The City of Athens is bringing its annual Christmas event to life once again, filling the city with festive cheer from December 1, 2023, to January 7, 2024. For the next 38 days, across 129 neighbourhoods and ten Christmas villages, over 30 concerts, operettas, parties, and performances and more than 100 happenings for families and children will create a truly magical atmosphere. The impressive Christmas tree in Syntagma Square and the beautifully lit streets in the centre and neighbourhoods are just the beginning. This year’s events, curated by the City of Athens Culture, Sports & Youth Organization (OPANDA) and the Technopolis City of Athens, in collaboration with This is Athens and Athens 9.84 radio station, will make the city shine brighter than ever before. Don’t miss out on the special events at the Olympia City Music Theatre “Maria Callas,” the Kypseli Municipal Market, the Maria Callas Museum and the Athens Book Space in the renovated Eleftherias Park.
Experience the magic of the season with a variety of exciting events. Immerse yourself in educational programs and workshops for children and families, enjoy the sounds of live concerts and parties, be captivated by music-theatre performances, and dive into the world of books with presentations and readings. Find inspiration in events based on books, in museum exhibitions, and explore ten enchanting “Christmas villages”, each with unique festive surprises.
In a statement, the Mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis, commented: “Let’s come together to embrace the festive spirit of Christmas as the City of Athens brings a program full of music, special performances, and hundreds of surprises for all ages. May this season be a reminder of joy and love. Wishing everyone a happy holiday filled with good health and love!”
Ten neighborhoods transformed into “Christmas Villages”
From December 23, 2023, to January 6, 2024, ten “Christmas villages” will be set up in different neighbourhoods of Athens, from Acharnon and Labrini, to Pagrati and Ellinoroson. Santa Claus and his elves will be present in each village to create a festive atmosphere. The villages will offer, besides sweet treats, a range of activities and events suitable for all ages, including face painting, crafts, sweet treats, and live performances by animators, magicians, stilt walkers, carolers and more.
Musical Athens!
Syntagma Square will once again transform into a large dancing floor this Christmas! Experience the magic of the holiday season with 15 live concerts by talented local artists and music bands, all taking place over seven days in the heart of the Christmas music scene. George Zervos Trio, Wedding Singers, Hermaphrodite’s Child, Vasilis Kazoulis with Yellow Bikes and Alexandra Koniak, Dimitris Tsakas Quintet, Polkar, Gumbo Ya Ya with Sugahspank! and Emily Mesko, Nefeli Fasouli, the Sub Quartet, Panos Vlachos, Jerome Kaluta, Michalis Kalkanis Group, the Christmas Gala with Maria Katrivesi and Yiannis Housakos, Jaguar Bombs and Tonis Sfinos & The Playmates, promise to uplift our festive mood!
This year, the holiday season is spreading joy and excitement in unexpected places. The mobile party Needless is transforming Santarosa Square into a Christmas dance floor, while the Kosmos radio station and Cool Crips are hosting their own unique celebrations at the Kypseli Municipal Market and the Serafio City of Athens, respectively. The Stoa Emporon is being transformed into the ultimate fun spot by Pepper 96.6, and on Christmas Day, & Beyond’s “Xmas Extravaganza” will fill the Kypseli Municipal Market with dynamic beats from favourite selectors and DJs.
The Olympia City Music Theatre “Maria Callas” showcases the magnificent operetta “Apaches of Athens” by Nikos Chatziapostolou, directed by Vasilis Mavrogeorgiou and conducted by Kornilios Michailidis. The City of Athens Symphony Orchestra and Choir come together to produce a musical masterpiece that is sure to awe and inspire its audience.
During the holiday season, the same venue will be hosting multiple concerts, including one by Thodoris Kotonias and Savveria Margiola, as well as “Christmas in New York” by the Athens Big Band. Additionally, OPANDA cultural venues and the Polychoros “Anna and Maria Kalouta” will be filled with Christmas songs, traditional melodies, and concerts for children.
Finally, on festive days, the Athens 9.84 van will surprise the neighbourhoods of Athens with Christmas music and children’s choirs. Its stops include the Benaki Museum of Piraeus Street, as for a whole morning, it will add music to the educational activities around the exhibition of Giorgos Hatzimichalis, while from December 20 to 28, it will be at Syntagma Square with music for all. On December 20, the city’s radio station joins forces with “Together for the Child, ” inviting us to participate in the Christmas radio marathon to support needy families and children.
Educational activities and Musical Theatre performances for children and families
Christmas is a beloved holiday for both children and adults who still feel young at heart! From the start of December until the first days of the new year, numerous festive activities take place all over the city. These include educational programs, art workshops, creative constructions, music and theatre games, Christmas painting, a magical bubble show, and animation films, inviting people of all ages to participate and make the most of the holiday season.
“Agelasti Politeia and Kallikantzaroi”, the beloved tale of Haris and Panos Katsimichas, comes as a musical theatre performance for all at the Athens Book Space in Eleftherias Park, while children’s theatre performances in the cultural spaces in the neighbourhoods of the city host, among others, puppets, magicians, goblins, the famous “Little Gentlemen – Little Ladies”, and stories inspired by the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. The Art Gallery, the Museums, the Libraries, the Arts Center, the City of Athens Cultural Center “Melina”, and the Creative Learning Centers have designed programs for all ages of children with a wide range of activities.
Finally, OPANDA, in the context of its social work, wanting to offer even more joy to all the children of the city, has assigned the Thespis Greek Theatre to present “The Miser” by Molière, a hilarious comedy with a particularly educational character to Special Primary Schools in Athens.
The magic of books for all
Fairy tales are celebrated every Christmas, so the Athens Book Space in Eleftherias Park invites everyone to experience the magic of books. Children will take part in activities that combine reading fairy tales and stories from around the world with comics, music and chess in separate and highly original workshops, while adult visitors will have the opportunity to take part in a creative reading workshop, the Classical Literature Reading Club, as well as to attend discussions and analyses of poetry collections and novels by authors and journalists.
At the same time, the Kypseli Municipal Market is celebrating the magic of books, as it hosts the Christmas book markets of Psychogios Publications and the Booktopia group, while the Children’s Library of Athens dedicates an educational program to the life and work of Charles Dickens, also known as a “Christmas writer”.
Free museum tours and exhibitions
To celebrate its first Christmas, the new “Maria Callas Museum”, the first in the world dedicated to “La Divina”, will open its doors for a double guided tour with free admission (and necessary telephone reservation). Participants will discover the world of the great diva, opera, and lyric theatre through an experiential approach enriched by audiovisual media, texts, new technologies, sound, and historical evidence. At the same time, the first concert on its premises from the Athenian Quintet “Dimitrios Dounis” is a fact. Giving two performances under the title “Christmas Visions”, the Quintet will present a festive program with Christmas suites from the Renaissance to the present, written by Greek and foreign composers.
The Arts Center presents the solo exhibition of Kostas Bassanos entitled “Working Title”, focusing on the invisible creative space of visual production. Moreover, the City of Athens Art Gallery presents the first retrospective exhibition of the painter Alexis Kyritsopoulos entitled “Parallel”, with works from 1963 until today. The Museum of Popular Art and Tradition “Angeliki Hatzimichali” presents the exhibition of handmade textiles “The richly woven textiles of Ossa Thessaloniki”, while on New Year’s Eve, it organises a folklore festive tour of the Hatzimichali mansion. Finally, the City of Athens Cultural Center “Melina” offers visitors over 60 a nostalgic tour of the past of the city, starting from the permanent exhibition “Travelogue of Old Athens”, continuing to the full of stories Thissio and the pedestrian street of Herakleidon and ending at the exhibition “Eureka: Science, Art & Technology of the Ancient Greeks” of the Herakleidon Museum.
“Night of Wishes” – Joyful and Cosy Christmas Eve in Kotzia Square
The “Night of Wishes” has now become the favourite custom of Christmas Eve! On December 24, Athenians “illuminate” Kotzia Square with traditional biodegradable lanterns, which will fly up to the sky carrying wishes. On this magical Christmas night, the atmospheric melodies will come from the van of the Athens 9.84 station with selections from its radio producers.
Welcoming to 2024 from Syntagma Square!
As we approach the end of 2023, we look forward to a new year filled with hope and joy. Let us come together at Syntagma Square on New Year’s Eve to bid farewell to the past and welcome the future with a spectacular audiovisual show. With live music, dance performances, fireworks, and many surprises, we will celebrate the beginning of a new chapter in the heart of Athens. Nancy Zampetoglou and Thanasis Anagnostopoulos, the TV duo from ERT & Studio 4, will be our hosts for the evening. Let us embrace the future with optimism and joy and make this New Year’s Eve a night to remember.
New Year’s Eve Party – 2024 at Varvakeios Agora!
Get ready for the biggest and most unforgettable New Year’s party at Varvakeios Agora! Just before the clock strikes midnight, Street Outdoors will be waiting for us at the most iconic market in the city. Renowned DJs and producers will be there to turn our wishes into music, making sure that 2024 starts with a bang and keeps us dancing until the early hours. Join us at the heart of Athens for the most thrilling dance party of the year!
*Please note that the program may be subject to change.