Inspired by the “epic” of 1987, the wax Panagiotis Giannakis is life-sized and wears the wreath of victory around his neck
The wax effigy of the great Greek basketball player Panagiotis Giannakis took its place in the Thodoris Kokkinidis Wax Museum, in the Kavala Gardens of the municipality of Pangaios.
Inspired by the moments of the celebration of the great victory of the Greek National Team in the 1987 European Basketball Championship, the wax figure of Panagiotis Giannakis is life-size, having a height of 1.92 m. and around his neck he wears the wreath of victory, an image that was captured in the photograph that went around the world at the time and characterizes him to this day.
The captain of the 1987 Greek National Basketball Team was present with his wife Eugenia, in this unique moment for him and he did not hide his admiration for the final result of a creative work that lasted about ten months.
Speaking to APE – MPE, the talented artist Thodoris Kokkinidis thanked the great Greek athlete for the honor that made him trust him, giving him the possibility to capture with the greatest possible accuracy his image and body type thirty-seven years ago.
“This whole ten-month period of creating the sculpture was a blessing, because apart from the athlete I met, I also got to know the man Panagiotis Giannakis. The kindness, the modesty that distinguishes him, the experiences he acquired throughout his athletic journey and the virtues he gathers as a person make him even more important.”
“I am inspired by the great personalities, by those people who achieve the impossible through their perseverance, hard work and talent”, Mr. Kokkinidis and continues by saying: “Panagiotis Giannakis is one of the leading figures in sports. I honored him through my art and he honored me with his presence in the museum where he stood next to his wax figure. It was as if time turned back and “met” itself again, in the 1980s, in those unique moments of celebration both for him and for all Greeks.”
Check out this Instagram post.
With the latest creation, the Theodore Kokkindis Wax Museum has a total of 37 wax figures, 22 of Greek and 12 of foreign personalities. The wax effigy of Panagiotis Giannakis will take its place next to two other effigies of beloved athletes, Voula Patoulidou and Thodoris Zagorakis.
Check out this Instagram post.
The museum is located a few kilometers outside of Eleftheroupoli, the seat of the municipality of Pangaio, west of Kavala, in the local community of Kipion.
To get there, the visitor crosses a verdant road of unique beauty in the shadow of the famous Pangai mountain. The route compensates the visitor as it prepares him to enter a world full of loved ones some of whom marked history, letters, arts and sports both in Greece and internationally.
Source: Skai
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