Greece is set to host the Odessa Classics International Music Festival, a leading cultural event in the field of classical music, in Thessaloniki, from June 9 to June 13 2022, under the auspices and organisation of the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki.
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The pre-festival events will be hosted in Estonia from May 31 to June 4, by local organisations.
“As the Russian invasion of Ukraine made it impossible to perform in Odessa this year, Culture Minister Lina Mendoni immediately responded to the proposal of the festival’s artistic director, Alexey Botvinov, for the Culture Ministry to hold the main events in Thessaloniki,” the Culture and Sports Ministry pointed out in a relevant announcement.
It also informed that Mendoni’s decision to finance the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki, in order to organize the Odessa Classics Festival, “is a proof of the cultural solidarity of Greece to the Ukrainian people and especially to the city of Odessa, which is associated with deep historical ties with Greece.”
In a letter to Mendoni, Ukraine’s Minister of Culture and Information, Oleksandr Tkachenko, thanked Greece for its support and solidarity “to all Ukrainians during these difficult times of the unprovoked Russian War against peaceful Ukraine.”