The Antipodes Festival is set to breathe life into the streets of Melbourne, Victoria again as it makes its highly anticipated return to the city’s centre this February.
The festival, which is organised by the Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM), will close down the famed Lonsdale Street for an epic celebration from Saturday, February 25 to Sunday, February 26.
With stalls, free entertainment stages and roving performers, children’s rides and activities, as well as multiple bars and an array of mouth-watering Greek culinary delights, there will be something for the entire family to enjoy.
The Antipodes festival holds the title of Melbourne’s longest-running Greek festival. Launched in 1987, Antipodes, or the Lonsdale Street Greek Festival, has been a rich showcase of Hellenic arts and culture for delighted audiences.
“Each person or each creature has a possibility of expression that you haven’t encountered before so it’s always collaborative,” Victorian artist, Tina Stefanou, said in an interview with artshub.com.au.
“The artist becomes like a point in a bigger network – it’s not about being a saviour or a hero, but someone who can pull out the potentialities that already exist somewhere.”
For the past eight years, Stefanou has been working on a video projection work Hym(e)nals which saw the participation of ‘neurodivergent’ girls and elderly rescue horses.
Photo: tinastefanou.com
Neurodivergence refers to the recognition of distinct experiences, which are not needed to be included in a neurotypical culture. Each one has his own way of existing and being a part of different expressions of artistic forms.
Collaborations in the field of neurodivergence need time. Stefanou believes the benefits of collaboration are mutual and highlights the need of being willing to listen when working with neurodivergent girls.
Photo: tinastefanou.com
“The wonderful thing is that for the neurotypical person or institution, you actually end up benefiting and learning in new ways,” she said.
Understanding the best way neurodivergent people communicate, either in a written, illustrated or audio descriptive way, is also a much needed step in today’s society.
Basil Genimahaliotis and Billy Cotsis produced three documentaries about their exploits in Southern Italy meeting the Greeks of the region and two of these will be shown at Palace Norton Street cinema in Leichhardt, Sydney next month.
AHEPA NSW previously screened a feature film length of Magna Graecia: the Greko of Calabria last November to a sold-out audience at Palace Cinema. This time it will be two 39 minute documentaries about these living, breathing ancient Greek statues of Magna Graecia – Greater Greece!
The event will be emceed by Themi Kallos of SBS Radio in November this year.
Genimahaliotis and Cotsis continue a tradition of sold out cinema sessions. As far back as 2015, with their documentaries about Lesvos, then Mykonos and Delos, the filmmakers remain the only Greek Australians who can sell out documentaries at the cinema.
Their work has earned them eight international film awards and prime time slots on Channel 31 in Victoria and Channel 44 in South Australia, as well as on Aurora on Foxtel.
The event on Sunday, February 12 will feature Greko songs performed by Italian singers and a panel discussion on the Greko and Griko – two slightly different dialects.
The panel will be hosted by Calabrian Australian actress Belinda Maree and will include lawyer and author Costa Vertzayias, who wrote a book about the Greeks of Magna Graecia in 1990. Mr Vertzayias visited the region twice with his family in the 1980s to research and learn about these living, breathing ancient Greek “statues.” Dr Panagiotis Diamadis was on the previous panel.
Cotsis has visited the region three times including last year. He hopes to shine a spotlight on the region so people from Australia can visit, learn about the people and hopefully speak or learn the ancient dialect.
Event Details:
Sunday, February 12 from 6pm @ Palace Norton Street, Leichhardt. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for concessions. To reserve your seats, call Chapter Antigone President Charoulla on 0411 137 266 or info@ahepansw.org.au
A British Museum trustee has told AlJazeera that rumours of talks between the Greek government and the museum about the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Athens, Greece are ‘overhyped.’
In the interview with Al Jazeera, Mary Beard, a British Museum trustee since 2020 and Professor of Classics at Cambridge University, said: “There is certainly movement, but it is being overhyped.”
Ms Beard added that relations between the United Kingdom and Greece around the Parthenon Marbles should change after 200 years.
“There is real desire to do something. Surely we can get somewhere better than where we are… Is the problem going to be resolved? I’m not sure,” she said.
The Parthenon Marbles. Photo by Graham Barclay, BWP Media/Getty Images.
Greeks have been protesting for the return of the marbles since their removal from the Acropolis in Athens in the early 19th century by British diplomat Lord Elgin. At the time, Lord Elgin was an ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, which then ruled Greece.
Greek singer, songwriter and musician, Demis Roussos, is remembered as a band member of the progressive rock music act Aphrodite’s Child and for his solo 70s and 80s hits such us Forever and Ever, Goodbye and Quand je t’aime. He sold more than 60 million albums worldwide.
The Greek Herald takes a look back at his life.
Early Life
Roussos was born and raised in a Greek family, in Alexandria, Egypt. His father was a guitarist and an engineer and his mother played in an amateur theatrical Greek group together with her husband.
He studied music and participated in the Greek Church Byzantine choir and later he was influenced by the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Alexandria and by jazz, traditional Arab and Orthodox music.
His family moved to Greece after losing belongings during the Suez Crisis.
Career and Work
After settling in Greece, Roussos participated in many musical bands. Idols was his first, at the age of 17. There he came across Vangelis Papathanasiou and Luke Sideras, the artists with whom he later formed Aphrodite’s Child. It was in 1967, when he became known to a wider audience as a singer of the band but later also as a bass guitarist.
After attempting to go to London, the band’s members were forced to go to Paris, France where they decided to stay, signing a contract with Philips Records.
Photo: ellines.comPhoto: imdb
They achieved commercial success in France and in other parts of Europe from 1968 to 1972.
After Aphrodite’s Child disbanded, Roussos released with Vangelis the film score album Sex Power, and later in 1977, the album Magic. Their most successful collaboration was Race to the End. Roussos was also a guest on Vangelis’ soundtrack to the movie Blade Runner.
We Shall Dance was the song that marked the beginning of his single career. He did a European tour and he reached his peak in the 1970s.
It was in 1973 that his song Forever and Ever climbed to the top of many music charts. He created many other major hits such as My Friend The Wind, My Reason, Velvet Mornings, Goodbye My Love, Goodbye, Someday Somewhere and Lovely Lady Of Arcadia.
Photo: The Daily Telegraph
In 1973, Roussos made one of his earliest television appearances on The Basil Brush Show in Britain. While his run of hits continued in the 1980s, over the next decade he made substantial releases such as Insight, Immortal and Serenade.
In 2002, he toured England in the United Kingdom after his “best of” collection reached no. 17 on the UK Albums Chart.
Demis was his last recording released on May 11, 2009. In 2010, he made his first appearance in Greece after 37 years, in a sold-out concert in Herodion.
Death
On January 25, 2015, Roussos died aged 68 from stomach cancer, pancreatic cancer, and liver cancer, at Ygeia Hospital in Athens, Greece. Journalist Nikos Aliagas tweeted the news.
Tributes were given by friends and former associates such as Nana Mouskouri and Vangelis Papathanasiou.
“It’s no secret how much the Sydney Roosters means to me, and I am genuinely humbled to see my name at the entrance to our wonderful new Centre of Excellence,” Nick Politis, chairman of the Roosters for the last 30 years, said during the club’s new home unveiling.
The Nick Politis Centre for Excellence, which will be the rugby league football club’s heart for the next 25 years, was unveiled on Tuesday, January 24 – a day that also marked the 115th anniversary of the Roosters’ forming at Paddington Town Hall. More than 160 people were present, including the NSW Minister of Sport, Alister Henskens.
“I was elected Chairman of the Club in May 1993, and it makes me incredibly proud to see where we are today, 30 years later,” Mr Politis said.
“I take so much pleasure from my involvement with the Club, and would once again like to thank my board for this wonderful honour.”
Nick Politis. Photo: The Daily Telegraph.
Politis is one of the most powerful and influential figures in rugby league. He was born in Kythira, Greece, before moving with his family to Ipswich, Queensland, Australia in the late 1940s.
Mr Politis ran and expanded WFM Motors Pty Ltd from March 1974, rebranding the company and transforming it into the dealership Colossus.
Politis became the first ever sponsor of rugby league when his business appeared on the Roosters’ jersey in 1976. He is famous for getting a premiership logo tattoo on his arm, together with Roosters players after the team won the 2002 NRL Grand Final.
The Sydney Roosters have officially unveiled the Nick Politis Centre of Excellence, set to be the Club’s home for at least the next 25 years 🐓
During the unveiling, members of the Roosters Board of Directors gifted Politis a bust statue of himself, which will be placed in the main entrance of the centre.
The Nick Politis Centre of Excellence covers the entire eastern grandstand of Allianz Stadium and includes a state-of-the-art gym, a lecture theatre, a sauna, recovery pools and ‘The Foundation Room,’ a club museum with artefacts dating from the club’s first season of 1908 to today.
Before Anthony Albanese was Australia’s Prime Minister, he used to visit a Greek restaurant close to his office for lunch in Marrickville, Sydney. Today, even if he is not able to visit it as often as before, Corinthian Rotisserie Restaurant still remains his favourite.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Mr Albanese is not given any VIP treatment. He just walks in and seats at a table like everyone else.
“He will sit down like a normal customer. He doesn’t have a special table,” restaurant owner, Frank Giannakelos, told The Daily Telegraph.
Photo: Corinthian Greek Restaurant / Facebook.
80-year-old Frank is still working in the restaurant’s kitchen together with his wife Marie, while their sons George and Chris also continue to help.
The family came to Australia 55 years ago and bought Corinthian Rotisserie in 1980. Since it first opened its doors, it continues to serve the same dishes such as slow cooked lamb, souvlaki and moussaka.
Mr Albanese said the restaurant is “the best Greek in Marrickville” and the lamb dish is “to die for.”
Photos: Corinthian Greek Restaurant, Facebook.
Frank’s son George heard of the Australian Prime Minister’s words about the restaurant and said it was great.
“It makes me feel really good that we’ve been recognised as a well-established restaurant because we’ve been here for years,” George said, while adding that opening the restaurant was about keeping the Greek traditions alive and the family together.
Photos: Corinthian Greek Restaurant, Facebook.
“The food is simple, home cooking but full of flavour. I’m proud of my family, because we work together and achieved a lot over the years.
“We’ve been here for 43 years and my parents are ready for retirement. But my brother and I will take over and we will be here for another 43 years.”
The Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM) has welcomed the announcement by Greece’s Minister for Tourism, Vassilis Kikilias, that the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO) will open an office in Melbourne, Victoria at the GCM’s landmark Greek Centre in Lonsdale Street.
In a telephone conference on Tuesday with the GCM President, Bill Papastergiadis, Minister Kikilias confirmed that the GNTO will indeed reopen an office in Australia and further confirmed that the location of that office would be in the GCM’s building in the heart of the city.
Minister Kikilias said: “It is very important for us to add more markets so that we have travellers and tourists 12 months a year. This is the target we are aiming for in Australia.”
Greek Centre in Melbourne.
“It is crucial because it is on the other side of the world, another continent, and it has a significant Greek element,” the Minister added.
“It is a market that has finally opened up after two years of restrictive measures brought on by the pandemic.”
In this latest telephone conversation with the Minister, Mr Papastergiadis emphasised the importance of creating bridges between our two countries.
“We share similar values and ideals and have large communities that will benefit from this new resource. The NGTO office will be ideally suited to the vibrant Greek Centre where it will proudly sit under the recently unveiled Parthenon Frieze replica and alongside the Australian head office of the National Bank of Greece,” Mr Papastergiadis said.
“It is a dream come true for us. We are delighted with the Greek government’s decision to go ahead with the opening of the GNTO office at the Greek Centre as it is something we have been encouraging for eight years and finally, Minister Kikilias will make it happen.”
Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said on Tuesday that Greece is better protected than ever following deals to acquire upgraded and next-generation fighter aircraft.
Speaking during a visit to the facilities of the Hellenic Aviation Industry (EAV) in Tanagra, Viotia, for the inauguration of a new technical center, Mitsotakis said Greece was responding to open threats “with decisive readiness.”
“Those who brag that they may arrive suddenly during the night should be aware that they may wake up one night having landed in harsh reality,” the Greek Prime Minister said.
“I will say it once again: our country does not enter into dialogue with the absurd.
Με τα Viper, τα νέα επίσης αναβαθμισμένα Block 50 και Block 52, τα οποία και αυτά έχουν προγραμματιστεί, με τα νέα 24 Rafale, τα οποία και θα έχουμε παραλάβει εξ ολοκλήρου εντός του επόμενου έτους, αλλά και με μία μοίρα F-35 αργότερα, οι ελληνικοί ουρανοί θωρακίζονται όσο ποτέ. pic.twitter.com/p7UHtB9VA4
These statements come as relations between Turkey and Greece have been particularly strained for nearly three years, with alarming rhetoric from Turkish officials.
Greek World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas is into the semi finals of the Australian Open after pulling off a 6-3 7-6 6-4 win over Czech tennis player Jiri Ledecka.
Ledecka had fistfuls of chances to claim the match, failing to convert five break points in the fourth game of the second set, then three more from 0-40 in the seventh game of the next set.
But Tsitsipas was way too strong, breezing through the match in straight sets.
The match was not without drama though as the Greek tennis player came dangerously close to being disqualified.
Late in the third set, a frustrated Tsitsipas swatted a ball into the advertising boards on the Rod Laver Arena centre court – narrowly missing a volunteer ball kid.
Whoa… 😬 Stefanos Tsitsipas came THIS close to hitting a ball kid out of frustration in an incident eerily reminiscent of Novak Djokovic's controversial US Open default. 😳
Under the rules, if the ball had struck the kid, Tsitsipas would have been disqualified from the tournament, just as Novak Djokovic was thrown out of the 2020 US Open when he accidentally hit a linesperson.
Despite this, the 24-year-old, who is looking to breakthrough for his first grand slam victory after falling short in the 2021 French Open final, has once again endeared himself to Aussie crowds at the event.
Fans at the match on Tuesday night. All photos copyright: Bill Roumeliotis / The Greek Herald.
“I like a lot of things in Australia, you know. The people are very welcoming. I have said that so many times, I will keep saying it because it is very true,” Tsitsipas said.
