With his melodies accompanying the last “goodbye” and with a spontaneous dance circle set up in the First Cemetery, Greece said goodbye the great creator Dionysis Savvopoulosin a ceremony that felt more like a celebration of his life.

The farewell process began early on Saturday morning, with his body exposed in a popular pilgrimage to the chapel of the Athens Metropolis. From 8 in the morning, ordinary citizens with a flower in hand waited patiently to honor their “Nion”. “With my little money I had bought a tape of Savvopoulos”, whispered a man with tears in his eyes.

The moment when the coffin left the Metropolis, to the sounds of “What did I play in Lavrio”, with his devastated family following was touching. A large procession of people accompanied the body to the First Cemetery, following the route from Amalias and Ardittos to Anapausesos Street.

There, the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Municipality of Athens played, among other things, “Let the dancing go on” and dozens of citizens, some in tears and others with smiles, began to sing and dance, turning mourning into a final tribute, as befits a concert of his.

Several remained at the scene for hours. After most of the people left, they approached his grave in a quieter part of the cemetery, to leave a flower on the unfinished grave, with the simple wooden cross that simply read: “Dionysis Savvopoulos”.