“Such actions are insulting to cultural property and endanger the exhibits themselves,” Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said of the dinner organized by the British Museum in the Parthenon’s Sculpture Hall. Specifically, as the Ministry of Culture informs in its announcement, the Minister of Culture replied the following:

“Repeatedly and throughout time, the Ministry of Culture has condemned the dinners, receptions and fashion shows organized in the spaces of the Museums, where monuments and works of art are exhibited. Such actions are offensive to cultural property and endanger the exhibits themselves. This is exactly what the Management of the British Museum did last Saturday, once again using the Parthenon Sculptures as decorative elements for the dinner they organized. The safety, integrity and ethics of the monuments should be the primary concern of the British Museum, which once again displays a defiant indifference.”

The pink dinner in front of the Parthenon Sculptures

Ms. Mendoni’s anger was sparked by the British Museum’s decision to use the Duvin room, where the Parthenon Sculptures are on display, for a reception. There, in a pink decoration (as part of the first “Pink Ball”), the approximately 800 guests dined in front of the Sculptures.

The British Museum presented the evening as a fundraising event (each guest paid a minimum of £2,000 to attend the dinner, attend a concert by Anoushka Shankar and a silent auction). Attendees included politicians, businessmen, artists (such as Mick Jagger). The event was characterized by a portion of the British media as a smaller-scale American Met Gala.