<\/p>\n<p>Protesters have argued that the delays amount to collective punishment, leaving honest farmers in debt and unable to plant their fields for next season.<\/p>\n<p>Greece\u2019s farming sector has also been hit this year by an outbreak of goat and sheep pox that led to a mass cull of livestock.<\/p>\n<p>Michalis Chrisochoidis, the minister for public order, said last week that the government remained open to talks with protest leaders, but warned that it wouldn\u2019t tolerate the shutdown of major transit points.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.666\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//57//51//38//808x539_cmsv2_926912dd-f598-5f46-ad1d-2a55d2ddbcf3-9575138.jpg/" alt=\"A protester breaks the window of a police vehicle during clashes with officers blocking their march to Chania's airport on Crete, 8 December, 2025\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/51\/38\/384x256_cmsv2_926912dd-f598-5f46-ad1d-2a55d2ddbcf3-9575138.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/51\/38\/640x426_cmsv2_926912dd-f598-5f46-ad1d-2a55d2ddbcf3-9575138.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/51\/38\/750x500_cmsv2_926912dd-f598-5f46-ad1d-2a55d2ddbcf3-9575138.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/51\/38\/828x551_cmsv2_926912dd-f598-5f46-ad1d-2a55d2ddbcf3-9575138.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/51\/38\/1080x719_cmsv2_926912dd-f598-5f46-ad1d-2a55d2ddbcf3-9575138.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/51\/38\/1200x799_cmsv2_926912dd-f598-5f46-ad1d-2a55d2ddbcf3-9575138.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/51\/38\/1920x1279_cmsv2_926912dd-f598-5f46-ad1d-2a55d2ddbcf3-9575138.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">A protester breaks the window of a police vehicle during clashes with officers blocking their march to Chania's airport on Crete, 8 December, 2025<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">AP Photo<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Protests by farmers are common in Greece and similar blockades in the past have sometimes severed all road traffic between the north and south of the country for weeks.<\/p>\n<p>The subsidy scandal prompted the resignation of five senior government officials in June and the phased shutdown of a state agency that handled agricultural subsidies.<\/p>\n<p>Dozens of people have been arrested for allegedly filing false claims in response to an investigation led by the European Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office (EPPO).<\/p>\n<p>During a preliminary investigation by EPPO, some 324 people were identified as recipients of subsidies totalling \u20ac19.6 million.<\/p>\n<p>The independent EU body dealing with financial crime said at the end of October that the investigation was linked to \"a systematic large-scale subsidy fraud scheme and money-laundering activities.\"<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1765183631,"updatedAt":1765207794,"publishedAt":1765207788,"firstPublishedAt":1765207788,"lastPublishedAt":1765207788,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/51\/38\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_5c800f2d-0717-5c6f-85dc-8016e6aac7b6-9575138.jpg","altText":"stock photoDozens of farmers stand on apron area at Nikos Kazantzakis International Airport in Heraklion, 8 December, 2025","caption":"stock photoDozens of farmers stand on apron area at Nikos Kazantzakis International Airport in Heraklion, 8 December, 2025","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1620,"height":911},{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/51\/38\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_926912dd-f598-5f46-ad1d-2a55d2ddbcf3-9575138.jpg","altText":"A protester breaks the window of a police vehicle during clashes with officers blocking their march to Chania's airport on Crete, 8 December, 2025","caption":"A protester breaks the window of a police vehicle during clashes with officers blocking their march to Chania's airport on Crete, 8 December, 2025","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":2000,"height":1332},{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/51\/38\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_c00c0a43-cd56-5b8d-8379-8e4f9f4927de-9575138.jpg","altText":"Police use tear gas against farmers during clashes with officers blocking their march to Chania's airport on Crete, 8 December, 2025","caption":"Police use tear gas against farmers during clashes with officers blocking their march to Chania's airport on Crete, 8 December, 2025","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":2000,"height":1333}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":638,"urlSafeValue":"karagiorgas","title":"Ioannis Karagiorgas","twitter":"@IKaragiorgas"},{"id":2972,"urlSafeValue":"blackburn","title":"Gavin Blackburn","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":128,"slug":"greece","urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","titleRaw":"Greece"},{"id":12028,"slug":"demonstration","urlSafeValue":"demonstration","title":"Demonstration","titleRaw":"Demonstration"},{"id":18298,"slug":"farmers","urlSafeValue":"farmers","title":"Farmers","titleRaw":"Farmers"},{"id":27110,"slug":"protestas","urlSafeValue":"protestas","title":"Protests","titleRaw":"Protests"},{"id":13468,"slug":"crete","urlSafeValue":"crete","title":"Crete","titleRaw":"Crete"},{"id":11642,"slug":"police","urlSafeValue":"police","title":"Police","titleRaw":"Police"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"image","count":2},{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2851844},{"id":2849415},{"id":2855408}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"hasExternalVideo":0,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":0,"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"AP","additionalReporting":"","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"World News","online":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"season":"","episode":"","episodeId":"","vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":128,"urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":{"id":3363,"urlSafeValue":"heraklion","title":"Heraklion"},"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article-video","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":{"id":1,"slug":"deepl","isActive":1},"localisation":{"producerLanguage":"el","storyId":9575107,"online":1},"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":1,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/2025\/12\/08\/protesting-greek-farmers-force-their-way-onto-crete-airport-tarmac-causing-flight-suspensi","lastModified":1765207788},{"id":2852764,"cid":9575094,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"SAMOS MIGRANTS DEAD BOY","daletPyramidId":3534025,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Migrant boy killed by boat propeller in Greece hours after Crete shipwreck","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Migrant boy dies in incident in Greece hours after Crete shipwreck","titleListing2":"The body of a 12-year-old boy was found ashore just hours after a deadly shipwreck left at least 18 people dead. Local sources say he was hit by a boat propeller.","leadin":"The body of a 12-year-old boy was found ashore near the Greek island of Samos right after a deadly shipwreck left at least 18 people dead south of Crete.","summary":"The body of a 12-year-old boy was found ashore near the Greek island of Samos right after a deadly shipwreck left at least 18 people dead south of Crete.","keySentence":"","url":"migrant-boy-killed-by-boat-propeller-in-greece-hours-after-crete-shipwreck","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2025\/12\/08\/migrant-boy-killed-by-boat-propeller-in-greece-hours-after-crete-shipwreck","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"A 12-year-old died when he was struck by a boat propeller while reaching the Greek island of Samos, authorities said on Sunday, a day after at least 18 migrants drowned when their vessel capsized south of Crete.\n\nThe coastguard discovered the child's body in the Svala area of Samos after 37 other migrants came ashore. An ambulance transported the body to the island's hospital, according to local media reports.\n\nAuthorities are investigating the incident, which occurred when the boy was hit by the propeller of the boat carrying the migrants to the island.\n\nThe latest incident occurred hours after Greek authorities announced that at least 18 migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean died when their inflatable boat capsized south of Crete on Saturday.\n\nA passing Turkish merchant vessel located the half-sunken boat and rescued two survivors. A search operation involving a ship and a plane from the European border agency Frontex, a Greek coastguard helicopter and three merchant vessels continued on Sunday.\n\nAuthorities have not determined where the capsized boat departed from.\n\nGreece remains a major entry point into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, with fatal accidents occurring frequently.\n\nThe short but dangerous crossing from Turkey's coast to nearby Greek islands in inflatable dinghies once served as the primary route, but increased patrols and alleged pushbacks reduced attempts.\n\nArrivals from Libya to Crete have surged in recent months, according to reports.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>A 12-year-old died when he was struck by a boat propeller while reaching the Greek island of Samos, authorities said on Sunday, a day after at least 18 migrants drowned when their vessel capsized south of Crete.<\/p>\n<p>The coastguard discovered the child's body in the Svala area of Samos after 37 other migrants came ashore. An ambulance transported the body to the island's hospital, according to local media reports.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities are investigating the incident, which occurred when the boy was hit by the propeller of the boat carrying the migrants to the island.<\/p>\n<p>The latest incident occurred hours after Greek authorities announced that at least 18 migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean died when their inflatable boat capsized south of Crete on Saturday. <\/p>\n<p>A passing Turkish merchant vessel located the half-sunken boat and rescued two survivors. A search operation involving a ship and a plane from the European border agency Frontex, a Greek coastguard helicopter and three merchant vessels continued on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities have not determined where the capsized boat departed from.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2025//08//18//greek-island-of-crete-sees-surge-in-migrant-arrivals-despite-harsher-detention-policy/">Greek island of Crete sees surge in migrant arrivals despite harsher asylum policy<\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2025//12//06//migrant-shipwreck-in-crete-leves-at-least-18-dead/">Migrant shipwreck in Crete leaves at least 18 dead<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Greece remains a major entry point into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, with fatal accidents occurring frequently. <\/p>\n<p>The short but dangerous crossing from Turkey's coast to nearby Greek islands in inflatable dinghies once served as the primary route, but increased patrols and alleged pushbacks reduced attempts.<\/p>\n<p>Arrivals from Libya to Crete have surged in recent months, according to reports.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1765180073,"updatedAt":1765188117,"publishedAt":1765188114,"firstPublishedAt":1765188114,"lastPublishedAt":1765188114,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/50\/62\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_12de2fc6-d4bf-5078-80f9-2ea68bed7fe5-9575062.jpg","altText":"stock photo","caption":"stock photo","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Panagiotis Balaskas\/Copyright 2025 The AP. All rights reserved.","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":638,"urlSafeValue":"karagiorgas","title":"Ioannis Karagiorgas","twitter":"@IKaragiorgas"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":128,"slug":"greece","urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","titleRaw":"Greece"},{"id":147,"slug":"immigration","urlSafeValue":"immigration","title":"Immigration","titleRaw":"Immigration"},{"id":2094,"slug":"samos","urlSafeValue":"samos","title":"Samos","titleRaw":"Samos"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2854769}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"hasExternalVideo":0,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":0,"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"World News","online":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"season":"","episode":"","episodeId":"","vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":128,"urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":{"id":1,"slug":"deepl","isActive":1},"localisation":{"producerLanguage":"el","storyId":9575062,"online":1},"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":1,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/2025\/12\/08\/migrant-boy-killed-by-boat-propeller-in-greece-hours-after-crete-shipwreck","lastModified":1765188114},{"id":2849518,"cid":9570684,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"NEXT GREECE AND CYPRUS CYBERSECURITY","daletPyramidId":3500697,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"The digital war between East and West is in full swing. This is Greece's role on the eastern border","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"AI is increasing cyber crime in Greece says expert ","titleListing2":"The digital war between West and East is in full swing - Greece's role on the eastern border","leadin":"\"Athens has an additional aggressive neighbour, which our European partners do not perceive as hostile,\" Michael Bletsas, commander of Greece's National Cyber Security Authority, told Euronews Next.","summary":"\"Athens has an additional aggressive neighbour, which our European partners do not perceive as hostile,\" Michael Bletsas, commander of Greece's National Cyber Security Authority, told Euronews Next.","keySentence":"","url":"the-digital-war-between-east-and-west-is-in-full-swing-this-is-greeces-role-on-the-eastern","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/next\/2025\/12\/06\/the-digital-war-between-east-and-west-is-in-full-swing-this-is-greeces-role-on-the-eastern","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"In an age where digital warfare knows no borders, the East and West are now racing in an invisible but relentless cyberspace - from China to the United States. But how do southern European countries fit in?\n\n\"We play our role very well on the border, in the corner, in the southeast corner of Europe. We wouldn't want to be us,\" said Michael Bletsas, commander of Greece's National Cyber Security Authority, told Euronews Next.\n\n\"We would very much like the borders of Europe to be further east, but unfortunately, we don't see the conditions for this to happen in the near future, so we will necessarily play this role and we are already playing it. It would just be good if other countries would recognise it to a greater extent than they do today,\" he added.\n\nGiven Greece's geographical location, the threats it faces are different compared to those of the Baltic States.\n\n\"In Northeastern Europe, in the Baltic Sea, we have several incidents at the moment which could be clearly characterised as hybrid warfare,\" said Blestas.\n\nHe said there are no such incidents in Greece as sabotage, attacks on infrastructure, or cables being cut. But he said there is too much cybercrime in the country.\n\n\"Right now, what is most visible is cybercrime. We have too much activism, cyberactivism, vandalism, if you like, mostly denial of service attacks, triple good service, attacks, but which do not leave permanent damage and which are quite easily dealt with,\" he said.\n\n\"We have quite a lot of cybercrime, which is increasing more and more because the use of artificial intelligence gives additional capabilities to criminals. Right now, from us, we are seeing a big increase in attacks, and of course, we have a lot of espionage,\" he added.\n\nThe big question is whether Greece can remain neutral in the digital East-West conflict. Blestas argues that there is no neutrality.\n\n\"We have lost it here and too much. It's just that Athens has to deal with an additional aggressive neighbour from the east, which the rest of our European partners don't seem to get, with the rest of our European partners seeing it as so hostile,\" he said.\n\nHe said that's where several issues arise.\n\n\"Separating the physical from the digital world is one and the same. The nervous system is more extensive than what we have in the real world. Therefore, we should think of security in the same terms as automatic automation that we think of it in the physical world. Only then will we be safe,\" he said.\n\nDigital warfare is not a war of the future - it is a war of now. And Greece, whether it likes it or not, is already in it. So the question is not whether it will participate, but on what terms, with what alliances and how much preparedness.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>In an age where digital warfare knows no borders, the East and West are now racing in an invisible but relentless cyberspace - from China to the United States. But how do southern European countries fit in? <\/p>\n<p>**\"**We play our role very well on the border, in the corner, in the southeast corner of Europe. We wouldn't want to be us,\" said Michael Bletsas, commander of Greece's National Cyber Security Authority, told Euronews Next. <\/p>\n<p>\"We would very much like the borders of Europe to be further east, but unfortunately, we don't see the conditions for this to happen in the near future, so we will necessarily play this role and we are already playing it. It would just be good if other countries would recognise it to a greater extent than they do today,\" he added. <\/p>\n<p>Given Greece's geographical location, the threats it faces are different compared to those of the Baltic States.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//next//2025//12//05//could-this-new-jamming-proof-base-in-greenland-help-europe-defend-against-russia/">Could this new jamming-proof base in Greenland help Europe defend against Russia?<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>\"In Northeastern Europe, in the Baltic Sea, we have several incidents at the moment which could be clearly characterised as hybrid warfare,\" said Blestas. <\/p>\n<p>He said there are no such incidents in Greece as sabotage, attacks on infrastructure, or cables being cut. But he said there is too much cybercrime in the country. <\/p>\n<p>\"Right now, what is most visible is cybercrime. We have too much activism, cyberactivism, vandalism, if you like, mostly denial of service attacks, triple good service, attacks, but which do not leave permanent damage and which are quite easily dealt with,\" he said. <\/p>\n<p>\"We have quite a lot of cybercrime, which is increasing more and more because the use of artificial intelligence gives additional capabilities to criminals. Right now, from us, we are seeing a big increase in attacks, and of course, we have a lot of espionage_,\"_ he added. <\/p>\n<p>The big question is whether Greece can remain neutral in the digital East-West conflict. Blestas argues that there is no neutrality. <\/p>\n<p>\"We have lost it here and too much. It's just that Athens has to deal with an additional aggressive neighbour from the east, which the rest of our European partners don't seem to get, with the rest of our European partners seeing it as so hostile,\" he said. <\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//next//2025//12//04//europe-falls-behind-in-ai-adoption-as-gen-z-in-emerging-economies-embrace-it-oecd-report/">Europe falls behind in AI adoption as Gen Z in emerging economies embrace it, OECD report<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>He said that's where several issues arise.<\/p>\n<p>_\"_Separating the physical from the digital world is one and the same. The nervous system is more extensive than what we have in the real world. Therefore, we should think of security in the same terms as automatic automation that we think of it in the physical world. Only then will we be safe,\" he said. <\/p>\n<p>Digital warfare is not a war of the future - it is a war of now. And Greece, whether it likes it or not, is already in it. So the question is not whether it will participate, but on what terms, with what alliances and how much preparedness.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1764777231,"updatedAt":1765004509,"publishedAt":1765004469,"firstPublishedAt":1765004469,"lastPublishedAt":1765004509,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/56\/12\/28\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_b6c5aabe-5da3-54e4-bee0-605de66a4e09-9561228.jpg","altText":"Digital War between West and East ","caption":"Digital War between West and East ","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Jenny Kane\/AP","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":622,"urlSafeValue":"iliadi","title":"Theodora Iliadi","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":128,"slug":"greece","urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","titleRaw":"Greece"},{"id":9907,"slug":"cyber-attacks","urlSafeValue":"cyber-attacks","title":"Cyber attacks","titleRaw":"Cyber attacks"},{"id":26654,"slug":"cyber-security","urlSafeValue":"cyber-security","title":"cyber security","titleRaw":"cyber security"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":2}],"related":[{"id":2851567},{"id":2851915},{"id":2855293}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"hasExternalVideo":0,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":0,"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"tech-news","urlSafeValue":"tech-news","title":"Tech News","online":0,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/next\/tech-news\/tech-news"},"season":"","episode":"","episodeId":"","vertical":"next","verticals":[{"id":9,"slug":"next","urlSafeValue":"next","title":"Next"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":9,"slug":"next","urlSafeValue":"next","title":"Next"},"themes":[{"id":"tech-news","urlSafeValue":"tech-news","title":"Tech News","url":"\/next\/tech-news"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":40,"urlSafeValue":"tech-news","title":"Tech News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":128,"urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article-video","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":{"id":1,"slug":"deepl","isActive":1},"localisation":{"producerLanguage":"el","storyId":9561228,"online":1},"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":1,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/next\/2025\/12\/06\/the-digital-war-between-east-and-west-is-in-full-swing-this-is-greeces-role-on-the-eastern","lastModified":1765004509},{"id":2852273,"cid":9573442,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"GREECE FARMERS PROTEST CLASHES","daletPyramidId":3520013,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Greek police fire tear gas at protesting farmers threatening to blockade Thessaloniki airport","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Greek police fire tear gas at farmers threatening to blockade airport","titleListing2":"Farmers clash with police officers outside the airport \"Macedonia\" - Many blockades nationwide","leadin":"Protesters have argued the delays amount to collective punishment, leaving honest farmers in debt and unable to plant their fields for next season.","summary":"Protesters have argued the delays amount to collective punishment, leaving honest farmers in debt and unable to plant their fields for next season.","keySentence":"","url":"greek-police-fire-tear-gas-at-protesting-farmers-threatening-to-blockade-thessaloniki-airp","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2025\/12\/05\/greek-police-fire-tear-gas-at-protesting-farmers-threatening-to-blockade-thessaloniki-airp","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Riot police in Greece fired tear gas at farmers on Friday who were attempting to block the main access road to the international airport in Thessaloniki as protests escalated over delays in the payment of European Union-backed agricultural subsidies.\n\nAngry farmers have deployed thousands of tractors and other agricultural vehicles at border crossings and key points along motorways across the country, periodically stopping traffic and threatening to completely blockade the roads, as well as airports and ports.\n\nBetween 200 and 300 farmers with more than 100 tractors blocked one of the roads near the airport in the northern city of Thessaloniki.\n\nA smaller group used tractors in an attempt to break through a police cordon and block the airport\u2019s main access road, which would have prevented travellers from entering or leaving the facility.\n\nPolice are enforcing traffic diversions in several parts of northern and central Greece to skirt the blockades.\n\nFarmer roadblocks at the country's northern borders with Bulgaria, Turkey and North Macedonia have already hampered traffic, causing a backup of freight vehicles.\n\nThe payment delays come as authorities review all requests following revelations of widespread fraudulent claims for EU farm subsidies.\n\nProtesters have argued the delays amount to collective punishment, leaving honest farmers in debt and unable to plant their fields for next season.\n\nGreece\u2019s farming sector has also been hit this year by an outbreak of goat and sheep pox that led to a mass cull of livestock.\n\nGovernment open to talks\n\n\"We're out in the street (protesting) whereas we should be sowing. We're bankrupt,\" farmer Vasilis Mavroskas said.\n\nThe inability to plant crops will have a knock-on effect on food supplies to cities, he said. \"It's a matter of survival at this point. If I stop producing, think of what will happen at the table of urban centres. We're appealing for society to join us.\"\n\nMichalis Chrisochoidis, the minister for public order, said this week that the government remained open to talks with protest leaders, but warned that it wouldn't tolerate the shutdown of major transit points.\n\nChristos Tsilias, vice president of the Thessaloniki farmers' union, called on the public to support the farmers' demands and pressure the government to release the payments.\n\n\"At this moment the plains of Thessaloniki (and the nearby areas of) Halkidiki are not planted,\" he said. \"We don't have money to buy raw materials\", such as seeds and fertiliser.\n\nProtests\u00a0by farmers are common\u00a0in Greece and similar blockades in the past have sometimes severed all road traffic between the north and south of the country for weeks.\n\nThe subsidy scandal prompted the\u00a0resignation of five senior government officials\u00a0in June and the phased shutdown of a state agency that handled agricultural subsidies.\n\nDozens of people have been arrested for allegedly filing false claims in response to an investigation led by the European Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office (EPPO).\n\nDuring a preliminary investigation, some 324 people were identified as recipients of subsidies totalling \u20ac19.6 million, according to EPPO.\n\nThe independent EU body dealing with financial crime said at the end of October that the investigation was linked to \"a systematic large-scale subsidy fraud scheme and money-laundering activities.\"\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Riot police in Greece fired tear gas at farmers on Friday who were attempting to block the main access road to the international airport in Thessaloniki as protests escalated over delays in the payment of European Union-backed agricultural subsidies.<\/p>\n<p>Angry farmers have deployed thousands of tractors and other agricultural vehicles at border crossings and key points along motorways across the country, periodically stopping traffic and threatening to completely blockade the roads, as well as airports and ports.<\/p>\n<p>Between 200 and 300 farmers with more than 100 tractors blocked one of the roads near the airport in the northern city of Thessaloniki.<\/p>\n<p>A smaller group used tractors in an attempt to break through a police cordon and block the airport\u2019s main access road, which would have prevented travellers from entering or leaving the facility.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6665\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//57//34//42//808x539_cmsv2_1c5d0c2d-1c3f-52ec-b275-24ac01ce2b33-9573442.jpg/" alt=\"Riot police stop farmers trying to block the main access road to Thessaloniki's international airport, 5 December, 2025\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/34\/42\/384x256_cmsv2_1c5d0c2d-1c3f-52ec-b275-24ac01ce2b33-9573442.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/34\/42\/640x427_cmsv2_1c5d0c2d-1c3f-52ec-b275-24ac01ce2b33-9573442.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/34\/42\/750x500_cmsv2_1c5d0c2d-1c3f-52ec-b275-24ac01ce2b33-9573442.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/34\/42\/828x552_cmsv2_1c5d0c2d-1c3f-52ec-b275-24ac01ce2b33-9573442.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/34\/42\/1080x720_cmsv2_1c5d0c2d-1c3f-52ec-b275-24ac01ce2b33-9573442.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/34\/42\/1200x800_cmsv2_1c5d0c2d-1c3f-52ec-b275-24ac01ce2b33-9573442.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/34\/42\/1920x1280_cmsv2_1c5d0c2d-1c3f-52ec-b275-24ac01ce2b33-9573442.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Riot police stop farmers trying to block the main access road to Thessaloniki's international airport, 5 December, 2025<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">AP Photo<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Police are enforcing traffic diversions in several parts of northern and central Greece to skirt the blockades. <\/p>\n<p>Farmer roadblocks at the country's northern borders with Bulgaria, Turkey and North Macedonia have already hampered traffic, causing a backup of freight vehicles.<\/p>\n<p>The payment delays come as authorities review all requests following revelations of widespread fraudulent claims for EU farm subsidies.<\/p>\n<p>Protesters have argued the delays amount to collective punishment, leaving honest farmers in debt and unable to plant their fields for next season.<\/p>\n<p>Greece\u2019s farming sector has also been hit this year by an outbreak of goat and sheep pox that led to a mass cull of livestock.<\/p>\n<h2>Government open to talks<\/h2>\n<p>\"We're out in the street (protesting) whereas we should be sowing. We're bankrupt,\" farmer Vasilis Mavroskas said.<\/p>\n<p>The inability to plant crops will have a knock-on effect on food supplies to cities, he said. \"It's a matter of survival at this point. If I stop producing, think of what will happen at the table of urban centres. We're appealing for society to join us.\"<\/p>\n<p>Michalis Chrisochoidis, the minister for public order, said this week that the government remained open to talks with protest leaders, but warned that it wouldn't tolerate the shutdown of major transit points.<\/p>\n<p>Christos Tsilias, vice president of the Thessaloniki farmers' union, called on the public to support the farmers' demands and pressure the government to release the payments.<\/p>\n<p>\"At this moment the plains of Thessaloniki (and the nearby areas of) Halkidiki are not planted,\" he said. \"We don't have money to buy raw materials\", such as seeds and fertiliser.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6665\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//57//34//42//808x539_cmsv2_16a11740-be51-53e4-95e3-89d55947b200-9573442.jpg/" alt=\"Farmers with their tractors try to block the main access road to Thessaloniki's international airport, 5 December, 2025\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/34\/42\/384x256_cmsv2_16a11740-be51-53e4-95e3-89d55947b200-9573442.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/34\/42\/640x427_cmsv2_16a11740-be51-53e4-95e3-89d55947b200-9573442.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/34\/42\/750x500_cmsv2_16a11740-be51-53e4-95e3-89d55947b200-9573442.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/34\/42\/828x552_cmsv2_16a11740-be51-53e4-95e3-89d55947b200-9573442.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/34\/42\/1080x720_cmsv2_16a11740-be51-53e4-95e3-89d55947b200-9573442.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/34\/42\/1200x800_cmsv2_16a11740-be51-53e4-95e3-89d55947b200-9573442.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/34\/42\/1920x1280_cmsv2_16a11740-be51-53e4-95e3-89d55947b200-9573442.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Farmers with their tractors try to block the main access road to Thessaloniki's international airport, 5 December, 2025<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">AP Photo<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Protests by farmers are common in Greece and similar blockades in the past have sometimes severed all road traffic between the north and south of the country for weeks.<\/p>\n<p>The subsidy scandal prompted the resignation of five senior government officials in June and the phased shutdown of a state agency that handled agricultural subsidies.<\/p>\n<p>Dozens of people have been arrested for allegedly filing false claims in response to an investigation led by the European Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office (EPPO).<\/p>\n<p>During a preliminary investigation, some 324 people were identified as recipients of subsidies totalling \u20ac19.6 million, according to EPPO.<\/p>\n<p>The independent EU body dealing with financial crime said at the end of October that the investigation was linked to \"a systematic large-scale subsidy fraud scheme and money-laundering activities.\"<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1764951879,"updatedAt":1764952745,"publishedAt":1764952740,"firstPublishedAt":1764952740,"lastPublishedAt":1764952740,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/34\/42\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_9a5634fe-a25f-5688-9c39-ec32a864fb1f-9573442.jpg","altText":"A man kicks a tear gas cannister back toward riot police during clashes near the access road to Thessaloniki's international airport, 5 December, 2025","caption":"A man kicks a tear gas cannister back toward riot police during clashes near the access road to Thessaloniki's international airport, 5 December, 2025","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Giannis Papanikos\/Copyright 2025 The AP. All rights reserved","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1620,"height":911},{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/34\/42\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_16a11740-be51-53e4-95e3-89d55947b200-9573442.jpg","altText":"Farmers with their tractors try to block the main access road to Thessaloniki's international airport, 5 December, 2025","caption":"Farmers with their tractors try to block the main access road to Thessaloniki's international airport, 5 December, 2025","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":2000,"height":1333},{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/34\/42\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_1c5d0c2d-1c3f-52ec-b275-24ac01ce2b33-9573442.jpg","altText":"Riot police stop farmers trying to block the main access road to Thessaloniki's international airport, 5 December, 2025","caption":"Riot police stop farmers trying to block the main access road to Thessaloniki's international airport, 5 December, 2025","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":2000,"height":1333}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":741,"urlSafeValue":"giagkinis","title":"Ioannis Giagkinis","twitter":null},{"id":2972,"urlSafeValue":"blackburn","title":"Gavin 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News","online":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"season":"","episode":"","episodeId":"","vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":128,"urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":{"id":2162,"urlSafeValue":"thessaloniki","title":"Thessaloniki"},"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article-video","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":{"id":1,"slug":"deepl","isActive":1},"localisation":{"producerLanguage":"el","storyId":9573422,"online":1},"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":1,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/2025\/12\/05\/greek-police-fire-tear-gas-at-protesting-farmers-threatening-to-blockade-thessaloniki-airp","lastModified":1764952740},{"id":2851848,"cid":9571454,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"NC5 GREECE OLYMPICS MILAN FLAME","daletPyramidId":3501814,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Olympic flame lights up Parthenon before heading to Milan Cortina Winter Games","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Olympic flame lights up Parthenon before Milan Cortina Games","titleListing2":"Olympic flame lights up Parthenon before heading to Milan Cortina Winter Games","leadin":"The Olympic flame spent the night at the Parthenon before being handed to Milan Cortina Winter Games officials, marking a moment of tradition amidst preparation challenges.","summary":"The Olympic flame spent the night at the Parthenon before being handed to Milan Cortina Winter Games officials, marking a moment of tradition amidst preparation challenges.","keySentence":"","url":"olympic-flame-lights-up-parthenon-before-heading-to-milan-cortina-winter-games","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2025\/12\/04\/olympic-flame-lights-up-parthenon-before-heading-to-milan-cortina-winter-games","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"The Olympic flame spent Wednesday night at the Parthenon in Athens after a short ceremony atop the Acropolis.\n\nGreek rower Stefanos Ntouskos, an Olympic gold medallist, carried the torch through the site and lit a cauldron set beside the ancient temple.\n\nThe stop marks the final stage before the flame is handed to Milan Cortina Winter Games officials.\n\nItaly will host its third Winter Games, but preparations have faced rising costs and delays linked to major construction work.\n\nFor organisers, the flame's overnight stay in Athens offers a moment of tradition and calm before the challenges ahead.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>The Olympic flame spent Wednesday night at the Parthenon in Athens after a short ceremony atop the Acropolis. <\/p>\n<p>Greek rower Stefanos Ntouskos, an Olympic gold medallist, carried the torch through the site and lit a cauldron set beside the ancient temple. <\/p>\n<p>The stop marks the final stage before the flame is handed to Milan Cortina Winter Games officials. <\/p>\n<p>Italy will host its third Winter Games, but preparations have faced rising costs and delays linked to major construction work. <\/p>\n<p>For organisers, the flame's overnight stay in Athens offers a moment of tradition and calm before the challenges ahead.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1764842746,"updatedAt":1764848052,"publishedAt":1764847560,"firstPublishedAt":1764847560,"lastPublishedAt":1764847560,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/14\/54\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_9187357b-3b16-56aa-9ce5-564e16dcd27d-9571454.jpg","altText":"Olympic gold medallist rower Stefanos Ntouskos lights a cauldron with the Olympic flame by the Parthenon during the Milan Cortina 2026 torch relay in Athens on Dec. 3, 2025.","caption":"Olympic gold medallist rower Stefanos Ntouskos lights a cauldron with the Olympic flame by the Parthenon during the Milan Cortina 2026 torch relay in Athens on Dec. 3, 2025.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo\/Thanassis Stavrakis","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":2000,"height":1333}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":2134,"urlSafeValue":"mauduit","title":"Frederique Mauduit","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[{"id":2134,"urlSafeValue":"mauduit","title":"Frederique Mauduit","twitter":null}]},"keywords":[{"id":28926,"slug":"flambeau-olympique","urlSafeValue":"flambeau-olympique","title":"Olympic torch","titleRaw":"Olympic torch"},{"id":28770,"slug":"olimpiai-jatekok","urlSafeValue":"olimpiai-jatekok","title":"Olympics","titleRaw":"Olympics"},{"id":128,"slug":"greece","urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","titleRaw":"Greece"},{"id":1712,"slug":"athens","urlSafeValue":"athens","title":"Athens","titleRaw":"Athens"}],"widgets":[],"related":[{"id":2842346},{"id":2852804}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"UnKUHOCL7tY","dailymotionId":"x9v11jg"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"format":"mp4","quality":"md","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/ED\/30\/85\/78\/01\/ED_PYR_3085781_20251204101303.mp4","editor":"","duration":60000,"filesizeBytes":12359351,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"hd","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/SHD\/30\/85\/78\/01\/SHD_PYR_3085781_20251204101303.mp4","editor":"","duration":60000,"filesizeBytes":16871909,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"1080p","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/FHD\/30\/85\/78\/01\/FHD_PYR_3085781_20251204101303.mp4","editor":"","duration":60000,"filesizeBytes":48671495,"expiresAt":0}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":"AP","additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"nocomment","urlSafeValue":"nocomment","title":"No Comment","online":1,"url":"\/nocomment"},"season":"","episode":"","episodeId":"","vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":128,"urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":{"id":1712,"urlSafeValue":"athens","title":"Athens"},"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article-video","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":0,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/video\/2025\/12\/04\/olympic-flame-lights-up-parthenon-before-heading-to-milan-cortina-winter-games","lastModified":1764847560},{"id":2851551,"cid":9570311,"versionId":2,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"FARMERS DEMOS GREEK PM STATEMENT","daletPyramidId":3491198,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Greek farmers block border crossings in escalating dispute over delayed EU subsidies","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Greek farmers block borders in dispute over delayed EU subsidies ","titleListing2":"Greek farmers block border crossing routes in escalating dispute over delayed EU subsidies","leadin":"Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the government is open to dialogue with the farmers but cautioned against disruptive protest action.","summary":"Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the government is open to dialogue with the farmers but cautioned against disruptive protest action.","keySentence":"","url":"greek-farmers-block-border-crossings-in-escalating-dispute-over-delayed-eu-subsidies","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2025\/12\/03\/greek-farmers-block-border-crossings-in-escalating-dispute-over-delayed-eu-subsidies","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Farmers in northern Greece disrupted traffic at border crossings on Wednesday in an escalating protest over delayed European Union-backed subsidy payments linked to an investigation into a corruption scandal.\n\nConvoys of tractors blocked routes to North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Turkey forcing drivers into lengthy detours.\n\nIn the central city of Larissa, farmers emptied milk in the main square before continuing their march to reinforce local motorway blockades.\n\nFurther north in Serres farmers set up road blockades and some bypassed police checkpoints to march on the customs office in Promahona, near the border with Bulgaria.\n\nGreek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the government is open to dialogue with farmers but cautioned against disruptive protests.\n\n\"I think that our farmers also understand that extreme actions, prolonged closures of highways, customs closures, airport closures, these are actions that do not help their efforts,\" Mitsotakis said.\n\n\"They cause problems for other social groups, all the more so when the government has committed itself to making December a month of substantial income support for them, with the payment of substantial amounts,\" he explained.\n\nProtests by farmers are common in Greece, but the latest unrest erupted over delays in subsidy payments following revelations of widespread fraudulent claims for EU funds.\n\nThe scandal prompted the\u00a0resignation in June of five senior government officials and the phased shutdown of a state agency that handled agricultural subsidies.\n\nDozens of people have been arrested across Greece in recent weeks for allegedly filing false claims in response to an investigation led by the European Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office (EPPO).\n\nDuring the preliminary investigation, some 324 people were identified as recipients of subsidies totalling \u20ac19.6 million, according to the EPPO.\n\nThe independent EU body that deals with financial crime said at the end of October that the investigation was linked to \"a systematic large-scale subsidy fraud scheme and money-laundering activities.\"\n\nGreece's Minister for Public Order Michalis Chrysochoidis said this week the government would not tolerate the shutdown of major transit points, including ports and railway hubs.\n\nSerious incidents on Sunday\n\nThe wave of protests began on Sunday and was accompanied by incidents in the villages of Nikaia and Platykampos in Larissa, when farmers attempted to approach the motorway and clashed with riot police.\n\nTwo demonstrators and two police officers were injured, according to a statement by the ELAS resistance movement.\n\nAccording to police, two arrests were made in Platykambos, one for violence against officials, damage and resistance and the second for damage. A third arrest was made at the Nice junction for bodily harm and resistance.\n\nAt the Larissa courthouse, farmers from the Nikaia blockade renewed their \"appointment\" after Sunday's mobilisation outside the Larissa Police Directorate, calling for the release of those arrested.\n\nThe protests are expected to spread across Greece until Friday, with more road blockades, a tactic frequently used by farmers to put pressure on authorities.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Farmers in northern Greece disrupted traffic at border crossings on Wednesday in an escalating protest over delayed European Union-backed subsidy payments linked to an investigation into a corruption scandal.<\/p>\n<p>Convoys of tractors blocked routes to North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Turkey forcing drivers into lengthy detours.<\/p>\n<p>In the central city of Larissa, farmers emptied milk in the main square before continuing their march to reinforce local motorway blockades.<\/p>\n<p>Further north in Serres farmers set up road blockades and some bypassed police checkpoints to march on the customs office in Promahona, near the border with Bulgaria.<\/p>\n<p>Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the government is open to dialogue with farmers but cautioned against disruptive protests.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6665\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//57//03//11//808x539_cmsv2_8aff9c9f-073f-5ee0-a7fb-f1607b7f3b4d-9570311.jpg/" alt=\"Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis waits for the arrival of European Parliament President Roberta Metsola in Athens, 28 November, 2025\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/03\/11\/384x256_cmsv2_8aff9c9f-073f-5ee0-a7fb-f1607b7f3b4d-9570311.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/03\/11\/640x427_cmsv2_8aff9c9f-073f-5ee0-a7fb-f1607b7f3b4d-9570311.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/03\/11\/750x500_cmsv2_8aff9c9f-073f-5ee0-a7fb-f1607b7f3b4d-9570311.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/03\/11\/828x552_cmsv2_8aff9c9f-073f-5ee0-a7fb-f1607b7f3b4d-9570311.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/03\/11\/1080x720_cmsv2_8aff9c9f-073f-5ee0-a7fb-f1607b7f3b4d-9570311.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/03\/11\/1200x800_cmsv2_8aff9c9f-073f-5ee0-a7fb-f1607b7f3b4d-9570311.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/03\/11\/1920x1280_cmsv2_8aff9c9f-073f-5ee0-a7fb-f1607b7f3b4d-9570311.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis waits for the arrival of European Parliament President Roberta Metsola in Athens, 28 November, 2025<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">AP Photo<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>\"I think that our farmers also understand that extreme actions, prolonged closures of highways, customs closures, airport closures, these are actions that do not help their efforts,\" Mitsotakis said. <\/p>\n<p>\"They cause problems for other social groups, all the more so when the government has committed itself to making December a month of substantial income support for them, with the payment of substantial amounts,\" he explained.<\/p>\n<p>Protests by farmers are common in Greece, but the latest unrest erupted over delays in subsidy payments following revelations of widespread fraudulent claims for EU funds.<\/p>\n<p>The scandal prompted the resignation in June of five senior government officials and the phased shutdown of a state agency that handled agricultural subsidies.<\/p>\n<p>Dozens of people have been arrested across Greece in recent weeks for allegedly filing false claims in response to an investigation led by the European Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office (EPPO).<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6665\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//57//03//11//808x539_cmsv2_2e03c0c9-1d60-5fa7-9b4e-cad97712d585-9570311.jpg/" alt=\"Farmers and supporters block a highway at the Malgara toll stations near Thessaloniki, 3 December, 2025\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/03\/11\/384x256_cmsv2_2e03c0c9-1d60-5fa7-9b4e-cad97712d585-9570311.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/03\/11\/640x427_cmsv2_2e03c0c9-1d60-5fa7-9b4e-cad97712d585-9570311.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/03\/11\/750x500_cmsv2_2e03c0c9-1d60-5fa7-9b4e-cad97712d585-9570311.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/03\/11\/828x552_cmsv2_2e03c0c9-1d60-5fa7-9b4e-cad97712d585-9570311.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/03\/11\/1080x720_cmsv2_2e03c0c9-1d60-5fa7-9b4e-cad97712d585-9570311.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/03\/11\/1200x800_cmsv2_2e03c0c9-1d60-5fa7-9b4e-cad97712d585-9570311.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/03\/11\/1920x1280_cmsv2_2e03c0c9-1d60-5fa7-9b4e-cad97712d585-9570311.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Farmers and supporters block a highway at the Malgara toll stations near Thessaloniki, 3 December, 2025<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">AP Photo<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>During the preliminary investigation, some 324 people were identified as recipients of subsidies totalling \u20ac19.6 million, according to the EPPO.<\/p>\n<p>The independent EU body that deals with financial crime said at the end of October that the investigation was linked to \"a systematic large-scale subsidy fraud scheme and money-laundering activities.\"<\/p>\n<p>Greece's Minister for Public Order Michalis Chrysochoidis said this week the government would not tolerate the shutdown of major transit points, including ports and railway hubs.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Serious incidents on Sunday<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The wave of protests began on Sunday and was accompanied by incidents in the villages of Nikaia and Platykampos in Larissa, when farmers attempted to approach the motorway and clashed with riot police.<\/p>\n<p>Two demonstrators and two police officers were injured, according to a statement by the ELAS resistance movement.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2025//12//01//greek-farmers-block-athens-motorway-as-fallout-from-illegal-subsidies-fraud-continues/">Greek farmers block Athens motorway as fallout from illegal subsidies fraud continues<\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2025//12//02//greek-farmers-intensify-nationwide-road-blockades/">Greek farmers intensify nationwide road blockades<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>According to police, two arrests were made in Platykambos, one for violence against officials, damage and resistance and the second for damage. A third arrest was made at the Nice junction for bodily harm and resistance.<\/p>\n<p>At the Larissa courthouse, farmers from the Nikaia blockade renewed their \"appointment\" after Sunday's mobilisation outside the Larissa Police Directorate, calling for the release of those arrested.<\/p>\n<p>The protests are expected to spread across Greece until Friday, with more road blockades, a tactic frequently used by farmers to put pressure on authorities.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1764763545,"updatedAt":1764783216,"publishedAt":1764774757,"firstPublishedAt":1764774757,"lastPublishedAt":1764780789,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/03\/11\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_89e50d6c-529e-515f-b85e-a7f5a0e9c5cb-9570311.jpg","altText":"Farmers and supporters block a highway at the Malgara toll stations near Thessaloniki, 3 December, 2025","caption":"Farmers and supporters block a highway at the Malgara toll stations near Thessaloniki, 3 December, 2025","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1620,"height":911},{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/03\/11\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_2e03c0c9-1d60-5fa7-9b4e-cad97712d585-9570311.jpg","altText":"Farmers and supporters block a highway at the Malgara toll stations near Thessaloniki, 3 December, 2025","caption":"Farmers and supporters block a highway at the Malgara toll stations near Thessaloniki, 3 December, 2025","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":2000,"height":1333},{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/03\/11\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_4b029984-af3a-5e35-8e91-b35fc62dd0d4-9570311.jpg","altText":"Protesting farmers with their tractors take part in a rally outside an agricultural fair in the port city of Thessaloniki, 1 February, 2024","caption":"Protesting farmers with their tractors take part in a rally outside an agricultural fair in the port city of Thessaloniki, 1 February, 2024","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":2000,"height":1333},{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/57\/03\/11\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_8aff9c9f-073f-5ee0-a7fb-f1607b7f3b4d-9570311.jpg","altText":"Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis waits for the arrival of European Parliament President Roberta Metsola in Athens, 28 November, 2025","caption":"Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis waits for the arrival of European Parliament President Roberta Metsola in Athens, 28 November, 2025","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"AP Photo","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":2000,"height":1333}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":638,"urlSafeValue":"karagiorgas","title":"Ioannis Karagiorgas","twitter":"@IKaragiorgas"},{"id":2972,"urlSafeValue":"blackburn","title":"Gavin Blackburn","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":128,"slug":"greece","urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","titleRaw":"Greece"},{"id":12446,"slug":"kyriakos-mitsotakis","urlSafeValue":"kyriakos-mitsotakis","title":"Kyriakos Mitsotakis","titleRaw":"Kyriakos Mitsotakis"},{"id":18298,"slug":"farmers","urlSafeValue":"farmers","title":"Farmers","titleRaw":"Farmers"},{"id":27110,"slug":"protestas","urlSafeValue":"protestas","title":"Protests","titleRaw":"Protests"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"image","count":2},{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2847040},{"id":2849415},{"id":2847676}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"tvQxWBIrvxA","dailymotionId":"x9uzmui"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"format":"mp4","quality":"md","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/ED\/30\/81\/26\/08\/ED_PYR_3081268_20251203173337.mp4","editor":"","duration":88440,"filesizeBytes":15314889,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"hd","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/SHD\/30\/81\/26\/08\/SHD_PYR_3081268_20251203173337.mp4","editor":"","duration":88440,"filesizeBytes":22041827,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"1080p","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/FHD\/30\/81\/26\/08\/FHD_PYR_3081268_20251203173337.mp4","editor":"","duration":88440,"filesizeBytes":70149917,"expiresAt":0}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"AP","additionalReporting":"","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"World News","online":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"season":"","episode":"","episodeId":"","vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":128,"urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article-video","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":{"id":1,"slug":"deepl","isActive":1},"localisation":{"producerLanguage":"el","storyId":9570040,"online":1},"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":1,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/2025\/12\/03\/greek-farmers-block-border-crossings-in-escalating-dispute-over-delayed-eu-subsidies","lastModified":1764780789},{"id":2851228,"cid":9568626,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"RISK OF FOREST FIRES MAP GREECE ","daletPyramidId":3477920,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Forest fires: Greece pinpoints high risk areas with new data-rich map","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Greece tackles forest fires with new risk assessment map","titleListing2":"Greece is pinpointing areas at high risk of forest fires with this new data-rich map.","leadin":"The new map will allow better preparation for and prevention of wildfires.","summary":"The new map will allow better preparation for and prevention of wildfires.","keySentence":"","url":"forest-fires-greece-pinpoints-high-risk-areas-with-new-data-rich-map","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/green\/2025\/12\/03\/forest-fires-greece-pinpoints-high-risk-areas-with-new-data-rich-map","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Greece is transforming its approach to forest fires with a National Forest Fire Risk Assessment Map - the first of its kind in decades.\n\nThe map provides a general overview of the fire risk for different areas, helping guide long-term planning and prevention efforts. It also addresses systemic vulnerabilities worsened by the climate crisis.\n\nIt has been hailed by Civil Protection authorities as a structural breakthrough in improving the country's assessment and prevention of wildfires.\n\nDistinct from the Daily Fire Risk Forecast Map, which is issued during Greece's fire season, the new map is being hailed as one of the most significant reforms in the history of Civil Protection.\n\nWhy does Greece need to reform its approach to forest fires?\n\nIn recent years, Greece has been ravaged by increasingly intense wildfires. These have been driven by extreme heatwaves, strong winds, and issues with the country's forest management and fire prevention policies.\n\nApproved by the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Yannis Kefalogiannis, the National Forest Fire Risk Assessment Map seeks to address some of these problems.\n\nHow is Greece assessing fire risks across the country?\n\nThe map was created using data from the past 20 years on regional climatic conditions, and types and structures of vegetation. It also incorporates the frequency of high-risk days from the Daily Fire Risk Forecast Map.\n\nAs a result, municipalities are now ranked into three risk categories: low, medium and high. Unlike the previous map, which classified areas by county, the new map uses municipalities as the unit of assessment.\n\nCivil Protection authorities emphasise that this allows for more precise planning, targeted fire prevention measures, and, most importantly, a fair and efficient allocation of resources.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Greece is transforming its approach to forest fires with a National Forest Fire Risk Assessment Map - the first of its kind in decades.<\/p>\n<p>The map provides a general overview of the <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2025//08//28//climate-change-intensified-weather-that-fuelled-deadly-wildfires-in-turkiye-greece-and-cyp/">fire risk<\/strong><\/a> for different areas, helping guide long-term planning and prevention efforts. It also addresses systemic vulnerabilities worsened by the <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2025//11//13//world-has-virtually-exhausted-its-carbon-budget-as-fossil-fuel-emissions-reach-all-time-hi/">climate crisis<\/strong><\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>It has been hailed by Civil Protection authorities as a structural breakthrough in improving the country's assessment and prevention of wildfires.<\/p>\n<p>Distinct from the Daily Fire Risk Forecast Map, which is issued during Greece's <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2023//08//23//bleak-reality-fire-in-northwest-greece-rages-for-a-fourth-day-after-18-bodies-found/">fire season<\/strong><\/a>, the new map is being hailed as one of the most significant reforms in the history of Civil Protection.<\/p>\n<h2>Why does Greece need to reform its approach to forest fires?<\/h2>\n<p>In recent years, Greece has been ravaged by increasingly intense <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2024//07//26//they-dont-work-in-the-communities-why-prevention-is-the-missing-piece-in-greeces-wildfire-/">wildfires. These have been driven by extreme heatwaves, strong winds, and issues with the country's <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2024//08//12//deadly-heatwaves-in-june-a-climate-scientist-explains-why-extreme-weather-is-battering-gre/">forest management<\/strong><\/a> and fire prevention policies.<\/p>\n<p>Approved by the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Yannis Kefalogiannis, the National Forest Fire Risk Assessment Map seeks to address some of these problems. <\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2025//12//01//air-pollution-linked-to-over-180000-deaths-in-the-eu-which-country-was-hit-the-hardest/">Air pollution linked to over 180,000 deaths in the EU. Which country was hit the hardest?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2025//11//28//how-climate-change-is-growing-into-one-of-the-biggest-threats-to-spains-resilient-economy/">How climate change is growing into one of the biggest threats to Spain\u2019s \u2018resilient\u2019 economy <\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2><strong>How is Greece assessing fire risks across the country?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The map was created using data from the past 20 years on regional <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2025//11//25//uk-dangerously-unprepared-for-growing-threat-of-climate-change-as-2025-wildfires-break-rec/">climatic conditions<\/strong><\/a>, and types and structures of vegetation. It also incorporates the frequency of high-risk days from the Daily Fire Risk Forecast Map.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-freeform\nwidget--size-fullwidth\nwidget--align-center\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <iframe class=\"scribd_iframe_embed\" title=\"\u0395\u03b8\u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03cc\u03c2+\u03a7\u03ac\u03c1\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u0395\u03c0\u03b9\u03ba\u03b9\u03bd\u03b4\u03c5\u03bd\u03ae\u03c4\u03bf\u03c4\u03b1\u03c2 \u03c0\u03c5\u03c1\u03ba\u03b1\u03b3\u03b9\u03ce\u03bd\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.scribd.com//embeds//959599996//content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-58cNzkHe2PlPg4hp8gJJ\%22 tabindex=\"0\" data-auto-height=\"true\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.9474789915966386\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"100%\" height=\"600\" frameborder=\"0\" ><\/iframe> <p style=\"margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; display: block;\"> <a title=\"View \u0395\u03b8\u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03cc\u03c2+\u03a7\u03ac\u03c1\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u0395\u03c0\u03b9\u03ba\u03b9\u03bd\u03b4\u03c5\u03bd\u03ae\u03c4\u03bf\u03c4\u03b1\u03c2 \u03c0\u03c5\u03c1\u03ba\u03b1\u03b3\u03b9\u03ce\u03bd on Scribd\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.scribd.com//document//959599996//Εθνικός-Χάρτης-Επικινδυνήτοτας-πυρκαγιών#from_embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" style=\"color: #098642; text-decoration: underline;\"> \u0395\u03b8\u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03cc\u03c2+\u03a7\u03ac\u03c1\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u0395\u03c0\u03b9\u03ba\u03b9\u03bd\u03b4\u03c5\u03bd\u03ae\u03c4\u03bf\u03c4\u03b1\u03c2 \u03c0\u03c5\u03c1\u03ba\u03b1\u03b3\u03b9\u03ce\u03bd <\/a> by <a title=\"View JuankaraGR's profile on Scribd\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.scribd.com//user//240323817//JuankaraGR#from_embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" style=\"color: #098642; text-decoration: underline;\" > JuankaraGR <\/a> <\/p> \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>As a result, municipalities are now ranked into three <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2025//07//18//wildfires-in-europe-burn-area-the-size-of-luxembourg-as-2025-shapes-up-to-be-an-extreme-ye/">risk categories: low, medium and high. Unlike the previous map, which classified areas by county, the new map uses municipalities as the unit of assessment. <\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2025//12//01//if-we-wait-it-will-be-too-late-why-500-scientists-are-backing-this-urgent-climate-declarat/">/u2018If we wait it will be too late\u2019: Why 500 scientists are backing this urgent climate declaration<\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//green//2025//11//21//residents-in-rural-greece-struggle-as-bears-and-wolves-make-a-remarkable-comeback/">Residents in rural Greece struggle as bears and wolves make a remarkable comeback<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Civil Protection authorities emphasise that this allows for more precise planning, targeted <a href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//my-europe//2025//09//09//is-the-eu-failing-to-prevent-forest-fires/">fire prevention<\/strong><\/a> measures, and, most importantly, a fair and efficient allocation of resources.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1764670018,"updatedAt":1764746488,"publishedAt":1764746484,"firstPublishedAt":1764746484,"lastPublishedAt":1764746484,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/56\/86\/21\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_73cb58da-f918-55a5-9425-16ad3e288e89-9568621.jpg","altText":"Greece has been ravaged by increasingly intense wildfires in recent years.","caption":"Greece has been ravaged by increasingly intense wildfires in recent years.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Thanassis Stavrakis\/Copyright 2025 The AP. All rights reserved","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":683}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":128,"slug":"greece","urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","titleRaw":"Greece"},{"id":7994,"slug":"forest-fires","urlSafeValue":"forest-fires","title":"Forest fires","titleRaw":"Forest fires"},{"id":14398,"slug":"environment","urlSafeValue":"environment","title":"Environment ","titleRaw":"Environment "},{"id":25370,"slug":"wildfires","urlSafeValue":"wildfires","title":"Wildfires","titleRaw":"Wildfires"},{"id":14952,"slug":"map","urlSafeValue":"map","title":"map","titleRaw":"map"},{"id":25790,"slug":"risk-assessment","urlSafeValue":"risk-assessment","title":"Risk assessment","titleRaw":"Risk assessment"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"html","count":1},{"slug":"related","count":2}],"related":[{"id":2852273}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":[],"hasExternalVideo":0,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":0,"video":0,"videos":[],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":"\u0391\u03a0\u0395-\u039c\u03a0\u0395","additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"euronews","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"green-news","urlSafeValue":"green-news","title":"Green News","online":0,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/green\/green-news\/green-news"},"season":"","episode":"","episodeId":"","vertical":"green","verticals":[{"id":8,"slug":"green","urlSafeValue":"green","title":"Green"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":8,"slug":"green","urlSafeValue":"green","title":"Green"},"themes":[{"id":"green-news","urlSafeValue":"green-news","title":"Green News","url":"\/green\/green-news"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":35,"urlSafeValue":"green-news","title":"Green News"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":128,"urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":{"id":1,"slug":"deepl","isActive":1},"localisation":{"producerLanguage":"el","storyId":9568621,"online":1},"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":1,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/green\/2025\/12\/03\/forest-fires-greece-pinpoints-high-risk-areas-with-new-data-rich-map","lastModified":1764746484},{"id":2851382,"cid":9569337,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"NC10 GREECE FARMERS PROTEST","daletPyramidId":3483426,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Greek farmers intensify nationwide road blockades","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Greek farmers intensify nationwide road blockades","titleListing2":"Greek farmers intensify nationwide road blockades","leadin":"Greek farmers escalate protests with road blockades, demanding unpaid subsidies and full compensation for crop and livestock losses as disruptions spread nationwide.","summary":"Greek farmers escalate protests with road blockades, demanding unpaid subsidies and full compensation for crop and livestock losses as disruptions spread nationwide.","keySentence":"","url":"greek-farmers-intensify-nationwide-road-blockades","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2025\/12\/02\/greek-farmers-intensify-nationwide-road-blockades","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Farmers across Greece are tightening road blockades as protests over unpaid subsidies and rising production costs gather pace.\n\nMajor routes, including the E65 and the Athens\u2013Thessaloniki highway, remain disrupted as tractors line key junctions.\n\nIn Larissa, livestock farmers drove into the city and threw milk and wheat to show their frustration with government policy.\n\nProtesters demand immediate payments from ELGA and OPEKEPE and full compensation for lost crops and livestock. More blockades are planned this week as the movement spreads to ports and border stations.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Farmers across Greece are tightening road blockades as protests over unpaid subsidies and rising production costs gather pace. <\/p>\n<p>Major routes, including the E65 and the Athens\u2013Thessaloniki highway, remain disrupted as tractors line key junctions. <\/p>\n<p>In Larissa, livestock farmers drove into the city and threw milk and wheat to show their frustration with government policy. <\/p>\n<p>Protesters demand immediate payments from ELGA and OPEKEPE and full compensation for lost crops and livestock. More blockades are planned this week as the movement spreads to ports and border stations.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1764695183,"updatedAt":1764714185,"publishedAt":1764713602,"firstPublishedAt":1764713602,"lastPublishedAt":1764713602,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/56\/93\/37\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_d3ee6add-7d4b-55cc-bd3d-79d1ba4bf993-9569337.jpg","altText":"In protest, Greek farmers spread milk, hay and wheat on the road, Larissa, Greece, Dec. 02, 2025","caption":"In protest, Greek farmers spread milk, hay and wheat on the road, Larissa, Greece, Dec. 02, 2025","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Screenshot from an Elliniki Radiophonia Tileorassi video.","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1920,"height":1080}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":2134,"urlSafeValue":"mauduit","title":"Frederique Mauduit","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[{"id":2134,"urlSafeValue":"mauduit","title":"Frederique Mauduit","twitter":null}]},"keywords":[{"id":18012,"slug":"farmer","urlSafeValue":"farmer","title":"farmer","titleRaw":"farmer"},{"id":18298,"slug":"farmers","urlSafeValue":"farmers","title":"Farmers","titleRaw":"Farmers"},{"id":27110,"slug":"protestas","urlSafeValue":"protestas","title":"Protests","titleRaw":"Protests"},{"id":128,"slug":"greece","urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","titleRaw":"Greece"}],"widgets":[],"related":[{"id":2846786},{"id":2847528},{"id":2855559}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"GTIm6SHue-g","dailymotionId":"x9uw8o4"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"format":"mp4","quality":"md","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/ED\/30\/71\/50\/09\/ED_PYR_3071509_20251202172053.mp4","editor":"","duration":60000,"filesizeBytes":12164090,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"hd","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/SHD\/30\/71\/50\/09\/SHD_PYR_3071509_20251202172053.mp4","editor":"","duration":60000,"filesizeBytes":16982323,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"1080p","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/FHD\/30\/71\/50\/09\/FHD_PYR_3071509_20251202172053.mp4","editor":"","duration":60000,"filesizeBytes":50138103,"expiresAt":0}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":"Elliniki Radiophonia Tileorassi","additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"nocomment","urlSafeValue":"nocomment","title":"No Comment","online":1,"url":"\/nocomment"},"season":"","episode":"","episodeId":"","vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":128,"urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":{"id":3414,"urlSafeValue":"larissa","title":"Larissa"},"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article-video","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":0,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/video\/2025\/12\/02\/greek-farmers-intensify-nationwide-road-blockades","lastModified":1764713602},{"id":2848451,"cid":9557230,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"ANCIENT OLYMPIA PRIESTESSES REPORT","daletPyramidId":3381275,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"A day in the life of Ancient Olympia with the priestesses of the Olympic flame lighting ceremony ","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"A day in the life of an Olympic lighting ceremony priestess ","titleListing2":"Exclusive: 24 hours in #Ancient_Olympia with the Priestesses of the #Olympic Flame Lighting Ceremony #Olympic Games","leadin":"This week sees the Olympic flame pass from Greece to Italy en route to Milan for the Winter Games. Euronews spent a day behind the scenes with the dancers and actors who perform at the historic lighting ceremony as it's been practised since the start of the movement in Ancient Olympia.","summary":"This week sees the Olympic flame pass from Greece to Italy en route to Milan for the Winter Games. Euronews spent a day behind the scenes with the dancers and actors who perform at the historic lighting ceremony as it's been practised since the start of the movement in Ancient Olympia.","keySentence":"","url":"a-day-in-the-life-of-ancient-olympia-with-the-priestesses-of-the-olympic-flame-lighting-ce","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/news\/2025\/12\/02\/a-day-in-the-life-of-ancient-olympia-with-the-priestesses-of-the-olympic-flame-lighting-ce","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"The Olympic flame is close to completing its short tour of Greece and soon to be on its way to Italy for the Winter Games next February.\n\nA handover will take place on Thursday 4 December, the start of a 63-day, 12,000-kilometre relay through all 110 Italian provinces, highlighting cultural sites and host venues before reaching Milan\u2019s San Siro Stadium for the opening ceremony.\n\nIts journey officially began a week ago with a spectacular ceremony at the archaeological site where the Olympics began. For several weeks, however, before the flame was lit, dozens of young people, either dancers or actors, volunteered to be part of the historic proceedings.\n\nEuronews spent a day in Ancient Olympia to record the rehearsals behind the scenes which culminate in the iconic images sent around the world. For the second time, after the ceremony in April 2024 for the Paris Olympics, the actress Mary Mina was the Primate of the Year who held aloft the torch lit during the ceremony and passed it on to Petros Gaidatzis, a rowing bronze medalist at Paris.\n\nThe artistic director of the Olympic Flame ceremonies since 2008 is choreographer Artemis Ignatiou who oversaw every single intensive rehearsal in the run-up to the ceremony: \"The team is a group of people who are all artists. They are dance teachers or actors. We all volunteer our services for our country, for Greece and to send the message of the Olympic Truce around the world. This is what we are asking for. Because to the question, to any question, the answer is peace around the world.\"\n\n\"This year's ceremony is titled \"Daughters and Couri, the perpetual awakening\" and is of course inspired by these magnificent statues of antiquity.The Daughters and Kouroi come to life in front of the audience and with rhythm, intensity and movement, they give a new choreography and atmosphere of ancient Greece in modern times.\"\n\n07.30 am - breakfast\n\nEarly in the morning, soft music woke up everyone staying inside the International Olympic Academy (IOA) facilities. The world's leading institution of Olympic Education, founded in the middle of the last century, is located next to the archaeological site where the first Olympic Games were held and is dedicated to the study, enhancement and promotion of Olympism and its values in relation to current global issues of Olympic interest and in accordance with the principles established by the ancient Greeks and the revivalists of the modern Olympic Movement. Residents receive their breakfast in the restaurant area and return to their rooms to get ready.\n\n09.30 Preparations at the IOA\n\nThe approximately 40 priestesses emerged from their rooms on the second level of the International Olympic Academy facilities. Some in overalls, others casually dressed as the rehearsals don't demand formal attire. The girls and boys stay in rooms of two or even three people. Make-up and hairstyling for almost all go hand-in-hand.\n\nA little later, Artemis Ignatiou gathers the whole group in a circle to address them ahead of their first official rehearsal of the day at the archaeological site. Some choreography exercises are done in the open space right in front of the rooms where they are staying.\n\n10.15 a.m. Departure from the IOA\n\nTwo minibuses have been enlisted to facilitate the team's travel from the IOA premises to the Archaeological Site.\n\nEach dancer takes a small bag with his or her absolutely necessary personal belongings for the next two to three hours.\n\nThe distance travelled is no more than 2-3 minutes with the small vans moving around the perimeter of the Archaeological Site and ending at the official entrance.\n\nAfter disembarking from the vans, the whole group enters the Archaeological Site through the main entrance.\n\n10.30 am The first \"relaxed\" rehearsal\n\nThe rehearsals in the Archaeological Area are held with the cooperation of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Ilia, which has provided the necessary permits. The morning rehearsals take place while dozens of tourists are inside the premises. Most of them, realising their... fate, sit and watch the dancing.\n\nInitially, rehearsals take place in the Temple of Hera, or the Heraion of Olympia, within the sacred space of the Althea and on its northwestern side, built at the southern foot of the Cronius Hill.\n\nThis particular building is one of the oldest examples of monumental temple architecture in Greece and it was the place where the most valuable works of the sanctuary were kept, among which was the Sacred Truce Disc and the famous Hermes of Praxiteles (perhaps the most popular exhibit in the nearby Archaeological Museum).\n\nIn front of the temple there is the altar of Hera, where the Olympic flame is lit by the respective Pretender, according to the ritual that has been established for the present time. With Artemis Ignatiou holding the drum and giving instructions, the priestesses make three different passes and rehearse the choreography.\n\nNext, they all move together to the Ancient Stadium. On the small hill between the Stadium and the Temple of Hera the next rehearsals take place, this time involving four boys.\n\nIgnatius is inside the stadium with a microphone to correct any small imperfections she finds, while a loudspeaker next to her conveys the instructions to the dancers.\n\nThe process is repeated two or three more times, to the delight of the lucky spectators who chose that particular day to visit the Archaeological Site. Among them was a renowned high school from Rome with about 50 high school students, who quite by chance, as explained to us by their escorts - teachers, stumbled upon the rehearsals for the touching ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games to be hosted in their home country.\n\n12.45 Visit to the Archaeological Museum\n\nAfter more than two hours at the Archaeological Site, the rehearsal is complete and the entire team leaves on foot for the exit. However, before boarding the vans for the return to the Olympic Academy premises, they are also taken to the adjacent Archaeological Museum for a short tour of the site.\n\n\"We believe in the Olympic idea and what it stands for and that is what unites us,\" say the young dancers.\n\n\"I've been participating in the touch and surrender ceremonies since 2011, in a new choreography each time and the feeling is truly unique. The most important thing in this group is the bonding, the giving and all these shared feelings, with one single goal: to send the message of peace everywhere,\" Priestess Athanasia Muyou explains to Euronews.\n\nFor his part, Theodosis Livadinos, one of the 'kurous' of this year's ceremony, says: \"The experience is special and magical every time. We bond as a team, as one big family and it's incredible. The boys have an active role representing the statues of Zeus, as Olympic athletes and then as Kouroi, in a new choreography each time at the Olympiad.\"\n\n13.45 Return to the IOA, lunch, rest\n\nThe young dancers head first to the restaurant where lunch awaits them. Each of them takes his or her tray, chooses the amount of food he or she wants from the buffet and has to return it to a certain place, just like in the student clubs. Along with the participants of the ceremony, there are about 20 Olympic values students from all corners of the world residing in the IOA premises, who are attending their classes every day, aspiring to get their master's degree at the end of the academic year. Afterwards, everyone has an hour of free time to return to their rooms, rest for a while and get ready for the afternoon - and a more demanding rehearsal.\n\n16.00 Second most formal rehearsal\n\nThe second rehearsal at the Archaeological Site of Olympia will be in formal attire but away from the eyes of ordinary citizens. As the archaeological site closes to the public at 15:30, immediately afterwards Artemis Ignatiou and her team have the opportunity to rehearse until sunset with no people on the premises, except for the few employees of the Ministry of Culture.\n\nAt the same time arrives a two-member team of Red Cross volunteers who have come from Patras to provide their services in case of any need. And it is needed. From a sprain during the dance when one sandal is torn, to mosquito repellent, lots of mosquito repellent. During the evening rehearsal formal wear is worn bare-backed, meaning the priestesses are exposed to the thousands of insects in the area.\n\nThe participants outfits were designed two years ago by the internationally renowned Greek stylist Mary Katrantzou for the Paris ceremonies. These costumes include several ancient Greek elements since they are inspired by Ionic-style capitals.\n\nThe same costumes will be worn by the same dancers at the ceremony of handing over the Olympic Flame to the Italian Olympic Committee. A ceremony that will take place at the Kallimarmaro Panathenaic Stadium on 4 December, after an eight-day torch relay, with the Olympic flame crossing over 2,200 kilometres on Greek territory, passing through 23 prefectures and 7 regions. The ceremony of handing over the flame seems a long way off, however, when the hours are counting down to the touching ceremony.\n\n18.00 Return, dinner, rest\n\nAs we are in the winter season and the sun sets early, the last rehearsal of the day is completed at about six o'clock in the evening. In the afternoon rehearsals with tunics and formal dresses, the order was reversed and first the choreographies were \"tested\" in front of the Ancient Stadium and then in the Temple of Hera.\n\nAccording to Artemis Ignatiou \"everything so far has gone very well, with a wonderful feeling and energy\". The bulk of the work had been practiced and prepared in Athens, before the whole group descended to Ancient Olympia so that the members could meet at the Archaeological Site, dance in it and unite with the earth, nature and the sun.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>The Olympic flame is close to completing its short tour of Greece and soon to be on its way to Italy for the Winter Games next February.<\/p>\n<p>A handover will take place on Thursday 4 December, the start of a 63-day, 12,000-kilometre relay through all 110 Italian provinces, highlighting cultural sites and host venues before reaching Milan\u2019s San Siro Stadium for the opening ceremony.<\/p>\n<p>Its journey officially began a week ago with a spectacular ceremony at the archaeological site where the Olympics began. For several weeks, however, before the flame was lit, dozens of young people, either dancers or actors, volunteered to be part of the historic proceedings. <\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//72//30//808x454_cmsv2_5a3f8e80-40c5-5e48-a2a9-75fe728150b6-9557230.jpg/" alt=\"High Priestess Mary Mina, left, lights a torch from the Olympic flame during the ceremony at the archaeological museum of Olympia, 26 Nov 2025\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/72\/30\/384x216_cmsv2_5a3f8e80-40c5-5e48-a2a9-75fe728150b6-9557230.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/72\/30\/640x360_cmsv2_5a3f8e80-40c5-5e48-a2a9-75fe728150b6-9557230.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/72\/30\/750x422_cmsv2_5a3f8e80-40c5-5e48-a2a9-75fe728150b6-9557230.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/72\/30\/828x466_cmsv2_5a3f8e80-40c5-5e48-a2a9-75fe728150b6-9557230.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/72\/30\/1080x608_cmsv2_5a3f8e80-40c5-5e48-a2a9-75fe728150b6-9557230.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/72\/30\/1200x675_cmsv2_5a3f8e80-40c5-5e48-a2a9-75fe728150b6-9557230.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/72\/30\/1920x1080_cmsv2_5a3f8e80-40c5-5e48-a2a9-75fe728150b6-9557230.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">High Priestess Mary Mina, left, lights a torch from the Olympic flame during the ceremony at the archaeological museum of Olympia, 26 Nov 2025<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Thanassis Stavrakis\/Copyright 2025 The AP. All rights reserved<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Euronews spent a day in Ancient Olympia to record the rehearsals behind the scenes which culminate in the iconic images sent around the world. For the second time, after the ceremony in April 2024 for the Paris Olympics, the actress Mary Mina was the Primate of the Year who held aloft the torch lit during the ceremony and passed it on to Petros Gaidatzis, a rowing bronze medalist at Paris. <\/p>\n<p>The artistic director of the Olympic Flame ceremonies since 2008 is choreographer Artemis Ignatiou who oversaw every single intensive rehearsal in the run-up to the ceremony: \"The team is a group of people who are all artists. They are dance teachers or actors. We all volunteer our services for our country, for Greece and to send the message of the Olympic Truce around the world. This is what we are asking for. Because to the question, to any question, the answer is peace around the world.\" <\/p>\n<p><em>\"<em>This year's ceremony is titled \"Daughters and Couri, the perpetual awakening\" and is of course inspired by these magnificent statues of antiquity.The Daughters and Kouroi come to life in front of the audience and with rhythm, intensity and movement, they give a new choreography and atmosphere of ancient Greece in modern times<\/em>.\"<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>07.30 am - breakfast<\/h2>\n<p>Early in the morning, soft music woke up everyone staying inside the International Olympic Academy (IOA) facilities. The world's leading institution of Olympic Education, founded in the middle of the last century, is located next to the archaeological site where the first Olympic Games were held and is dedicated to the study, enhancement and promotion of Olympism and its values in relation to current global issues of Olympic interest and in accordance with the principles established by the ancient Greeks and the revivalists of the modern Olympic Movement. Residents receive their breakfast in the restaurant area and return to their rooms to get ready.<\/p>\n<h2>09.30 Preparations at the IOA<\/h2>\n<p>The approximately 40 priestesses emerged from their rooms on the second level of the International Olympic Academy facilities. Some in overalls, others casually dressed as the rehearsals don't demand formal attire. The girls and boys stay in rooms of two or even three people. Make-up and hairstyling for almost all go hand-in-hand. <\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5628140703517588\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//66//88//808x454_cmsv2_2f03177c-fe77-5d9d-a0f6-a691d52a0c2a-9556688.jpg/" alt=\"Priestesses comb each other's hair\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/384x216_cmsv2_2f03177c-fe77-5d9d-a0f6-a691d52a0c2a-9556688.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/640x360_cmsv2_2f03177c-fe77-5d9d-a0f6-a691d52a0c2a-9556688.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/750x422_cmsv2_2f03177c-fe77-5d9d-a0f6-a691d52a0c2a-9556688.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/828x466_cmsv2_2f03177c-fe77-5d9d-a0f6-a691d52a0c2a-9556688.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1080x608_cmsv2_2f03177c-fe77-5d9d-a0f6-a691d52a0c2a-9556688.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1200x675_cmsv2_2f03177c-fe77-5d9d-a0f6-a691d52a0c2a-9556688.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1920x1081_cmsv2_2f03177c-fe77-5d9d-a0f6-a691d52a0c2a-9556688.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Priestesses comb each other's hair.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Euronews<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>A little later, Artemis Ignatiou gathers the whole group in a circle to address them ahead of their first official rehearsal of the day at the archaeological site. Some choreography exercises are done in the open space right in front of the rooms where they are staying.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5685279187817259\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//66//88//808x459_cmsv2_dee2ba61-8e3e-5770-9f9d-abf5c9721018-9556688.jpg/" alt=\"Rehearsal inside the IOA premises\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/384x218_cmsv2_dee2ba61-8e3e-5770-9f9d-abf5c9721018-9556688.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/640x364_cmsv2_dee2ba61-8e3e-5770-9f9d-abf5c9721018-9556688.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/750x426_cmsv2_dee2ba61-8e3e-5770-9f9d-abf5c9721018-9556688.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/828x471_cmsv2_dee2ba61-8e3e-5770-9f9d-abf5c9721018-9556688.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1080x614_cmsv2_dee2ba61-8e3e-5770-9f9d-abf5c9721018-9556688.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1200x682_cmsv2_dee2ba61-8e3e-5770-9f9d-abf5c9721018-9556688.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1920x1092_cmsv2_dee2ba61-8e3e-5770-9f9d-abf5c9721018-9556688.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Rehearsal inside the IOA premises<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Euronews<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2>10.15 a.m. Departure from the IOA<\/h2>\n<p>Two minibuses have been enlisted to facilitate the team's travel from the IOA premises to the Archaeological Site.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5610367892976589\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//66//88//808x454_cmsv2_b9870925-3110-5955-b7ae-5708f3839139-9556688.jpg/" alt=\"Departure from the IOA\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/384x215_cmsv2_b9870925-3110-5955-b7ae-5708f3839139-9556688.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/640x359_cmsv2_b9870925-3110-5955-b7ae-5708f3839139-9556688.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/750x421_cmsv2_b9870925-3110-5955-b7ae-5708f3839139-9556688.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/828x465_cmsv2_b9870925-3110-5955-b7ae-5708f3839139-9556688.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1080x606_cmsv2_b9870925-3110-5955-b7ae-5708f3839139-9556688.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1200x673_cmsv2_b9870925-3110-5955-b7ae-5708f3839139-9556688.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1920x1077_cmsv2_b9870925-3110-5955-b7ae-5708f3839139-9556688.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Departure from the IOA<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Euronews<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Each dancer takes a small bag with his or her absolutely necessary personal belongings for the next two to three hours.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5571309424520434\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//66//88//808x451_cmsv2_609aafa8-d8a2-5322-8522-1983e5ce7fd5-9556688.jpg/" alt=\"Leaving the IOA\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/384x214_cmsv2_609aafa8-d8a2-5322-8522-1983e5ce7fd5-9556688.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/640x357_cmsv2_609aafa8-d8a2-5322-8522-1983e5ce7fd5-9556688.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/750x418_cmsv2_609aafa8-d8a2-5322-8522-1983e5ce7fd5-9556688.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/828x461_cmsv2_609aafa8-d8a2-5322-8522-1983e5ce7fd5-9556688.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1080x602_cmsv2_609aafa8-d8a2-5322-8522-1983e5ce7fd5-9556688.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1200x669_cmsv2_609aafa8-d8a2-5322-8522-1983e5ce7fd5-9556688.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1920x1070_cmsv2_609aafa8-d8a2-5322-8522-1983e5ce7fd5-9556688.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Leaving the IOA<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Euronews<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>The distance travelled is no more than 2-3 minutes with the small vans moving around the perimeter of the Archaeological Site and ending at the official entrance.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5604670558798999\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//66//88//808x454_cmsv2_329753ef-c90f-5a8a-af40-6f6cf0c2855b-9556688.jpg/" alt=\"Inside the van carrying the team\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/384x215_cmsv2_329753ef-c90f-5a8a-af40-6f6cf0c2855b-9556688.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/640x359_cmsv2_329753ef-c90f-5a8a-af40-6f6cf0c2855b-9556688.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/750x420_cmsv2_329753ef-c90f-5a8a-af40-6f6cf0c2855b-9556688.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/828x464_cmsv2_329753ef-c90f-5a8a-af40-6f6cf0c2855b-9556688.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1080x605_cmsv2_329753ef-c90f-5a8a-af40-6f6cf0c2855b-9556688.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1200x673_cmsv2_329753ef-c90f-5a8a-af40-6f6cf0c2855b-9556688.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1920x1076_cmsv2_329753ef-c90f-5a8a-af40-6f6cf0c2855b-9556688.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Inside the van carrying the group<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Euronews<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>After disembarking from the vans, the whole group enters the Archaeological Site through the main entrance.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5609348914858097\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//66//88//808x454_cmsv2_cc7b783c-909f-58a8-b5fe-2c48423638c3-9556688.jpg/" alt=\"The priestesses in the Archaeological Site of Olympia\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/384x215_cmsv2_cc7b783c-909f-58a8-b5fe-2c48423638c3-9556688.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/640x359_cmsv2_cc7b783c-909f-58a8-b5fe-2c48423638c3-9556688.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/750x421_cmsv2_cc7b783c-909f-58a8-b5fe-2c48423638c3-9556688.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/828x464_cmsv2_cc7b783c-909f-58a8-b5fe-2c48423638c3-9556688.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1080x606_cmsv2_cc7b783c-909f-58a8-b5fe-2c48423638c3-9556688.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1200x673_cmsv2_cc7b783c-909f-58a8-b5fe-2c48423638c3-9556688.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1920x1077_cmsv2_cc7b783c-909f-58a8-b5fe-2c48423638c3-9556688.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">The priestesses in the Archaeological Site of Olympia<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Euronews<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2>10.30 am The first \"relaxed\" rehearsal<\/h2>\n<p>The rehearsals in the Archaeological Area are held with the cooperation of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Ilia, which has provided the necessary permits. The morning rehearsals take place while dozens of tourists are inside the premises. Most of them, realising their... fate, sit and watch the dancing.<\/p>\n<p>Initially, rehearsals take place in the Temple of Hera, or the Heraion of Olympia, within the sacred space of the Althea and on its northwestern side, built at the southern foot of the Cronius Hill.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5604026845637584\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//66//88//808x454_cmsv2_3bcf5f97-0054-5bf0-b627-2b7af01c2acb-9556688.jpg/" alt=\"Artemis Ignatius giving instructions to the priestesses\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/384x215_cmsv2_3bcf5f97-0054-5bf0-b627-2b7af01c2acb-9556688.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/640x359_cmsv2_3bcf5f97-0054-5bf0-b627-2b7af01c2acb-9556688.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/750x420_cmsv2_3bcf5f97-0054-5bf0-b627-2b7af01c2acb-9556688.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/828x464_cmsv2_3bcf5f97-0054-5bf0-b627-2b7af01c2acb-9556688.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1080x605_cmsv2_3bcf5f97-0054-5bf0-b627-2b7af01c2acb-9556688.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1200x672_cmsv2_3bcf5f97-0054-5bf0-b627-2b7af01c2acb-9556688.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1920x1076_cmsv2_3bcf5f97-0054-5bf0-b627-2b7af01c2acb-9556688.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Artemis Ignatius instructs the priestesses<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Euronews<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>This particular building is one of the oldest examples of monumental temple architecture in Greece and it was the place where the most valuable works of the sanctuary were kept, among which was the Sacred Truce Disc and the famous Hermes of Praxiteles (perhaps the most popular exhibit in the nearby Archaeological Museum).<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5601001669449082\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//66//88//808x451_cmsv2_3022d382-ed95-504d-a432-6f0d90b18bfa-9556688.jpg/" alt=\"Rehearsal in front of the Temple of Hera\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/384x215_cmsv2_3022d382-ed95-504d-a432-6f0d90b18bfa-9556688.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/640x358_cmsv2_3022d382-ed95-504d-a432-6f0d90b18bfa-9556688.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/750x420_cmsv2_3022d382-ed95-504d-a432-6f0d90b18bfa-9556688.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/828x464_cmsv2_3022d382-ed95-504d-a432-6f0d90b18bfa-9556688.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1080x605_cmsv2_3022d382-ed95-504d-a432-6f0d90b18bfa-9556688.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1200x672_cmsv2_3022d382-ed95-504d-a432-6f0d90b18bfa-9556688.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1920x1075_cmsv2_3022d382-ed95-504d-a432-6f0d90b18bfa-9556688.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Rehearsal in front of the Temple of Hera<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Euronews<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>In front of the temple there is the altar of Hera, where the Olympic flame is lit by the respective Pretender, according to the ritual that has been established for the present time. With Artemis Ignatiou holding the drum and giving instructions, the priestesses make three different passes and rehearse the choreography.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5664983164983165\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//66//88//808x456_cmsv2_04f57926-3918-590b-b462-a0849b27eb31-9556688.jpg/" alt=\"Artemis Ignatiou (with drum) giving instructions\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/384x218_cmsv2_04f57926-3918-590b-b462-a0849b27eb31-9556688.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/640x363_cmsv2_04f57926-3918-590b-b462-a0849b27eb31-9556688.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/750x425_cmsv2_04f57926-3918-590b-b462-a0849b27eb31-9556688.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/828x469_cmsv2_04f57926-3918-590b-b462-a0849b27eb31-9556688.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1080x612_cmsv2_04f57926-3918-590b-b462-a0849b27eb31-9556688.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1200x680_cmsv2_04f57926-3918-590b-b462-a0849b27eb31-9556688.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1920x1088_cmsv2_04f57926-3918-590b-b462-a0849b27eb31-9556688.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Artemis Ignatiou (holding the drum) giving instructions<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Euronews<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Next, they all move together to the Ancient Stadium. On the small hill between the Stadium and the Temple of Hera the next rehearsals take place, this time involving four boys.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5537948290241869\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//66//88//808x446_cmsv2_085ac8ca-4377-59cd-9260-5559de184b14-9556688.jpg/" alt=\"Rehearsal of the priests for the touching ceremony\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/384x213_cmsv2_085ac8ca-4377-59cd-9260-5559de184b14-9556688.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/640x354_cmsv2_085ac8ca-4377-59cd-9260-5559de184b14-9556688.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/750x415_cmsv2_085ac8ca-4377-59cd-9260-5559de184b14-9556688.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/828x459_cmsv2_085ac8ca-4377-59cd-9260-5559de184b14-9556688.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1080x598_cmsv2_085ac8ca-4377-59cd-9260-5559de184b14-9556688.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1200x665_cmsv2_085ac8ca-4377-59cd-9260-5559de184b14-9556688.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1920x1063_cmsv2_085ac8ca-4377-59cd-9260-5559de184b14-9556688.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">The rehearsal of the priests in preparation for the touching ceremony<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Euronews<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Ignatius is inside the stadium with a microphone to correct any small imperfections she finds, while a loudspeaker next to her conveys the instructions to the dancers.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5610367892976589\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//66//88//808x454_cmsv2_0c0d24b4-c088-553f-8aa9-02733fb97c17-9556688.jpg/" alt=\"Artemis Ignatiou giving instructions\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/384x215_cmsv2_0c0d24b4-c088-553f-8aa9-02733fb97c17-9556688.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/640x359_cmsv2_0c0d24b4-c088-553f-8aa9-02733fb97c17-9556688.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/750x421_cmsv2_0c0d24b4-c088-553f-8aa9-02733fb97c17-9556688.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/828x465_cmsv2_0c0d24b4-c088-553f-8aa9-02733fb97c17-9556688.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1080x606_cmsv2_0c0d24b4-c088-553f-8aa9-02733fb97c17-9556688.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1200x673_cmsv2_0c0d24b4-c088-553f-8aa9-02733fb97c17-9556688.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1920x1077_cmsv2_0c0d24b4-c088-553f-8aa9-02733fb97c17-9556688.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Artemis Ignatiou gives instructions<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Euronews<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>The process is repeated two or three more times, to the delight of the lucky spectators who chose that particular day to visit the Archaeological Site. Among them was a renowned high school from Rome with about 50 high school students, who quite by chance, as explained to us by their escorts - teachers, stumbled upon the rehearsals for the touching ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games to be hosted in their home country.<\/p>\n<h2>12.45 Visit to the Archaeological Museum<\/h2>\n<p>After more than two hours at the Archaeological Site, the rehearsal is complete and the entire team leaves on foot for the exit. However, before boarding the vans for the return to the Olympic Academy premises, they are also taken to the adjacent Archaeological Museum for a short tour of the site.<\/p>\n<p><em>\"<em>We believe in the Olympic idea and what it stands for and that is what unites us,<\/em>\"<\/em> say the young dancers. <\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5618729096989966\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//66//88//808x454_cmsv2_17496dcc-9771-54f3-a86b-a698e46c3eac-9556688.jpg/" alt=\"Moments of rest between rehearsals\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/384x216_cmsv2_17496dcc-9771-54f3-a86b-a698e46c3eac-9556688.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/640x360_cmsv2_17496dcc-9771-54f3-a86b-a698e46c3eac-9556688.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/750x421_cmsv2_17496dcc-9771-54f3-a86b-a698e46c3eac-9556688.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/828x465_cmsv2_17496dcc-9771-54f3-a86b-a698e46c3eac-9556688.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1080x607_cmsv2_17496dcc-9771-54f3-a86b-a698e46c3eac-9556688.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1200x674_cmsv2_17496dcc-9771-54f3-a86b-a698e46c3eac-9556688.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1920x1079_cmsv2_17496dcc-9771-54f3-a86b-a698e46c3eac-9556688.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Moments of rest between rehearsals<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Euronews<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p><em>\"<em>I've been participating in the touch and surrender ceremonies since 2011, in a new choreography each time and the feeling is truly unique. The most important thing in this group is the bonding, the giving and all these shared feelings, with one single goal: to send the message of peace everywhere,<\/em>\"<\/em> Priestess Athanasia Muyou explains to Euronews.<\/p>\n<p>For his part, Theodosis Livadinos, one of the 'kurous' of this year's ceremony, says: <em>\"<em>The experience is special and magical every time. We bond as a team, as one big family and it's incredible. The boys have an active role representing the statues of Zeus, as Olympic athletes and then as Kouroi, in a new choreography each time at the Olympiad.<\/em>\"<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5618729096989966\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//66//88//808x454_cmsv2_6d6dfe0a-d67c-5aa5-ab0b-2790e184862a-9556688.jpg/" alt=\"Kouri and Daughters\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/384x216_cmsv2_6d6dfe0a-d67c-5aa5-ab0b-2790e184862a-9556688.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/640x360_cmsv2_6d6dfe0a-d67c-5aa5-ab0b-2790e184862a-9556688.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/750x421_cmsv2_6d6dfe0a-d67c-5aa5-ab0b-2790e184862a-9556688.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/828x465_cmsv2_6d6dfe0a-d67c-5aa5-ab0b-2790e184862a-9556688.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1080x607_cmsv2_6d6dfe0a-d67c-5aa5-ab0b-2790e184862a-9556688.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1200x674_cmsv2_6d6dfe0a-d67c-5aa5-ab0b-2790e184862a-9556688.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1920x1079_cmsv2_6d6dfe0a-d67c-5aa5-ab0b-2790e184862a-9556688.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Kouri and Daughters<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Euronews<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<h2>13.45 Return to the IOA, lunch, rest<\/h2>\n<p>The young dancers head first to the restaurant where lunch awaits them. Each of them takes his or her tray, chooses the amount of food he or she wants from the buffet and has to return it to a certain place, just like in the student clubs. Along with the participants of the ceremony, there are about 20 Olympic values students from all corners of the world residing in the IOA premises, who are attending their classes every day, aspiring to get their master's degree at the end of the academic year. Afterwards, everyone has an hour of free time to return to their rooms, rest for a while and get ready for the afternoon - and a more demanding rehearsal.<\/p>\n<h2>16.00 Second most formal rehearsal<\/h2>\n<p>The second rehearsal at the Archaeological Site of Olympia will be in formal attire but away from the eyes of ordinary citizens. As the archaeological site closes to the public at 15:30, immediately afterwards Artemis Ignatiou and her team have the opportunity to rehearse until sunset with no people on the premises, except for the few employees of the Ministry of Culture.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5652173913043478\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//66//88//808x456_cmsv2_68811a31-9e03-5251-b5af-9649a2e544a1-9556688.jpg/" alt=\"Preparing for the afternoon rehearsal\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/384x217_cmsv2_68811a31-9e03-5251-b5af-9649a2e544a1-9556688.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/640x362_cmsv2_68811a31-9e03-5251-b5af-9649a2e544a1-9556688.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/750x424_cmsv2_68811a31-9e03-5251-b5af-9649a2e544a1-9556688.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/828x468_cmsv2_68811a31-9e03-5251-b5af-9649a2e544a1-9556688.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1080x610_cmsv2_68811a31-9e03-5251-b5af-9649a2e544a1-9556688.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1200x678_cmsv2_68811a31-9e03-5251-b5af-9649a2e544a1-9556688.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1920x1085_cmsv2_68811a31-9e03-5251-b5af-9649a2e544a1-9556688.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Preparing for the afternoon rehearsal<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Euronews<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>At the same time arrives a two-member team of Red Cross volunteers who have come from Patras to provide their services in case of any need. And it is needed. From a sprain during the dance when one sandal is torn, to mosquito repellent, lots of mosquito repellent. During the evening rehearsal formal wear is worn bare-backed, meaning the priestesses are exposed to the thousands of insects in the area.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5636515912897823\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//66//88//808x456_cmsv2_a2590a6c-b873-5a3e-a4dd-f7da951d978e-9556688.jpg/" alt=\"Preparing for the afternoon rehearsal\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/384x216_cmsv2_a2590a6c-b873-5a3e-a4dd-f7da951d978e-9556688.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/640x361_cmsv2_a2590a6c-b873-5a3e-a4dd-f7da951d978e-9556688.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/750x423_cmsv2_a2590a6c-b873-5a3e-a4dd-f7da951d978e-9556688.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/828x467_cmsv2_a2590a6c-b873-5a3e-a4dd-f7da951d978e-9556688.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1080x609_cmsv2_a2590a6c-b873-5a3e-a4dd-f7da951d978e-9556688.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1200x676_cmsv2_a2590a6c-b873-5a3e-a4dd-f7da951d978e-9556688.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1920x1082_cmsv2_a2590a6c-b873-5a3e-a4dd-f7da951d978e-9556688.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Preparation for the evening rehearsal<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Euronews<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>The participants outfits were designed two years ago by the internationally renowned Greek stylist Mary Katrantzou for the Paris ceremonies. These costumes include several ancient Greek elements since they are inspired by Ionic-style capitals.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5618729096989966\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//66//88//808x454_cmsv2_0cc5b153-dcc7-5ac1-be2b-748a05af1137-9556688.jpg/" alt=\"The Priestesses in the Archaeological Site\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/384x216_cmsv2_0cc5b153-dcc7-5ac1-be2b-748a05af1137-9556688.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/640x360_cmsv2_0cc5b153-dcc7-5ac1-be2b-748a05af1137-9556688.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/750x421_cmsv2_0cc5b153-dcc7-5ac1-be2b-748a05af1137-9556688.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/828x465_cmsv2_0cc5b153-dcc7-5ac1-be2b-748a05af1137-9556688.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1080x607_cmsv2_0cc5b153-dcc7-5ac1-be2b-748a05af1137-9556688.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1200x674_cmsv2_0cc5b153-dcc7-5ac1-be2b-748a05af1137-9556688.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1920x1079_cmsv2_0cc5b153-dcc7-5ac1-be2b-748a05af1137-9556688.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">The Priestesses in the Archaeological Site<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Euronews<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>The same costumes will be worn by the same dancers at the ceremony of handing over the Olympic Flame to the Italian Olympic Committee. A ceremony that will take place at the Kallimarmaro Panathenaic Stadium on 4 December, after an eight-day torch relay, with the Olympic flame crossing over 2,200 kilometres on Greek territory, passing through 23 prefectures and 7 regions. The ceremony of handing over the flame seems a long way off, however, when the hours are counting down to the touching ceremony.<\/p>\n<h2>18.00 Return, dinner, rest<\/h2>\n<p>As we are in the winter season and the sun sets early, the last rehearsal of the day is completed at about six o'clock in the evening. In the afternoon rehearsals with tunics and formal dresses, the order was reversed and first the choreographies were \"tested\" in front of the Ancient Stadium and then in the Temple of Hera.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5585284280936454\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//66//88//808x451_cmsv2_273e92e5-f4f3-5e9c-a2f9-95abd9e1e3b3-9556688.jpg/" alt=\"The priestesses with A. Ignatius in front of the Temple of Hera\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/384x214_cmsv2_273e92e5-f4f3-5e9c-a2f9-95abd9e1e3b3-9556688.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/640x357_cmsv2_273e92e5-f4f3-5e9c-a2f9-95abd9e1e3b3-9556688.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/750x419_cmsv2_273e92e5-f4f3-5e9c-a2f9-95abd9e1e3b3-9556688.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/828x462_cmsv2_273e92e5-f4f3-5e9c-a2f9-95abd9e1e3b3-9556688.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1080x603_cmsv2_273e92e5-f4f3-5e9c-a2f9-95abd9e1e3b3-9556688.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1200x670_cmsv2_273e92e5-f4f3-5e9c-a2f9-95abd9e1e3b3-9556688.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1920x1072_cmsv2_273e92e5-f4f3-5e9c-a2f9-95abd9e1e3b3-9556688.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">The priestesses with A. Ignatius in front of the Temple of Hera<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Euronews<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5551839464882943\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//66//88//808x449_cmsv2_3bbf41ea-6ff6-5475-9d21-dbd5e527395a-9556688.jpg/" alt=\"The priestesses, the Kouroi and Artemis Ignatius in front of the Temple of Hera\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/384x213_cmsv2_3bbf41ea-6ff6-5475-9d21-dbd5e527395a-9556688.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/640x355_cmsv2_3bbf41ea-6ff6-5475-9d21-dbd5e527395a-9556688.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/750x416_cmsv2_3bbf41ea-6ff6-5475-9d21-dbd5e527395a-9556688.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/828x460_cmsv2_3bbf41ea-6ff6-5475-9d21-dbd5e527395a-9556688.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1080x600_cmsv2_3bbf41ea-6ff6-5475-9d21-dbd5e527395a-9556688.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1200x666_cmsv2_3bbf41ea-6ff6-5475-9d21-dbd5e527395a-9556688.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/1920x1066_cmsv2_3bbf41ea-6ff6-5475-9d21-dbd5e527395a-9556688.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">The priestesses, the Kouroi and Artemis Ignatiou in front of the Temple of Hera<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Euronews<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>According to Artemis Ignatiou \"everything so far has gone very well, with a wonderful feeling and energy\". The bulk of the work had been practiced and prepared in Athens, before the whole group descended to Ancient Olympia so that the members could meet at the Archaeological Site, dance in it and unite with the earth, nature and the sun.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1763740263,"updatedAt":1764699709,"publishedAt":1764699702,"firstPublishedAt":1764699702,"lastPublishedAt":1764699702,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/66\/88\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_1572c6b6-2f4f-5c8f-a3d5-b032bbb3e7f1-9556688.jpg","altText":"The priestesses dance in the Archaeological Site of Olympia during a rehearsal","caption":"The priestesses dance in the Archaeological Site of Olympia during a rehearsal","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Euronews","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1192,"height":674},{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/72\/30\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_5a3f8e80-40c5-5e48-a2a9-75fe728150b6-9557230.jpg","altText":"High Priestess Mary Mina, left, lights a torch from the Olympic flame during the ceremony at the archaeological museum of Olympia, 26 Nov 2025","caption":"High Priestess Mary Mina, left, lights a torch from the Olympic flame during the ceremony at the archaeological museum of Olympia, 26 Nov 2025","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Thanassis Stavrakis\/Copyright 2025 The AP. All rights reserved","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1024,"height":576}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":741,"urlSafeValue":"giagkinis","title":"Ioannis Giagkinis","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":128,"slug":"greece","urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","titleRaw":"Greece"},{"id":4145,"slug":"dance","urlSafeValue":"dance","title":"Dance","titleRaw":"Dance"},{"id":4162,"slug":"archaeology","urlSafeValue":"archaeology","title":"Archaeology","titleRaw":"Archaeology"},{"id":4165,"slug":"olympic-games","urlSafeValue":"olympic-games","title":"Olympic Games","titleRaw":"Olympic Games"},{"id":5561,"slug":"ceremony","urlSafeValue":"ceremony","title":"Ceremony","titleRaw":"Ceremony"},{"id":10885,"slug":"winter-olympics","urlSafeValue":"winter-olympics","title":"Winter Olympics","titleRaw":"Winter Olympics"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"image","count":19}],"related":[{"id":2842346},{"id":2785078}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"PQi3RrUub2U","dailymotionId":"x9uam6w"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"format":"mp4","quality":"md","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/ED\/29\/90\/43\/00\/ED_PYR_2990430_20251123152653.mp4","editor":"","duration":231200,"filesizeBytes":33407070,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"hd","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/SHD\/29\/90\/43\/00\/SHD_PYR_2990430_20251123152653.mp4","editor":"","duration":231200,"filesizeBytes":50846047,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"1080p","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/FHD\/29\/90\/43\/00\/FHD_PYR_2990430_20251123152653.mp4","editor":"","duration":231200,"filesizeBytes":177360797,"expiresAt":0}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"Giannis Sarigiannis (camera)","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"culture-news","urlSafeValue":"culture-news","title":"Culture News","online":0,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/culture\/culture-news\/culture-news"},"season":"","episode":"","episodeId":"","vertical":"culture","verticals":[{"id":10,"slug":"culture","urlSafeValue":"culture","title":"Culture"},{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":10,"slug":"culture","urlSafeValue":"culture","title":"Culture"},"themes":[{"id":"culture-news","urlSafeValue":"culture-news","title":"Culture news","url":"\/culture\/culture-news"},{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"},{"id":"sport","urlSafeValue":"sport","title":"Sport","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":53,"urlSafeValue":"culture-news","title":"Culture news"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":128,"urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":{"id":1712,"urlSafeValue":"athens","title":"Athens"},"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article-video","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":{"id":1,"slug":"deepl","isActive":1},"localisation":{"producerLanguage":"el","storyId":9556688,"online":1},"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":1,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/culture\/2025\/12\/02\/a-day-in-the-life-of-ancient-olympia-with-the-priestesses-of-the-olympic-flame-lighting-ce","lastModified":1764699702},{"id":2850876,"cid":9567176,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"GREECE FARMERS ROADBLOCKS UPD","daletPyramidId":3465802,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Greek farmers block Athens motorway as fallout from illegal subsidies fraud continues","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Greek farmers block motorway as fallout from subsidies fraud continues","titleListing2":"Greek farmers block main motorway as fallout from illegal subsidies fraud continues","leadin":"The blockade comes after dozens of people were arrested last week in a spiralling farm fraud case that revealed millions of euros were paid in illegal subsidies by the organisation in charge of distributing EU farm funds.","summary":"The blockade comes after dozens of people were arrested last week in a spiralling farm fraud case that revealed millions of euros were paid in illegal subsidies by the organisation in charge of distributing EU farm funds.","keySentence":"","url":"greek-farmers-block-athens-motorway-as-fallout-from-illegal-subsidies-fraud-continues","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2025\/12\/01\/greek-farmers-block-athens-motorway-as-fallout-from-illegal-subsidies-fraud-continues","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Greek farmers have blocked major national roads with tractors, effectively dividing the country's main north-south highway in protest against the increased cost of production, low prices and delays in payments from the government.\n\nThe blockade comes after several people were arrested last week in a spiralling farm fraud case that revealed millions of euros were paid in illegal subsidies by OPEKEPE, the organisation in charge of distributing EU farm funds, a scandal that has provoked farmers and brought extra scrutiny to subsidy payments in the country.\n\nDuring the preliminary investigation, some 324 people were found to be recipients of subsidies worth \u20ac19.6 million, according to the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO).\n\nFarmers and agricultural associations are staging demonstrations on the critical Athens-Thessaloniki motoway, bringing in more farm machinery and tractors to reinforce their blockade.\n\nEarlier on Monday, the Athens-Thessaloniki motorway remained closed around Nikaia in Larissa, the capital and largest city of the northwestern Thessaly region, where the tractors were lined up as traffic police continued to divert traffic through alternative routes in order to avoid major disruptions.\n\nAhead of a planned meeting between the unions on Monday, farmers have warned they will extend the closures unless their demands are met.\n\nAccording to an announcement of the Federation of Agricultural Associations, \"a blockade at the junction, Megalochori, will proceed, and the farmers of Trikala will protest next Wednesday.\" A blockade is also expected in eastern Thessaloniki.\n\nSerious incidents on first day of action\n\nThe first day of the mobilisation began on Sunday and was accompanied by incidents in the villages of Nikaia and Platykampos in Larissa, when farmers attempted to approach the motorway and clashed with riot police.\n\nTwo farmers and two police officers were injured, according to a statement by the ELAS resistance movement.\n\nAccording to police, two arrests were made in Platykambos, one for violence against officials, damage and resistance and the second for damage. A third arrest was made at the Nice junction for bodily harm and resistance.\n\nAt the Larissa courthouse, farmers from the Nikaia blockade renewed their \"appointment\" after Sunday's mobilisation outside the building of the Larissa Police Directorate, asking for the release of those arrested.\n\nWith no assurances or statement from the government yet, the protests are expected to spread across Greece until 5 December, with more road blockades, a tactic frequently used by farmers to put pressure on authorities.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Greek farmers have blocked major national roads with tractors, effectively dividing the country's main north-south highway in protest against the increased cost of production, low prices and delays in payments from the government.<\/p>\n<p>The blockade comes after several people were arrested last week in a spiralling farm fraud case that revealed millions of euros were paid in illegal subsidies by OPEKEPE, the organisation in charge of distributing EU farm funds, a scandal that has provoked farmers and brought extra scrutiny to subsidy payments in the country.<\/p>\n<p>During the preliminary investigation, some 324 people were found to be recipients of subsidies worth \u20ac19.6 million, according to the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO).<\/p>\n<p>Farmers and agricultural associations are staging demonstrations on the critical Athens-Thessaloniki motoway, bringing in more farm machinery and tractors to reinforce their blockade. <\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6665\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//56//70//92//808x539_cmsv2_32f0de66-8a5e-5359-8586-0776b12c1f19-9567092.jpg/" alt=\"Farmers line up their tractors during the agricultural mobilizations on the PATHE at the Nice Larissa junction,\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/56\/70\/92\/384x256_cmsv2_32f0de66-8a5e-5359-8586-0776b12c1f19-9567092.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/56\/70\/92\/640x427_cmsv2_32f0de66-8a5e-5359-8586-0776b12c1f19-9567092.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/56\/70\/92\/750x500_cmsv2_32f0de66-8a5e-5359-8586-0776b12c1f19-9567092.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/56\/70\/92\/828x552_cmsv2_32f0de66-8a5e-5359-8586-0776b12c1f19-9567092.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/56\/70\/92\/1080x720_cmsv2_32f0de66-8a5e-5359-8586-0776b12c1f19-9567092.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/56\/70\/92\/1200x800_cmsv2_32f0de66-8a5e-5359-8586-0776b12c1f19-9567092.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/56\/70\/92\/1920x1280_cmsv2_32f0de66-8a5e-5359-8586-0776b12c1f19-9567092.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Farmers line up their tractors during the agricultural mobilization on the PATHE, at the Nice Larissa junction,<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">ΑΠΕ ΜΠΕ<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Earlier on Monday, the Athens-Thessaloniki motorway remained closed around Nikaia in Larissa, the capital and largest city of the northwestern Thessaly region, where the tractors were lined up as traffic police continued to divert traffic through alternative routes in order to avoid major disruptions.<\/p>\n<p>Ahead of a planned meeting between the unions on Monday, farmers have warned they will extend the closures unless their demands are met.<\/p>\n<p>According to an announcement of the Federation of Agricultural Associations, \"a blockade at the junction, Megalochori, will proceed, and the farmers of Trikala will protest next Wednesday.\" A blockade is also expected in eastern Thessaloniki. <\/p>\n<h2>Serious incidents on first day of action<\/h2>\n<p>The first day of the mobilisation began on Sunday and was accompanied by incidents in the villages of Nikaia and Platykampos in Larissa, when farmers attempted to approach the motorway and clashed with riot police. <\/p>\n<p>Two farmers and two police officers were injured, according to a statement by the ELAS resistance movement.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-fullwidth widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6665\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//56//70//92//808x539_cmsv2_268196f7-d34c-5e4f-96d9-269aab9a9dce-9567092.jpg/" alt=\"Policemen use chemicals during the agricultural mobilizations in Nikaia Larissa, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/56\/70\/92\/384x256_cmsv2_268196f7-d34c-5e4f-96d9-269aab9a9dce-9567092.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/56\/70\/92\/640x427_cmsv2_268196f7-d34c-5e4f-96d9-269aab9a9dce-9567092.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/56\/70\/92\/750x500_cmsv2_268196f7-d34c-5e4f-96d9-269aab9a9dce-9567092.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/56\/70\/92\/828x552_cmsv2_268196f7-d34c-5e4f-96d9-269aab9a9dce-9567092.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/56\/70\/92\/1080x720_cmsv2_268196f7-d34c-5e4f-96d9-269aab9a9dce-9567092.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/56\/70\/92\/1200x800_cmsv2_268196f7-d34c-5e4f-96d9-269aab9a9dce-9567092.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/56\/70\/92\/1920x1280_cmsv2_268196f7-d34c-5e4f-96d9-269aab9a9dce-9567092.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Police officers use chemical agents during the farmers' demonstrations in Nikaia, Larissa, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025.<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">ΑΠΕ ΜΠΕ<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>According to police, two arrests were made in Platykambos, one for violence against officials, damage and resistance and the second for damage. A third arrest was made at the Nice junction for bodily harm and resistance.<\/p>\n<p>At the Larissa courthouse, farmers from the Nikaia blockade renewed their \"appointment\" after Sunday's mobilisation outside the building of the Larissa Police Directorate, asking for the release of those arrested. <\/p>\n<p>With no assurances or statement from the government yet, the protests are expected to spread across Greece until 5 December, with more road blockades, a tactic frequently used by farmers to put pressure on authorities.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1764577607,"updatedAt":1764589051,"publishedAt":1764585289,"firstPublishedAt":1764585289,"lastPublishedAt":1764585289,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/56\/70\/92\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_7528e867-be30-5b5f-91e8-68c79459cc80-9567092.jpg","altText":"Farmers line up their tractors during the agricultural mobilizations on the PATHE, at the Nikaia Larissa junction","caption":"Farmers line up their tractors during the agricultural mobilizations on the PATHE, at the Nikaia Larissa junction","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"\u0391\u03a0\u0395 \u039c\u03a0\u0395","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":2000,"height":1333}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":646,"urlSafeValue":"tsellos","title":"Konstantinos Tsellos","twitter":"@costastse"}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":128,"slug":"greece","urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","titleRaw":"Greece"},{"id":12952,"slug":"clashes","urlSafeValue":"clashes","title":"Clashes","titleRaw":"Clashes"},{"id":18298,"slug":"farmers","urlSafeValue":"farmers","title":"Farmers","titleRaw":"Farmers"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"image","count":2}],"related":[{"id":2848857},{"id":2847040}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"gPCBVvEZzd4","dailymotionId":"x9urv6q"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"format":"mp4","quality":"md","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/ED\/30\/57\/35\/00\/ED_PYR_3057350_20251201113733.mp4","editor":"","duration":75680,"filesizeBytes":14663779,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"hd","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/SHD\/30\/57\/35\/00\/SHD_PYR_3057350_20251201113733.mp4","editor":"","duration":75680,"filesizeBytes":21333338,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"1080p","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/FHD\/30\/57\/35\/00\/FHD_PYR_3057350_20251201113733.mp4","editor":"","duration":75680,"filesizeBytes":60042332,"expiresAt":0}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"APE BE\/ertnews.gr","additionalReporting":"Euronews","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"World News","online":1,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/programs\/world"},"season":"","episode":"","episodeId":"","vertical":"news","verticals":[{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":1,"slug":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"News"},"themes":[{"id":"news","urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":128,"urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article-video","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":{"id":1,"slug":"deepl","isActive":1},"localisation":{"producerLanguage":"el","storyId":9567092,"online":1},"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":1,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/2025\/12\/01\/greek-farmers-block-athens-motorway-as-fallout-from-illegal-subsidies-fraud-continues","lastModified":1764585289},{"id":2849415,"cid":9560692,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"GREECE TSIPRAS CRITICISES VAROUFAKIS IN MEMOIR","daletPyramidId":3408996,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":3},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Former Greek PM Tsipras says no one 'could stand' ex-finance minister Varoufakis","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Former Greek PM Tsipras says no one 'could stand' Varoufakis","titleListing2":"Former Greek PM Tsipras says everyone disliked ex-finance minister Varoufakis","leadin":"On Tuesday, Varoufakis told Greek state TV ERT that he has not read the book, saying that he would instead \"wait for the movie to be released\".","summary":"On Tuesday, Varoufakis told Greek state TV ERT that he has not read the book, saying that he would instead \"wait for the movie to be released\".","keySentence":"","url":"former-greek-pm-tsipras-says-no-one-could-stand-ex-finance-minister-varoufakis","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/2025\/11\/25\/former-greek-pm-tsipras-says-no-one-could-stand-ex-finance-minister-varoufakis","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"Greece's former PM Alexis Tsipras has launched a scathing attack on his ex-finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, claiming that no one could stomach the firebrand economist.\n\nIn his 762-page memoir Ithaki, meaning Ithaca, released on Monday, the leftist recounted his political journey and criticised many of his former allies, including Varoufakis.\n\nTsipras argued that Varoufakis was \"more celebrity than economist\" and said that he \"underestimated the human factor\" when appointing him as finance minister during Greece's debt crisis in 2015.\n\n\"Varoufakis went from being an asset to a negative protagonist. Not only could our potential allies not stand him, but neither could his own colleagues,\" Tsipras wrote.\n\nTsipras became leader of the radical left-wing Syriza party in 2008 and oversaw its meteoric rise, culminating in his election as Greek prime minister in 2015.\n\nHaving stormed to power on an anti-austerity agenda, Tsipras \u2014 backed by Varoufakis \u2014 appeared on track to lead Greece out of the eurozone in 2015.\n\nDespite a referendum in which Greeks resoundingly rejected the EU's proposed bailout terms, Tsipras ultimately ignored the results and accepted a new package with even harsher austerity measures. Varoufakis resigned over Tsipras' decision to reverse course.\n\nIn the memoir, Tsipras said he had harboured doubts about his finance minister from an early stage of his tenure, claiming that Varoufakis was confrontational and egotistical.\n\n\"Varoufakis had proved himself to be unsuitable for an agreement that required complex and delicate handling,\" Tsipras wrote.\n\n\"He was the face of negotiation, the man who attracted publicity, who graced the covers of magazines the world over \u2026 he gave the impression he was enjoying his new role.\"\n\nOn Tuesday, Varoufakis told Greek state TV ERT that he has not read the book, saying that he would instead \"wait for the movie to be released\".\n\n\"Tsipras is the creditors\u2019 greatest achievement,\" Varoufakis said. \"He had given them everything, and they punished him. They didn\u2019t just want him to sign a memorandum, they wanted to humiliate him.\"\n\nGreece's former prime minister, who left office in 2019, resigned from his parliamentary seat and left Syriza in October, fuelling speculation that he will form a new party.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>Greece's former PM Alexis Tsipras has launched a scathing attack on his ex-finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, claiming that no one could stomach the firebrand economist. <\/p>\n<p>In his 762-page memoir Ithaki, meaning Ithaca, released on Monday, the leftist recounted his political journey and criticised many of his former allies, including Varoufakis.<\/p>\n<p>Tsipras argued that Varoufakis was \"more celebrity than economist\" and said that he \"underestimated the human factor\" when appointing him as finance minister during Greece's debt crisis in 2015.<\/p>\n<p>\"Varoufakis went from being an asset to a negative protagonist. Not only could our potential allies not stand him, but neither could his own colleagues,\" Tsipras wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Tsipras became leader of the radical left-wing Syriza party in 2008 and oversaw its meteoric rise, culminating in his election as Greek prime minister in 2015.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-widget-related\" data-stories-id=\"\" data-event=\"widget_related\">\n <div class=\"c-widget-related__title\">\n <b class=\"c-widget-related__title__text\" lang=\"en\">Related<\/b>\n <\/div>\n <ul class=\"c-widget-related__list\">\n <li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2023//06//29//tsipras-steps-down-as-greeces-opposition-leader-after-election-defeat/">Tsipras steps down as Greece's opposition leader after election defeat<\/a><\/li><li class=\"c-widget-related__item\"><a class=\"c-widget-related__article\" href=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////www.euronews.com//2025//10//07//former-greek-pm-tsipras-quits-parliament-amid-new-party-speculation/">Former Greek PM Tsipras quits parliament amid new party speculation<\/a><\/li>\n <\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Having stormed to power on an anti-austerity agenda, Tsipras \u2014 backed by Varoufakis \u2014 appeared on track to lead Greece out of the eurozone in 2015. <\/p>\n<p>Despite a referendum in which Greeks resoundingly rejected the EU's proposed bailout terms, Tsipras ultimately ignored the results and accepted a new package with even harsher austerity measures. Varoufakis resigned over Tsipras' decision to reverse course.<\/p>\n<p>In the memoir, Tsipras said he had harboured doubts about his finance minister from an early stage of his tenure, claiming that Varoufakis was confrontational and egotistical. <\/p>\n<p>\"Varoufakis had proved himself to be unsuitable for an agreement that required complex and delicate handling,\" Tsipras wrote.<\/p>\n<p>\"He was the face of negotiation, the man who attracted publicity, who graced the covers of magazines the world over \u2026 he gave the impression he was enjoying his new role.\"<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, Varoufakis told Greek state TV ERT that he has not read the book, saying that he would instead \"wait for the movie to be released\".<\/p>\n<p>\"Tsipras is the creditors\u2019 greatest achievement,\" Varoufakis said. \"He had given them everything, and they punished him. They didn\u2019t just want him to sign a memorandum, they wanted to humiliate him.\"<\/p>\n<p>Greece's former prime minister, who left office in 2019, resigned from his parliamentary seat and left Syriza in October, fuelling speculation that he will form a new party.<\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1764065621,"updatedAt":1764081512,"publishedAt":1764070591,"firstPublishedAt":1764070591,"lastPublishedAt":1764070591,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/56\/06\/92\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_0abe7bc3-a9cf-583b-81df-c7969a94454c-9560692.jpg","altText":"FILE: Greek Minister Alexis Tsipras, right and his Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis look on during the vote for the president of Greece's parliament in Athens, Feb. 6, 2015.","caption":"FILE: Greek Minister Alexis Tsipras, right and his Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis look on during the vote for the president of Greece's parliament in Athens, Feb. 6, 2015.","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Petros Giannakouris\/AP","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":945,"height":531}],"authors":{"journalists":[{"id":3238,"urlSafeValue":"guilbert","title":"Kieran Guilbert","twitter":null}],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":128,"slug":"greece","urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","titleRaw":"Greece"},{"id":10531,"slug":"greek-politics","urlSafeValue":"greek-politics","title":"Greek politics","titleRaw":"Greek politics"},{"id":11760,"slug":"alexis-tsipras","urlSafeValue":"alexis-tsipras","title":"Alexis Tsipras","titleRaw":"Alexis Tsipras"},{"id":11862,"slug":"yanis-varoufakis","urlSafeValue":"yanis-varoufakis","title":"Yanis Varoufakis","titleRaw":"Yanis Varoufakis"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"related","count":1}],"related":[{"id":2851551},{"id":2852773},{"id":2854978}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"youtubeId":"O-d1_kPpNpU","dailymotionId":"x9uevnw"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"format":"mp4","quality":"md","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/ED\/30\/11\/77\/05\/ED_PYR_3011775_20251125143832.mp4","editor":"","duration":62000,"filesizeBytes":12270534,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"hd","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/SHD\/30\/11\/77\/05\/SHD_PYR_3011775_20251125143832.mp4","editor":"","duration":62000,"filesizeBytes":17300013,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"1080p","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/FHD\/30\/11\/77\/05\/FHD_PYR_3011775_20251125143832.mp4","editor":"","duration":62000,"filesizeBytes":50477653,"expiresAt":0}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":null,"additionalReporting":null,"freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"world","urlSafeValue":"world","title":"World 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News","url":"\/news\/international"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":1,"urlSafeValue":"news","title":"World"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":128,"urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":[],"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article-video","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":[],"localisation":[],"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":0,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/2025\/11\/25\/former-greek-pm-tsipras-says-no-one-could-stand-ex-finance-minister-varoufakis","lastModified":1764070591},{"id":2847552,"cid":9554083,"versionId":1,"archive":0,"housenumber":null,"owner":"euronews","isMagazine":0,"isBreakingNews":0,"daletEventName":"CULT MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY","daletPyramidId":3353820,"channels":[{"id":1},{"id":2},{"id":4},{"id":5},{"id":10},{"id":12},{"id":14}],"status":2,"title":"Centenary celebrations: Martha Graham's dance company hits Athens for its anniversary ","titleSeo":null,"titleListing1":"Athens anniversary for Martha Graham's dance centenary celebrations ","titleListing2":"Janet Eilber: Martha Graham's goal was to get to the essence of human expression with her works","leadin":"The legendary American contemporary dance outfit, the Martha Graham Dance Company is staging six performances at the Athens Concert Hall to mark the 100th anniversary of its founding in New York in 1926.","summary":"The legendary American contemporary dance outfit, the Martha Graham Dance Company is staging six performances at the Athens Concert Hall to mark the 100th anniversary of its founding in New York in 1926.","keySentence":"","url":"centenary-celebrations-martha-grahams-dance-company-hits-athens-for-its-anniversary","canonical":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/culture\/2025\/11\/21\/centenary-celebrations-martha-grahams-dance-company-hits-athens-for-its-anniversary","masterCms":"v2","plainText":"After a rapturous reception in and sold out performances in four French cities, the legendary Martha Graham Dance Company, America's greatest and longest-running contemporary dance company is now in the Greek capital with \"The Fast and the Future\" to celebrate its centenary.\n\nMartha Graham is universally regarded as the founder of contemporary dance and one of the most influential figures of the 20th century.\n\nIt was she who created an entirely new dance technique, known as the \"Graham Technique\", which allowed dance to become a means of expressing the human soul and its emotions and is characterised by dramatic, intense and angular movements. Her work was revolutionary and remains, to this day, a reference point for generations of dancers and choreographers around the world.\n\nHer choreographies emphasize the theatricality of body language, highlighting all aspects of human experience and emphasizing the \"grounding\" of her own language. The 181 choreographies she has created over 70 years of continuous work have included, at various times, famous personalities, including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Margot Fontaine, Liza Minnelli, Rudolf Nureyev, Maya Plisetskaya and Kathleen Turner.\n\nThe American artist was inspired by modern painting, the American frontier, Native American religious ceremonies and Greek mythology.\n\nJanet Eilber has been the group's artistic director since 2005. She has been the company's lead dancer in the past and has worked closely with Martha Graham herself, who has choreographed her in great works.\n\n\"Martha Graham is known as a great inventor of modern dance because she was the first choreographer to put people on stage. She moved away from a style of dance that was unreal, dreamlike, a product of fantasy, with swans, flowers, kings and queens, and really showed us the human condition on stage,\" says Eilber. \"This is the essence of Martha Graham's discoveries: she found a way of moving that communicated to the audience what the dancer was thinking and feeling.\n\nMartha Graham's goal was to reach, with her choreographies, the essence of human expression. She did a piece on Medea. What she was interested in was Medea's anger and jealousy. In other choreographic works, she spoke about the essence of love or social activism, about the power of the people. These themes have endured over time. They are as recognizable to today's generations as they were to generations 100 years ago when Martha Graham was creating these works. They speak eloquently and remain relevant to today's audiences.\"\n\nA national cultural treasure for Americans, the company has performed in more than 60 countries, appearing in the world's greatest cultural centers. The First and The Future production was created especially to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the famous company's founding in New York City in 1926.\n\nIt is a dialogue between iconic works by Martha Graham, such as \"Chronicle\" and \"Errand into the Maze\" and bold new productions such as Hophes Schechter's \"Cave\":\n\n\"The program we present to our performance audiences these days includes not only the classics of Martha Graham, but also new works by some of the leading choreographers of our time,\" says Eilber.\n\n\"We find that there is a real communication between the classics and the works being created today, because they all speak to the human condition and these works have something to say to each other. Martha Graham's classical works are about the essence, the primary essence of being human. Hofes Schechter has created a work that, as you will see, is so primal, so much about the animal instinct of humans, that the two works fit perfectly into one program. They converse with each other.\"\n\nImmediately afterwards, the American contemporary dance company returns to its home base, it will embark on a major American tour of the production celebrating the company's 100th anniversary in 15 cities. It will be back in Europe in the spring, with performances in Italy and Latvia.\n\nThe Martha Graham Dance Company is performing 'The Fast and Future' at Athens Concert Hall, Alexandra Trianti Hall, until 23 November 2025.\n\n","htmlText":"<p>After a rapturous reception in and sold out performances in four French cities,the legendary Martha Graham Dance Company, America's greatest and longest-running contemporary dance company is now in the Greek capital with \"The Fast and the Future\" to celebrate its centenary.<\/p>\n<p>Martha Graham is universally regarded as the founder of contemporary dance and one of the most influential figures of the 20th century. <\/p>\n<p>It was she who created an entirely new dance technique, known as the \"Graham Technique\", which allowed dance to become a means of expressing the human soul and its emotions and is characterised by dramatic, intense and angular movements. Her work was revolutionary and remains, to this day, a reference point for generations of dancers and choreographers around the world.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-extended widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.6665\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//24//84//1280x853_cmsv2_7848553e-dfe2-572d-a611-4c217043551e-9552484.jpg/" alt=\"Martha Graham Dance Company\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/384x256_cmsv2_7848553e-dfe2-572d-a611-4c217043551e-9552484.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/640x427_cmsv2_7848553e-dfe2-572d-a611-4c217043551e-9552484.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/750x500_cmsv2_7848553e-dfe2-572d-a611-4c217043551e-9552484.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/828x552_cmsv2_7848553e-dfe2-572d-a611-4c217043551e-9552484.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/1080x720_cmsv2_7848553e-dfe2-572d-a611-4c217043551e-9552484.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/1200x800_cmsv2_7848553e-dfe2-572d-a611-4c217043551e-9552484.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/1920x1280_cmsv2_7848553e-dfe2-572d-a611-4c217043551e-9552484.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Martha Graham Dance Company<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Melissa Sherwood<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Her choreographies emphasize the theatricality of body language, highlighting all aspects of human experience and emphasizing the \"grounding\" of her own language. The 181 choreographies she has created over 70 years of continuous work have included, at various times, famous personalities, including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Margot Fontaine, Liza Minnelli, Rudolf Nureyev, Maya Plisetskaya and Kathleen Turner.<\/p>\n<p>The American artist was inspired by modern painting, the American frontier, Native American religious ceremonies and Greek mythology.<\/p>\n<p>Janet Eilber has been the group's artistic director since 2005. She has been the company's lead dancer in the past and has worked closely with Martha Graham herself, who has choreographed her in great works.<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-extended widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5925\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//24//84//1280x757_cmsv2_5ba1d5f6-f53d-5ad3-9d10-824cd109d87f-9552484.jpg/" alt=\"Janet Eilber\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/384x228_cmsv2_5ba1d5f6-f53d-5ad3-9d10-824cd109d87f-9552484.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/640x379_cmsv2_5ba1d5f6-f53d-5ad3-9d10-824cd109d87f-9552484.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/750x444_cmsv2_5ba1d5f6-f53d-5ad3-9d10-824cd109d87f-9552484.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/828x491_cmsv2_5ba1d5f6-f53d-5ad3-9d10-824cd109d87f-9552484.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/1080x640_cmsv2_5ba1d5f6-f53d-5ad3-9d10-824cd109d87f-9552484.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/1200x711_cmsv2_5ba1d5f6-f53d-5ad3-9d10-824cd109d87f-9552484.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/1920x1138_cmsv2_5ba1d5f6-f53d-5ad3-9d10-824cd109d87f-9552484.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Janet Eilber<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Hibbard Nash Photography<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>\"Martha Graham is known as a great inventor of modern dance because she was the first choreographer to put people on stage. She moved away from a style of dance that was unreal, dreamlike, a product of fantasy, with swans, flowers, kings and queens, and really showed us the human condition on stage,\" says Eilber. \"This is the essence of Martha Graham's discoveries: she found a way of moving that communicated to the audience what the dancer was thinking and feeling.<\/p>\n<p>Martha Graham's goal was to reach, with her choreographies, the essence of human expression.She did a piece on Medea. What she was interested in was Medea's anger and jealousy. In other choreographic works, she spoke about the essence of love or social activism, about the power of the people. These themes have endured over time. They are as recognizable to today's generations as they were to generations 100 years ago when Martha Graham was creating these works. They speak eloquently and remain relevant to today's audiences.\"<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-extended widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.5\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//24//84//1280x640_cmsv2_856820fc-50e3-58d7-af39-3ee025856586-9552484.jpg/" alt=\" Martha Graham Dance Company\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/384x192_cmsv2_856820fc-50e3-58d7-af39-3ee025856586-9552484.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/640x320_cmsv2_856820fc-50e3-58d7-af39-3ee025856586-9552484.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/750x375_cmsv2_856820fc-50e3-58d7-af39-3ee025856586-9552484.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/828x414_cmsv2_856820fc-50e3-58d7-af39-3ee025856586-9552484.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/1080x540_cmsv2_856820fc-50e3-58d7-af39-3ee025856586-9552484.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/1200x600_cmsv2_856820fc-50e3-58d7-af39-3ee025856586-9552484.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/1920x960_cmsv2_856820fc-50e3-58d7-af39-3ee025856586-9552484.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\"> Martha Graham Dance Company<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Hibbard Nash Photography<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>A national cultural treasure for Americans, the company has performed in more than 60 countries, appearing in the world's greatest cultural centers. <em>The First and The Future<\/em> production was created especially to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the famous company's founding in New York City in 1926.<\/p>\n<p>It is a dialogue between iconic works by Martha Graham, such as \"Chronicle\" and \"Errand into the Maze\" and bold new productions such as Hophes Schechter's \"Cave\":<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-extended widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.75\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//24//84//1280x962_cmsv2_377f9170-9e12-5189-8660-0b840cd6d685-9552484.jpg/" alt=\" Martha Graham Dance Company\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/384x288_cmsv2_377f9170-9e12-5189-8660-0b840cd6d685-9552484.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/640x480_cmsv2_377f9170-9e12-5189-8660-0b840cd6d685-9552484.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/750x563_cmsv2_377f9170-9e12-5189-8660-0b840cd6d685-9552484.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/828x621_cmsv2_377f9170-9e12-5189-8660-0b840cd6d685-9552484.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/1080x810_cmsv2_377f9170-9e12-5189-8660-0b840cd6d685-9552484.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/1200x900_cmsv2_377f9170-9e12-5189-8660-0b840cd6d685-9552484.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/1920x1440_cmsv2_377f9170-9e12-5189-8660-0b840cd6d685-9552484.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\"> Martha Graham Dance Company<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Isabella Pagano<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>\"The program we present to our performance audiences these days includes not only the classics of Martha Graham, but also new works by some of the leading choreographers of our time,\" says Eilber. <\/p>\n<p>\"We find that there is a real communication between the classics and the works being created today, because they all speak to the human condition and these works have something to say to each other. Martha Graham's classical works are about the essence, the primary essence of being human.Hofes Schechter has created a work that, as you will see, is so primal, so much about the animal instinct of humans, that the two works fit perfectly into one program. They converse with each other.\"<\/p>\n<div class=\"widget widget--type-image widget--size-extended widget--animation-fade-in widget--align-center\" data-ratio=\"0.75\">\n <div class=\"widget__wrapper\">\n <div class=\"widget__ratio widget__ratio--auto\">\n <div class=\"widget__contents\">\n <figure class=\"widget__figure\">\n <img class=\"widgetImage__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=https://www.euronews.com/"https:////images.euronews.com//articles//stories//09//55//24//84//1280x962_cmsv2_0b707b7d-7c5a-5900-b1f4-2c0464d8a311-9552484.jpg/" alt=\"Martha Graham Dance Company\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/384x288_cmsv2_0b707b7d-7c5a-5900-b1f4-2c0464d8a311-9552484.jpg 384w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/640x480_cmsv2_0b707b7d-7c5a-5900-b1f4-2c0464d8a311-9552484.jpg 640w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/750x563_cmsv2_0b707b7d-7c5a-5900-b1f4-2c0464d8a311-9552484.jpg 750w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/828x621_cmsv2_0b707b7d-7c5a-5900-b1f4-2c0464d8a311-9552484.jpg 828w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/1080x810_cmsv2_0b707b7d-7c5a-5900-b1f4-2c0464d8a311-9552484.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/1200x900_cmsv2_0b707b7d-7c5a-5900-b1f4-2c0464d8a311-9552484.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/24\/84\/1920x1440_cmsv2_0b707b7d-7c5a-5900-b1f4-2c0464d8a311-9552484.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 95vw, (max-width: 1024px) 80vw, (max-width: 1280px) 55vw, 728px\"\/>\n <figcaption class=\"widget__caption\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionWrap\">\n <span class=\"widget__captionText\">Martha Graham Dance Company<\/span>\n <span class=\"widget__captionCredit\">Isabella Pagano<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Immediately afterwards, the American contemporary dance company returns to its home base, it will embark on a major American tour of the production celebrating the company's 100th anniversary in 15 cities. It will be back in Europe in the spring, with performances in Italy and Latvia.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Martha Graham Dance Company is performing '<em>The Fast and Future<\/em>' at Athens Concert Hall, Alexandra Trianti Hall, until 23 November 2025.<\/strong> <\/p>\n","hashtag":null,"createdAt":1763547142,"updatedAt":1763716598,"publishedAt":1763716593,"firstPublishedAt":1763716593,"lastPublishedAt":1763716597,"expiresAt":0,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/images.euronews.com\/articles\/stories\/09\/55\/40\/83\/{{w}}x{{h}}_cmsv2_6794dc08-3055-5967-88f8-0a1c77a2c536-9554083.jpg","altText":"Martha Graham Dance Company ","caption":"Martha Graham Dance Company ","captionUrl":null,"captionCredit":"Credit: Hibbard Nash Photography","sourceUrl":null,"sourceCredit":null,"callToActionUrl":null,"callToActionText":null,"width":1351,"height":760}],"authors":{"journalists":[],"producers":[],"videoEditor":[]},"keywords":[{"id":4145,"slug":"dance","urlSafeValue":"dance","title":"Dance","titleRaw":"Dance"},{"id":13370,"slug":"performance","urlSafeValue":"performance","title":"performance","titleRaw":"performance"},{"id":23230,"slug":"music-megaron","urlSafeValue":"music-megaron","title":"Music Megaron","titleRaw":"Music Megaron"},{"id":15436,"slug":"performance-art","urlSafeValue":"performance-art","title":"Performance art","titleRaw":"Performance art"}],"widgets":[{"slug":"image","count":5}],"related":[{"id":2808559}],"technicalTags":[],"externalPartners":{"dailymotionId":"x9u5bqs"},"hasExternalVideo":1,"hasInternalOrExternalVideo":1,"video":1,"videos":[{"format":"mp4","quality":"md","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/ED\/29\/68\/57\/01\/ED_PYR_2968571_20251120180644.mp4","editor":"","duration":157360,"filesizeBytes":24237490,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"hd","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/SHD\/29\/68\/57\/01\/SHD_PYR_2968571_20251120180644.mp4","editor":"","duration":157360,"filesizeBytes":36890623,"expiresAt":0},{"format":"mp4","quality":"1080p","type":"normal","url":"https:\/\/video.euronews.com\/mp4\/FHD\/29\/68\/57\/01\/FHD_PYR_2968571_20251120180644.mp4","editor":"","duration":157360,"filesizeBytes":122634781,"expiresAt":0}],"liveStream":[{"startDate":0,"endDate":0}],"scribbleLiveId":0,"scribbleLiveRibbon":0,"isLiveCoverage":0,"sourceId":1,"sources":[],"externalSource":null,"additionalSources":"","additionalReporting":"Giorgos Mitropoulos & Emma De Ruiter","freeField1":null,"freeField2":"","type":"normal","displayType":"default","program":{"id":"culture-news","urlSafeValue":"culture-news","title":"Culture News","online":0,"url":"https:\/\/www.euronews.com\/culture\/culture-news\/culture-news"},"season":"","episode":"","episodeId":"","vertical":"culture","verticals":[{"id":10,"slug":"culture","urlSafeValue":"culture","title":"Culture"}],"primaryVertical":{"id":10,"slug":"culture","urlSafeValue":"culture","title":"Culture"},"themes":[{"id":"culture-news","urlSafeValue":"culture-news","title":"Culture news","url":"\/culture\/culture-news"}],"primaryTheme":{"id":53,"urlSafeValue":"culture-news","title":"Culture news"},"advertising":0,"advertisingData":{"startDate":0,"endDate":0,"type":null,"slug":null,"title":null,"disclaimerLabelKey":null,"sponsor":null,"sponsorName":null,"sponsorUrl":null,"sponsorLogo":"","sponsorLogoReverse":"","isDfp":0},"geoLocation":{"lat":0,"lon":0},"location":1,"continent":{"id":104,"urlSafeValue":"europe","title":"Europe"},"country":{"id":128,"urlSafeValue":"greece","title":"Greece","url":"\/news\/europe\/greece"},"town":{"id":3230,"urlSafeValue":"athens","title":"Athens"},"contextualSignals":{"doubleVerify":{"ids":[],"slugs":[]}},"grapeshot":null,"versions":[],"programDeliverable":{"slug":"article-video","format":"default"},"showOpinionDisclaimer":0,"allViews":0,"allViewsMeta":{"pointOfView":[],"survey":[],"tweetId":0,"tweet2NdId":0,"displayOverlay":0},"storyTranslationMethod":{"id":1,"slug":"deepl","isActive":1},"localisation":{"producerLanguage":"el","storyId":9552484,"online":1},"autoPublished":0,"autoLocalised":1,"isReviewed":0,"path":"\/culture\/2025\/11\/21\/centenary-celebrations-martha-grahams-dance-company-hits-athens-for-its-anniversary","lastModified":1763716597}]">
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