Xydakis

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.

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.

The embattled director of Greece’s National Theatre spoke to protothema.gr this week over his very public and contentious clash with the new alternate culture minister, charging that the latter continues to demand his resignation in order to appoint someone “close” to the ruling SYRIZA party.

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.

The new leadership of the Culture Ministry?s Archaeological Resources and Expropriations Fund on Thursday announced that an electronic ticket, allowing entrance to seven of the capital?s key archaeological sites including the Acropolis and the Ancient Agora, will be available by June.

Alternate Culture Minister Nikos Xydakis discussed forming an institutional framework to attract foreign film and television productions to Greece in a meeting with Alternate Tourism minsiter Elena Kountoura. The two ministers believe that coordination between their ministries would help promote Greece’s cultural heritage and increase tourism.

The British Museum has turned down a request by Greek authorities for a process of mediation, facilitated by Unesco, on the subject of the Parthenon Marbles that are currently on display in London.