Today we look back to one year from the large, open celebration that marked the completion of the delivery of the SNFCC by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation to the Greek State, its permanent owner and administrator, and, by extension, to the Greek society, the citizens and daily visitors of the SNFCC.
The official delivery ceremony was attended by the country’s political and state leadership, foreign ambassadors, friends of the SNF, SNFCC Members and a large crowd of people, who arrived in order to be a part of this special day.
The event opened with the screening of a short video on the history of the SNFCC, and was followed by speeches by the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Prokopis Pavlopoulos, Co-President and Director of the SNF, Mr. Andreas Dracopoulos and the Prime Minister, Mr. Alexis Tsipras. Following the speeches, the Minister of Finance, Mr. Euclid Tsakalotos, along with the SNF’s Chief Financial Officer, Mrs. Christina Lambropoulou, signed the agreement transferring SNFCC SA’s only share to the Greek State by means of a gift, on the stage of the packed Stavros Niarchos Hall.
The signing was followed by an original artistic program, which attempted to highlight both the diversity of events that can be hosted in the premises of the SNFCC, as well as the technical capabilities of the stage. The program was presented as a mosaic of different art expressions, and culminated with the appearance of internationally renowned soprano Sumi Jo, who performed the famous aria Casta Diva from Bellini’s opera, Norma. Onstage performances, video screenings, events in all corners of the SNFCC, smaller and larger artistic groups, composed a free festival, open to all. The event featured the Ballet, the Children’s Choir and the Adult Choir of the Greek National Opera, the ERT National Symphony Orchestra, Natassa Bofiliou, Alkinoos Ioannidis and the Baroque Ensemble, the Lyceum Club of Greek Women, George Kontrafouris on piano, street dancers, skaters and roller bladers, alongside video screenings of readings by famous actors, curated by the National Library of Greece. The artistic program was under the direction of Thomas Moschopoulos.
The evening was concluded with a unique party featuring fireworks, music and dancing, at the SNFCC’s Agora.
