This one Thursday (28/11, 18:00), 28 days before the Christmasthe center of Athens will put on its festive clothes and in Syntagma Square it will light up Christmas tree and they will start a series of events in the city.

The 20 meter fir treewhich comes from a nursery in Taxiarchis of Halkidiki, arrived in Athens late on Thursday night and its decoration began immediately.

It will be lit by the mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas, in an event that will be hosted by Nancy Zampetoglou and Thanasis Anagnostopoulos and Christmas tunes with Nefeli Fasouli and the Athens Big Band.

The celebratory lighting event will be open to everyone, as it will take place with a parallel performance in Greek sign language by Polybius Cosmatos.

It will be announced in the coming days detailed program of festive events of the Municipality of Athens, which includes live music on the Syntagma stage, dance parties, atmospheric screenings, imaginative activities for children, performances and Christmas events for everyone.

Syntagma Square is transformed into a setting taken from classic fairy tales

“This Christmas in Athens will be like a fairy tale. A big celebration will start from the heart of the city. Neighborhoods of Athens, as well as emblematic landmarks, are illuminated for the first time. Colorful LED lanterns, low consumption, ornaments made of recycled materials will bring the magic of the holidays, with respect for the environment”, said Haris Doukas and added: “We are waiting for you on Thursday, November 28 in Syntagma Square, to unfold the Christmas bundle with music together and songs”.

With a focus on the Christmas tree, which this year counts most ornamentsthe decoration of the entire city is inspired by children’s imagination. Syntagma Square in particular is transformed into a scene taken from classic fairy talesfull of countless stars, elves and heroes like the Nutcracker.

In fact, it will be installed for the first time Bright Gate with Nutcracker performers at the entrance of Ermou from Syntagma.

More areas and landmarks of the city will be illuminated, such as Ermou Street, from Fokianou to Aiolou, KAPAPS Park in Ampelokipi, Papandreika Settlement, Drakopoulou Park, Tralleon Street and the two entrances to the National Garden, using the decoration of the previous years in all neighborhoods of Athens.

By adopting low-energy LED lighting, the ecological footprint of the holidays is reduced, achieving at least 55% energy savings.

The 20-meter natural fir of the nursery, after the holidays, will be given to the Academy of Fine Arts to be used as raw material for artistic woodcarving projects for its students. Some of its ornaments are made from 100% recycled PET plastic.