THE George Loukos, the man who put the Athens Festival on the world map, he was the honored person of the special evening entitled "Affieroma" organized on Saturday night, in Piraeus 260There, in the space he envisioned and created to house the many and different theatrical forces of Greece and abroad, he returned the artistic director and rejuvenation of the institution, and received, even with great delay, the warm applause he deserved.
Justified now, as the charge of breaking up public money, which had been reported to him at the time of the SYRIZA government, fell to the court which He found him innocent in 2023., he was honoured for his most important contribution as artistic director of the institution for a whole decade by many artists and people of culture.
During the moving evening the documentary “2005–2015” was shown. In the years of Loukou", directed by Ilias Giannakakis, in which the indelible seal he put at the Festival is embossed. Athens through testimonies of artists, journalists and collaborators.
The film illuminated the great changes and innovations introduced by George Loukos to the institution including the transformation of an abandoned factory space into a welcoming cultural and theatrical, primarily a roof, the acquaintance of the Greek public with shallow artistic proposals and much more.
A pleasant surprise of the evening was the return of the "Rochhouse", the self-propelled scene that had also created and operated during the days of George Loukous but after leaving the artistic direction of the Festival had been abandoned. In this vibrant symbol of inspiration and creativity, Argyris Xaffis, Olia Lazaridou, Angelo Papadimitriou, Christina Maxouri, Michael Marmarinos, Simos Kakalas, Angela Bruskou, Marianna Kalbari, Lydia Fotopoulou, Iraklis Pashalidis, Nikos Hatzopoulos, Melina Tanagris, Christos Stergioglu, Christos Loulis and Angelos Triantafyllou through the melodic and also touching performance entitled "A night of your gift".