1st Athens Cocktail Festival & Cocktail Week Ready to Kick Off

The Greek capital is ready to toast the summer season with the 1st Athens Cocktail Festival & Athens Cocktail Week.

By Gina Lionatos 

With what is fast becoming the hottest bar scene in Europe, it was only a matter of time before Athens stepped up with its own cocktail festival to open the summer tourist season. With the support of the Municipality of Athens, and as a part of the ‘This is Athens Festival’, the city will move to the rhythm of the largest cocktail festival in Greece.

Insights Greece - 1st Athens Cocktail Festival & Cocktail Week Ready to Kick Off
Athens 1st Cocktail Festival

The first Athens Cocktail Festival kicks off over a cocktail-filled two days at the “Lighthouse” of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre on 20 & 21 May 2022. 

After that, the action extends to the city’s bars for all to enjoy. Athens Cocktail Week will run from 22 to 28 May 2022 and will see the best bars in Athens hosting a series of guest nights and special events. All the excitement will culminate on the closing night on May 28, 2022, with a large closing party in the city center.

Information on events is still unfolding, so to stay updated, tune into @athenscocktailfestivalofficial’s social media on Instagram for details.  

Pre-sale tickets to Athens Cocktail Festival include two cocktails and are available through viva.gr at  https://www.viva.gr/tickets/festival/athens-cocktail-festival/

 * All the activities of Athens Cocktail Festival & Athens Cocktail Week, are supported by the Municipality of Athens as well as by AMKE Metron Ariston – Making Responsibility a Trend and operating in light of the Responsible Consumption and green practices.

Insights Greece - 1st Athens Cocktail Festival & Cocktail Week Ready to Kick Off

Main image by This Is Athens | Amalia Kovaiou ©

‘This is Athens City Festival’ Kicks off Today With a Huge Urban Picnic 

What better way to kick off the very first ‘This is Athens City Festival’ than with a huge picnic filled with an array of food, friends, sunshine, and music. 

Celebrate Protomagia (May Day) today and the launch of this exciting new spring Festival at the blooming grounds of Plato Academy Park, located in the historic Kolonos neighbourhood of Athens.

Famous radio DJ hosts of Athens will soundtrack the day from the early morning to late evening, with dozens of free activities on offer; including movie screenings, kids’ activities, family games, and lots of food and drinks. 

So if you find yourself in the Greek capital make sure to head over and take part in the great range of festivities on offer! 

Full Details Below- 

EVENT: Urban Picnic at Plato’s Academy Park (FREE ENTRANCE) 

VENUE: Park of Plato’s Academy | Plato’s Academy Park, Monastiriou 138-140, Athens

DATE & TIME: 1st of May 2022 | 10:30 am till late 

PROGRAM

10.30-12.00
Live DJ set from HiT 88.9

10.30-15.00
Archaeological excavation workshop by Archaeolab

12.00-13.00
“The Highway Singers’’ by Burger Project
(Music play for traffic education, offered by Attiki Odos)

12.30-18.30
Spring Games for kids by Kid A

13.00-16.00
Live DJ set by En Lefko 87.7

16.00-20.00
Kite show by Kite Parade

16.00-18.30
Live DJ set by Red 96.3

18.30-19.30
Live concert by Soul Peanuts

20.15
“The Bucket List” movie projection
(Comedy with Jack Nicholson & Morgan Freeman)

For more details head to This Is Athens City Festival 

‘This is Athens Festival’ Hosting 100 Events Throughout May 

The first ‘This is Athens Festival’ is set to take place throughout the entire month of May, with more than 100 events scheduled all over the Greek capital. 

For 30 days, both locals and visitors are invited to explore urban Athens in full bloom with a great selection of exhibitions, street parties, wine pairing at world-renowned museums, open-air movie screenings, picnics, walking tours, theatrical performances, live music concerts, and more.

From a fun-filled all-day picnic at Plato Academy and a cool street party at Varvakeio, to a stunning jazz concert on the terrace of the Acropolis Museum- each event puts the spotlight on Athens’ vibrant and rich art (theatrical and musical performances, galleries, museums), gastronomy, sports and nightlife scene.

Insights Greece - ‘This is Athens Festival’ Hosting 100 Events Throughout May 
Insights Greece - ‘This is Athens Festival’ Hosting 100 Events Throughout May 

‘This is Athens City Festival’ is an initiative of the Athens Development and Destination Management Agency, which aims to make this an exciting annual event, by promoting activities and performances that appeal to both locals and visitors alike. 

Having the pleasant spring weather as its driving force, the ‘Athens City Festival’ events will take place mainly outdoors at carefully selected spots that highlight not only the city’s contemporary history but also its architectural identity. 

“Athens is returning to its rhythm and we are creating a celebration for the city, inviting Athenians and visitors to the ‘This is Athens City Festival’, which is set in both the centre and surrounding neighbourhoods,” announced Athens’ Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis. 

The Festival will kick off on May 1, with a huge picnic filled with food, friends, sun and music. Taking place at the blooming grounds of the Plato Academy Park, famous radio DJ hosts of Athens will soundtrack the day from the early morning to late evening, with dozens of free activities on offer; including movie screenings, kids’ activities, family games and lots of food and drinks. 

Click here for more info on tickets and dates, as well as the full program of ‘This is Athens City Festival’.

Athens’ Historic Odeon of Herodes Atticus

Athens’ famous Odeon of Herodes Atticus has been staging musicals and theatrical performances for over two thousand years.

Set on the southwest slope of the Acropolis, it’s one of the Greek capital’s most striking historic monuments and one of the world’s most stunning open-air theatres.

Insights Greece - Athens’ Historic Odeon of Herodes Atticus
One of the world’s oldest functioning theatres

Featuring a three-story stone front wall, the theatre wasn’t always open-air; the original façade of arches was closed in by a wooden and tiled roof and was known as the most prestigious Roman-era theatre in ancient Athens and a landmark of the city, even in ancient times.

The roof burnt down around a century after it was built and its condition declined over the centuries, however, performances and public events still took place- even during the German occupation. 

Herodion was renovated in 1950, with the audience seats and the stage being restored using Pentelic marble; taking the capacity to around 5,000.  

Since its renovation, Herodion became the main venue of the Athens Festival, which runs from May through October each year and it has also hosted some of the world’s leading performers – from home-grown legends including Mikis Theodorakis, Manos Hatzidakis, Maria Callas and Nana Mouskouri to international stars such as Luciano Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli and Frank Sinatra and pop icons Diana Ross, Liza Minnelli, Elton John and Sting.  

Insights Greece - Athens’ Historic Odeon of Herodes Atticus
Renovated in 1950

Today you can attend the Athens and Epidaurus Festival, a range of musical events and classical tragedies at Herodion. Under the Athenian-lit sky, you will be able to enjoy a fabulous acoustic performance. Events are held from May through to early October when the theatre is open and if you are in Athens during this time- and there is a performance taking place – we highly recommend you book yourself a ticket as it will definitely be a cultural experience you will never forget! 

Getting there

The Herodes Atticus theatre is located at the base of the southwestern slope of the Acropolis, on Dionysiou Areopagitou Street. It is around a 750m walk (10 minutes) from the Acropolis metro station (red line). 

Tip: Photos (with or without flash) or video recording by phone or other devices (without prior permission) are not permitted during a performance.

Main Image by Eric Domas ©

Athens and Epidaurus Festival to Open in June

The Greek capital’s annual Athens and Epidaurus Festival will reopen to live audiences on June 1, with over 80 productions scheduled to take place over four months. 

With an emphasis on Greek artists (50 are Greek productions) the popular event (amongst both locals and international visitors) will conclude in October 2021. 

Insights Greece - Athens and Epidaurus Festival to Open in June

Taking place across Athens, venues will include the Pireos 260 building with performances including theatre, music, dance, and visual arts. This year, there will be an addition to the program, Cycle 1821, which is set to commemorate the centennial of Greece’s War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire. 

The Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus will premier 10 productions over three days a week (Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays) from June to August. Here, German theatre director Thomas Ostermeier and the Schaubühne will present a version of ‘Oedipus Rex’ by Maja Zade. Several Greek directors, independently or collaborating, will also present their ancient drama. 

At the Small Theater of Ancient Epidaurus, four Greek authors will each present a commissioned modern version of an ancient tragedy for the ‘Contemporary Ancients’ cycle, while other new performances will also take place. 

The Athens Festival’s main venue, the Odeon of Herod Atticus (Irodio), will host distinguished international musicians such as Brian Eno with his brother Roger Eno, pianist Zubin Mehta with the Maggio Musicale Orchestra of Florence, violinist Pinchas Zuckerman and the Monteverdi Choir accompanied by the English Baroque Soloists, in a performance conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner.

In terms of Greek performances, the Athens Festival will also include the National Opera, Eleftheria Arvanitaki, and Lena Platonos with Nalyssa Green, among others.