The unanimous position of the municipal council of Athens, which has been expressed with two respective resolutions, for the declaration of historic cinemas as preserved – in terms of use – IDEAL and ASTOR, repeated the Mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannisin his intervention at the open press conference – organized today in the ASTOR hall – to which he had been invited.

Mr. Bakoyiannis said: “We are all here because we want to join our voices with yours and highlight the need to preserve – in use – these two historic cinemas. I want to remind you that something similar was done in 1997 for the 47 summer cinemas. So there is a precedent and indeed there is a cross-party consensus on it.” write down.

The Mayor of Athens emphasized that the discussion that is taking place goes beyond the issue that has arisen around the two oldest Athenian cinemas.

Setting the broader context of the discussion, he said that it has to do with the DNA, identity and physiognomy of Athens. He formulated – again – his clear position that the city “belongs” to the permanent resident and that all effort for economic development must be connected with one’s own life.

“Yes, we want economic development. We want the investments, we want the visitors. However, we do not want Athens to lose its soul. We don’t want to turn into an ancient Greek Disneyland. The opposite. Our strength is our authenticity and mixed uses. We are not competing with Dubai, nor do we want a demoralized and deserted city. We want a city made for the permanent resident and that is why we are here today.”