All photos courtesy of The Greek Herald
Euro 2004 hero elected president of the Hellenic Football Federation
Theodoros Zagorakis, the man who captained Greece to Euros glory in 2004, was elected the new president of the Hellenic Football Federation (EPO) on Saturday.
The 49-year-old man received 66 of the 68 votes in his favour and replaces Evangelos Grammenos, who was elected in 2017.
Zagorakis said he will work for the recovery of the game in Greece, whose reputation has suffered immensely in recent years due to corruption allegations.
“The effort for the recovery of Greek football starts tomorrow. There is a plan, there is a mood. In this great effort, no one is being left out, and I call on all the people of football to join us,” he said.
Zagorakis was named the player of the tournament in the Euros, being an important key to the national sides success. The Greek spent majority of his footballing career at PAOK and AEK Athens, also having spells in Kavala, Leicester City and Bologna.
Zagorakis became president of PAOK in 2007, looking to help the club’s dire financial straits. As of late 2008, PAOK payed off most of its accumulated debt, seen a steady increase in ticket sales and advertising revenue, and improved team performance on the field.
Deputy Sports Minister Lefteris Avgenakis noted that, as the leader of PAOK and the “epic 2004 triumph,” Zagorakis is now being called upon to lead the reconstruction of the country soccer.
Scott Morrison pays special visit to Magnisalis family as massive NSW cleanup begins
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison made a special trip to the Magnisalis family, who lost their home and almost all their possessions, as the cleanup process gets underway across NSW.
The Prime Minister was joined by his wife Jenny in visiting some of the flood affected areas of Western Sydney yesterday.
One of families visited by Mr Morrison was Nick and Irene Magnisalis, who lost their dream home built 47 years ago in the Hawkesbury region, along with many of their possessions.
“They’ve lost almost everything, but the way their whole family has gathered together, working day and night on the cleanup, shows they have built something really special that even floodwaters can’t take away,” the Prime Minister said in a statement.
Talking on Sunrise last week, Peter Magnisalis describes how much the home they’ve now lost meant to them.
“It’s their pride and joy. It’s their little castle and that’s all they’ve got. They’ve got their house and they’ve got us… You can’t replace it.”
Mr Morrison said while the scale of the devastation is immense, he’s confident in Australians to come together and “support each other in times of need”.
The Prime Minister met and personally thanked some of the SES and RFS volunteers with local MP Melissa McIntosh.
“These amazing volunteers have been helping with everything from leaking roofs to flood rescues, and now the all important recovery.”
The Federal Government announced further support for small businesses devastated by the floods, totalling $52 million, to affected families of $1000 for adults and $400 for children.
The government has also deployed more than 500 ADF personnel to assist with the clean-up.
“There’s a long, hard road ahead, but we’re committed to helping the communities affected by these record breaking floods and we will stand with them as they recover and rebuild,” Mr Morrison concluded.
Photographer, Nick Bourdaniotis, on ‘getting the shot’ and being part of the Evzones family
When you meet Nick Bourdaniotis, you can tell he’s funny, confident and passionate about photography – or as he likes to call it, ‘getting the shot.’ But as Nick reveals to The Greek Herald, this passion wasn’t as strong when he was young boy growing up in Nambour, Queensland.
“When I was young, my mum would always give me the camera at family functions because she said I took the best photos… and I thought nothing of it,” Nick tells The Greek Herald.
“Then when I was 21, one of my first cousins offered me all of his camera equipment. Back then it was all film not digital and he said to me, ‘Did you want my old cameras? I’m upgrading.’ I looked at the cameras and I said, ‘no, it’s not my time,’ and I gave them back to him.”
Nick’s ‘time’ to shine finally came when he decided to buy his first professional camera in 2014 and began photographing events for major clients such as St Spyridon College.
“In business, you don’t do something halfway. When you go to do it, you do it properly. So I went out and bought a camera that could have dual cards. If you lose one card, you’re always going to have a backup,” Nick says.
‘Viral photos’ – Greek Independence Day parade in Sydney:
Luckily for Nick, doing things ‘properly’ meant he reaped the benefits just one year later in 2015, when a photo he took of St Spyridon College students at Sydney’s Greek Independence Day parade on March 25 went viral.
READ MORE: Auction at Nick Bourdaniotis’ Evzones exhibition in Canberra raises $15,000 for Greek school.
The ‘hero shot’ captured the students walking into the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House carrying Greek and Australian flags, led by a group of Caryatids and with the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background.
“I foresaw the photo… and that photo will never repeat again because the following year, they totally moved the dynamics of the forecourt,” Nick explains.
Despite this, Nick was still able to pull off a second viral photo the following year at another Greek Independence Day parade in Sydney. This time around, he photographed students carrying a large Greek flag down into the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House, with the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House sails in the background.
“The second photo was when people were recognising me again and thinking, ‘hang on, this guy is not just a one-hit wonder,” he says.
This recognition saw Nick later earn the title of Greek City Times’ Director of Photography and Videography, and he has also photographed for the My Greek Odyssey TV travel show in Greece, as well as the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia.
READ MORE: Nick Bourdaniotis’ ‘Evzones Collection’ brought to life at national media launch.
Becoming a part of the Evzones family:
When Nick’s not doing all of the above, he’s also lucky enough to be able to photograph the Greek Presidential Guard (the Evzones).
His first chance to capture the Evzones in action came in 2016, when they arrived in Sydney to participate in the Anzac Day parade. In 2017, Nick photographed the Evzones again in Sydney and in 2018, he captured them at Melbourne’s Greek Independence Day parade and another Anzac Day parade in Sydney.
“The first time I ever shot an Evzona was at St Spyridon parish office. They got ready and came out and I took this one shot where they were all just standing there. It was a hero shot,” Nick says proudly.
But in between shooting the Evzones in Australia, Nick was also making frequent trips to Greece where he began to form a stronger relationship with the Evzones. In fact, during one overseas trip with the team from My Greek Odyssey, Nick received official permission to attend the ‘raising of the flag’ ceremony, which is performed by the Evzones at the Acropolis every Sunday and is not open to the public.
“We were all gobsmacked. It was the true essence of being Greek. It was just us and them and… it was just before 8am, just before the church bells rang, and it was dead silent. That’s where I feel in love and went, ‘wow this is something special’,” he explains.
The photographer was so in love that he returned multiple times to Greece to photograph the Evzones and in time, he began to feel as though he was a part of their family.
“I didn’t sit there like I was being an idol or stalker. It flowed… I was never obsessed with them. The gates would always open for me to take photos of them. I am part of their family now and they always welcome me with open arms,” he says.
Turning his passion into an exhibition:
With such a clear passion for the Evzones, it’s no surprise then that in mid-2018, Nick decided to open an exhibition featuring some of the photographs he’d taken of them.
“I went to a photo festival of a photographer in Sydney and after seeing his amazing work, I was then intrigued to think, ‘I should do an exhibition myself.’ And then it came to me – [I could do] an exhibition of the Evzones,” Nick says.
This decision set in motion a sequence of events. Nick returned to Greece in 2019 to photograph the Evzones for the last time and prepare everything for his exhibition. He was ready to open the exhibition in Sydney by March 2020 but sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
“I had printed the exhibition. We were ready to go. We were nine days out before COVID hit and then I had to pack it all away and put it in the corner of my house… I was devastated,” Nick reminisces.
“I even set up eight photos in my house and I was inviting my family and friends to come and have a look. That’s how much it got to me. I was itching to show the world.”
But in a positive turn of events, Nick is now getting his chance to show the world his photographs this year, with a nationwide Evzones exhibition to mark the 200th anniversary of the Greek War of Independence.
‘The Evzones Collection: By Nick Bourdaniotis’ has over 28 beautifully selected photos capturing and portraying the Evzones in a truly remarkable light. It will be travelling across Australia and after having already seen it on display in Canberra, it’s definitely not going to disappoint all those who’ve waited patiently to see Nick’s photographs in the flesh.
READ MORE: Nick Bourdaniotis’ Evzones Collection launches today in Melbourne.
The exhibition will run across Australia on the following dates in 2021 and entry is free:
- Melbourne: March 27 – April 4, Oakleigh Grammar Conference Centre. March 27 (2pm – 6.30pm), March 29 – April 1 (3pm – 7.30pm), April 2 – April 4 (2pm – 6.30pm).
- Adelaide: April 23 – April 25 at The Holy Monastery of St Nectarios.
- Sydney: Early June TBA at Hellenic Club Sydney, Beta / The Grande Level 2.
- Brisbane: August 30 – September 1 at Greek Club of Brisbane, Acropolis/Olympus Room on the ground floor.
- Perth: November 19 – November 21.
*Images by Nick Bourdaniotis/Bourdo Photography (Copyright).
Greek Australian artists celebrate 200th Anniversary of Greek Revolution in electrifying tribute
The Enmore Theatre, Sydney’s oldest and longest running live theatre, filled with bouzouki sounds and timeless Greek old favourite songs, at the ‘Greek Legends of the 20th Century’ tribute concert held on Friday night.
“For me the Greek community is not a group of people sitting somewhere. It’s you and you came here because this is your night. It’s your event, your support, your independence and your freedom,” said the MC addressing the 1100 spectators.
To mark the 200th Anniversary from the beginning of the Greek Revolution, more than thirty Greek Australian artists combined their talents to pay tribute to Greek musical icons such as Theodorakis, Kazantzidis, Marinella, Vembo, Dalaras, Alexiou and acknowledge their contribution to the world of music and entertainment.
Directed by internationally renowned soprano Penny Pavlakis and under the musical direction of bouzouki virtuoso Manolis Michalakis, the show featured 30 musicians, singers, and dancers and an eight an eight-bouzouki spectacular joined by the all-female vocal group ‘The Ten Sopranos’.
The ‘Greek Legends of the 20th Century’ tribute concert is set to take place on May 8 at Melbourne’s Palais Theatre. Click here to find out more.
*This event was also sponsored by The Greek Herald
Pontian Brotherhood of SA celebrates Greece’s Independence Day
The Pontian Brotherhood of South Australia held a special commemoration for the 200th anniversary of the Greek War of Independence on March 21st, with President Nazareth Nalpantidis Chisholm speaking about why March 25th is a day Greeks can celebrate their timeless culture.
A special Doxology Service was held at the Greek Orthodox Parish of Saints Raphael, Nicholas and Irene with the President and Vice President Bill Diamandis in attendance, along with Aris Chisholm, Jim Glava, Panayoti Skoutris, Renae, and Kristi O’Donnell representing the Pontian Brotherhood.
Following the doxology service, community members moved to the National War Memorial in North Terrace, where a wreath laying ceremony commenced.
Celebrations moved to the Pontian Brotherhood Hall, where Pontian dancers entertained guests with their incredible performances.
The Pontian Brotherhood and Greek community listened to a touching discussion from guest speaker Yanni Papadopoulos, as well as a speech by President Chisholm.
“As Pontian’s, we realise the magnitude of their efforts against the iron fist of the Ottoman occupation, without them our ancestors would not have had a place to call home after the Genocide of our people,” Chisholm said in her speech.
“Why the 25th March, what is the significance of this day? The Greeks chose this day because it is the feast of the annunciation, which in Greek is the Evangelismos, the day we celebrate the archangel Gabriel bringing the Good News to the Theotokos that she would bare the son of God.
“Just like, salvation came into the world through the mother of God in the person of Christ, they once again besought her to bring salvation to the Hellens.”
Chisholm made note and gave thanks to the brave heroes of 1821, including Theodoros Kolokotronis, Laskarina Bouboulina, George Karaiskakis, General Yannis Makriyannis and Athanasios Diakos.
“Together with them the unnamed men, women, and children who each sacrificed themselves to fight even to their death.”
“And just like the Pontian woman who danced off the cliff to save themselves from the horrors of being defiled by the enemy so did the Souliotises which is also known as the dance Zalongo.”
The ceremony ended with Pontian dancing and live Lyra and Daouli playing while guests enjoyed the celebrations of the day of Greece’s Independence.
Insight or Perspective: “The ideal would be a complete bilingual teaching system”
By Eleni Elefterias
I have been talking to various Australian-born Greek Speakers about their experiences of learning Greek and what they view as the problem with language learning today.
“The Greek language is important to me. It is part of my identity, my heritage. I love it for it’s amazing history, for the traditions and the language,” says Persa Thliveris and goes on to explain what she loves about the language and what in her opinion the problem with language learning.
What do you love about the language?
“I love the fact that I can converse and express myself in Greek, am able to speak with my family in Greece, in Greek and am able to read books in Greek, listen to Greek music and understand all the lyrics and poetry.”
I know you attended Greek School at Paddington and are fluent in the language but how did you keep the language alive for your children?
“Both my children were taught Greek. Besides Greek school and tutors, I used to have Cartoon videos for them to watch and Greek songs playing in the car.”
What about your grandchildren?
“It is a bit more difficult with them but I intend to persevere. My children completed HSC Greek as I did too so it is important to me for them to continue to learn the language.”
What do you consider the problem with language learning today?
“People think it’s more helpful to teach their children English rather than Greek as they think it may lead to confusion when, in actual fact, the opposite is true. Children at young ages are able to learn and cope with learning languages quite easily. It is good for the brain as well.”
What do you think we should do to promote the Greek language?
“Educating people of Greek background and making them aware of the significance of passing on the Greek language to their children. The ideal would be a complete bilingual system of teaching in our schools.”
*Eleni Elefterias-Kostakidis is a teacher of Modern Greek and University lecturer.
Read Eleni Elefterias’ column ‘Insight or Perspective’ in Greek, every Saturday in The Greek Herald’s print edition or get your subscription here.
‘Muscle Nation’ co-founder Chris Anastasi reveals secret to $27 million success
Fitness-wear has become one of the fastest growing clothing niches in the past five years.
Recognising it’s continued growth in 2016, Nathaniel Anthony and Chris Anastasi started selling and packaging clothing out of their small bedroom. Now, the duo are planning to move into a 4,000sq m warehouse before the end of the year.
Speaking to News Corp, Mr Anastasi said the pair struggled in coming up with ways to turn their small business into a large-scale money maker in the early stage of production.
“The biggest challenge was the cash flow,” he said to News Corp.
“We would sell a lot but the next order would have to be big enough to fulfil growth, so we were reinvesting money from the sales and we weren’t really able to get ahead until a few years down the track.”
Anastasi added that ‘Muscle Nation’ managed to bring the fitness community and athletes on board and promote their workouts and nutrition advice.
“Having a lot of eyes and feedback on social media we expanded really quickly into fashion and these days we have to stay on trend.”
“We worked really hard on style and bringing out new collections, designs and colours every four to six weeks and it meant we didn’t over commit to stock as we wanted to bring collections out more frequently.
“We worked out demand in the market for cuts, style, length and types of design through trial and error but this helped us pivot fast to where demand is.”
The company’s success sprouted most notably in the 2020 Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales, which saw them gain nearly $10 million across those two days. The duo said they are on track to make $50 million by the end of the financial year.
Revealing the secrets to their success, Mr Anthony said anyone can sell activewear, but it’s their customer service that sets them apart.
“We have provided an unrivalled customer experience through our website and customer service — we reply to every single person and we talk to them like they are our friends. We find by doing that we are able to create a massive community of cult like fans where they love us so much,” he said.
Billy Magoulias sets goal for Greece in Rugby World Cup
Billy Magoulias has been spending the past few years rising up the ranks with the Cronulla Sharks, looking to make his eighth NRL appearance for the club against Parramatta on Saturday.
One of the only Greek Australians to be playing in the top division, Magoulias said in an interview with NRL.com that he looks to take up a “leadership role” in inspiring Greeks who want to play rugby.
“John Skandalis played, and Braith Anasta and Jim Serdaris, so there have been a few over the years but at the moment I am the only Greek player in the NRL,” Magoulias said.
“I guess with me being the only NRL player in the squad I have a bit of responsibility and a leadership role. The other guys obviously look up to you and try to get some inspiration so I talk to them and try to make an effort.”
Young guns Peter Mamouzelos, Nick Mougios and Lachlan Ilias are all climbing through the ranks as the next generation of Greek Australians in the NRL. Mamouzelos and Ilias are currently members of the Greece World Cup squad under head coach Steve Georgallis.
READ MORE: TGH Exclusive: Steve Georgallis – The man planning to turn the Bulldogs back into a competitive side
“There are other guys playing in the Ron Massey Cup and comps like that,” Magoulias said. “We just keep in contact and organise dinners to stay in contact while we are not playing together.”
Magoulias has had a strong role in promoting rugby for Greek Australians, presenting jerseys to the Greek women’s rugby league team in the Sydney International 9s tournament earlier in March.
Under the guidance of Georgallis, former interim Canterbury Bulldogs head coach, Magoulias has set a play-off goal for the squad in the upcoming World Cup.
“We knuckled down to make the World Cup, which is a big step for Greece, and we went there with Steve [Georgallis],” Magoulias said.
“The game is quite raw over there and we did a lot of development work and coaching sessions.
“That is why it’s important for me, playing NRL, to try and drive that through and give them inspiration because when they are watching the NRL they can see that there is a Greek player.
“There are only 16 teams in the World Cup and we are probably going to be ranked down the bottom but we will obviously try to compete and get into the play-off stage. If we can do that it will be big for the game in Greece.”
Covid-19 infections in Greece on steady decline while intubation rates remain high
Greek health authorities confirmed another 1,496 new coronavirus cases in the country, down from 2,588 cases on March 25 and fewer than the record 3,062 cases diagnosed in Greece on Wednesday.
Greek health officials are worried, however, about the rising number of intubated patients, which remains high at 707, from 706 on Thursday.
In its daily bulletin, the National Organization of Public Health (EODY) said 53 patients died, bringing the overall number of fatalities to 7,754.
Health authorities conducted a total of 11,542 tests (5,911 PCR and 5,631 rapid antigen) in the past 24 hours, with the positivity rate reaching 12.96 percent.
Greek Deputy Health Minister Vassilis Kontozamanis on Friday said the government would soon launch a Covid-19 self-testing strategy, which is expected to help limit the spread of the virus.
The strategy, which will launch in April, will see pharmacies distributing free Covid-19 test kits to citizens with a social security number (AMKA). All citizens will be entitled to four tests per month (one test per week). Participation in the scheme is voluntary and not mandatory.
The total number of infections in Greece is now at 249,458.
