Olympiacos “breaks down” the wall of the pandemic and… brings his fans to Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium to celebrate on Sunday night the conquest of the 45th championship in his history. The lights of hope will shine from Piraeus all over the world, as art meets football in a pioneering and distinct celebration. The melodies of the songs from the two most emblematic films ‘Never on Sunday’ and ‘Zorba the Greek’ will flood the fans with emotions.
The Sport Director of Olympiacos, Christian Karembeu, revealed the title of the festive event and talked about the solution found through technology for the team to celebrate winning the title with its fans.
“We are really happy because today we have the unique opportunity to talk about an important celebration. Our party this year is entitled ‘The lights of hope’. We have the pleasure to celebrate the 45th championship in the history of our club. Like any team in the world, we would like to celebrate the conquest with our fans. Because of the pandemic, we had to find a solution. I would very much like to talk about the great season we had, about our great victories, about our winning streaks and, of course, about the fact that we have the opportunity to add another title to the history of Olympiacos. I want to add at this moment the initiatives of Mr. Evangelos Marinakis, both in Greece and abroad, because he was always present where there was a need. The show you will watch will be unique, it will be great, it will be full of art and emotions, because football is all about emotions. Therefore, stay safe.”
The internationally renowned artist, Asteris Koutoulas, gave details about what will be presented on Sunday night at Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium.
“I thank Olympiacos and Christian very much for his words, for inviting me to contribute to the celebration. I’m a Greek living abroad, I live in Berlin and my occupation is shows. I was invited by Olympiacos to find a solution for how we’ll celebrate the conquest of the 45th championship. I developed a beautiful concept, emotional, that the people of Olympiacos liked and that in the end will take place. We’ll bring the fans of Olympiacos, who will be outside the stadium, inside it, but without actually entering! This will be made in a way that they can celebrate with the players at the time of the award ceremony. This will be the emotional peak of the celebration we are preparing. Earlier, there will be a multimedia show that will consist of screenings. We’ll have a children’s choir and Antonis Dimitriadis, who wrote the music. Music always plays a big role in these multimedia shows. It’s the cornerstone of the project. It will combine international pieces with a wonderful composition by Marios Ioannis Ilias. Upon it will be built all the show of bringing to the stands of the stadium the fans at the time of the award, in order to celebrate with the players and the team. These will be done inside Karaiskakis Stadium.
We want to send a message of optimism and hope, from Olympiacos to the world, from Piraeus to the world, from Olympiacos and Piraeus to Greece. We want to make a multimedia show in Pasalimani, which will also be televised. It will connect music with images made of architectural lasers and lots of fireworks and sparklers. We want Pasalimani to become red and blue. This will be accompanied with the music of the two emblematic composers, Mikis Theodorakis and Manos Hadjidakis, from two emblematic films, “The Children of Piraeus” and “Zorba”. The music has been exceptionally remixed by Antonis Dimitriadis and Alexandros Karozas and will give us the basis for amazing images that will be broadcasted all around the world. Moreover, “The Children of Piraeus” were also filmed on the clock of Piraeus and this way we can remember the 100 years of Melina Mercouri. I’m a child of East Germany and I was very happy when the Berlin Wall fell. Here symbolically we do something similar. Through Art and Technology, we tear down the wall of pandemic and bring the fans close to the players in the field.
It will be very special for me. For all of us artists across Europe, it’s a time of crisis, a time of forced contemplation because everything has been cancelled. Under these circumstances, to give such a sign of hope and optimism is something very special. What we are doing here is the first such event to take place across Europe. When I had the first brainstorm sessions on this project, I met Mr. Marinakis and saw on his arm a tattoo that read “dream”, “love”, “create”, “fight”, “win”, words that are a slogan in football, sports, art and life. They apply everywhere and are humanitarian values. I identified with it and I got inspiration to get to this point, because both football and art unite. Let’s do something for the people of Piraeus, for the Greeks and for the whole world”.
