Nikos Xydakis

Alternate Minister for Culture Nikos Xydakis expressed Greece’s full support for the directives issued by UNESCO on the national policies to combat illicit trafficking of cultural goods. Speaking at the Third Meeting of States Parties to the 1970 Convention in Paris, he presented the Greek proposal on the illegal cultural trade called “Stop Illicit Trafficking”.

Acclaimed French-Greek filmmaker Costa-Gavras received a standing ovation at an official screening of a restored version of his 1969 ?Z? at the Cannes Film Festival late on Monday.

Alternate Culture Minister Nikos Xydakis submitted a letter to Parliament on Monday focused on changes to the entrance fees at archeological sites and museums.

The letter outlines the creation of a special working group to elaborate data on increased ticket prices based on practices abroad.

After 11 years of construction work plagued by bureaucratic, financial and legal obstacles, Athens?s nearly-completed National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST), at the former Fix brewery on Syngrou Avenue, opened its doors to the media for the first time on International Museum Day, Saturday.

Campaigners advocating the return of the Parthenon Marbles expressed disappointment on Thursday at a statement by Alternate Minister for Culture Nikos Xydakis suggesting that Athens would opt for political and diplomatic routes over a legal one to secure the priceless artifacts.

The issue of Greece’s standing demand for the repatriation of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum has generated renewed interest by a portion of the UK press recently, with the Guardian, Telegraph and BBC all touching on the issue.

A fixed price regime for books sold in Greece will be restored, Alternate Minister for Culture Nikos Xydakis said on Thursday.

Book prices were liberalized as part of market reforms in 2013 but Xydakis argues that ?there was no fiscal or social benefit? to the measure.

Diplomacy rather than litigation will help Greece win its claim for the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum, Alternate Minister for Culture Nikos Xydakis said in an interview on Wednesday.

?On the one hand, you can?t file a suit over any issue, and, on the other, the outcome in international courts is never certain,? Xydakis told Mega TV.

Deputy Culture Minister Nikos Xydakis received a letter from the associations of the North Eastern Aegean island of Ikaria both in Greece and abroad calling for the traditional Ikariotiko dance to be listed on UNESCO’s list for Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Deputy Culture Minister Nikos Xydakis announced the introduction of e-tickets for access to archeological sites. The e-ticket envisions entry to seven archeological sites around the Acropolis (Ancient Agora, Roman Agora, Temple of Olympizan Zeus, Keramikos, Theater of Dionysus, Hadrian's Library).

The new ticket will be launched in mid-June, ahead of the summer tourist season.