Athens Concert Hall Turns to Tourism
Athens Concert Hall, better known at home as the Megaron Moussikis, has turned to the tourism sector in hopes of enticing more youth and of keeping its present high status over the next decades.
“We are interested in attracting young people to the Athens Concert Hall, people who do not belong to our regular clientele,” said the Megaron Moussikis organization’s president, Christos Lambrakis, at a press conference last month. He also added that many of the concert hall’s venues have already been booked through to 2010 to host conferences, all within the framework of a new collaboration between the Megaron and the Ministry of Tourism Development to boost conference and cultural tourism in the country.
“If there is one thing that will define the future of tourism in Greece, that is culture,” said Tourism Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos, also at the press conference.
The concert hall begins its series of events, following the summer break on August 30, with a tribute to Manos Hadjidakis. Headliners for the tribute include Elli Paspala, David Lynch and the band Raining Pleasure. This year’s series takes place in the Atrium of the Muses, a beautiful space of the that is used to host small concerts in a relaxed atmosphere.
Ten concerts comprise the Atrium of the Muses program, put together by artistic director Anna Dalara, and they bring together some of the country’s most popular artists. The program starts with the Hadjidakis tribute followed by a concert by Manolis Lidakis with traditional Greek tunes, popular melodies and covers of Hadjidakis, Alayiannis, Spanos, Vagiopoulos, Bithikotis and other popular composers.
In early September, balladeer and rocker Orfeas Peridis is joined by Melina Kana, Manos Pyrovolakis and Adrianna Babali in another medley show.
For full information on dates, times and ticket prices log on to www.megaron.gr.