Press Release

Petit Paris d ’Athènes 2021

from 20th to 30th of June

Theme of the year: Culture and Ecology



In recent years, natural disasters around the world have shown that there is no limit to the reaction of injured nature. Climate change accompanied by pandemics is already here. And yet we are still in the very beginning. How much worse can it be if humanity does not return to normalcy? What could be the contribution of arts and culture in general? What has been and what is the position of the “wider civilizations” all these years, where humanity is causing climate change in this way? Even today, how many citizens of the “smart cities” know the vital importance of recycling? How much do we understand the importance of the “living” ecosystem in the urban landscape? The big cities cause the pollution all over the planet while in contrast they create and develop the local cultures. How close or how far are these cultures from nature and ecological thought?

The Covid 19 pandemic defined the form of this year’s festival. Due to the measures of protection against the coronavirus, the festival this year will not have in its program street events and arts in squares, activities for children, theatrical performances and concerts that are usually being performed indoors.

However, for the first time this year, Petit Paris d ’Athènes institutes a complete Jazz & World music festival with a total of 11 concerts, in the garden of the Municipal Library of Athens opposite Larissa station. Admission to the concerts is free but first you need to book by email at petitparis.athenes@gmail.com, as places will be limited due to coronavirus protection measures. The concerts start at 21:00.

Also, large works of street art (mural) will be created throughout the preparation and performance of the festival in the wider area where the festival is operating, under Omonia to Metaxourghio and Larissa station. The festival will be complemented by lectures and art exhibitions.

The festival will raise as main issue, an issue of vital importance for human culture and our life in general, the perception first and then the adoption of daily respect for the ecosystem we live or visit.

The festival, which inoculates culture and art in one of the most oppressed areas of Athens and gives rise to young artists, for 2021 is co-organized by the Athenian Art Network, the Organization of Culture, Sports and Youth of the Municipality of Athens (OPANDA), Attica Region and bears the auspices and support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports (Ministry of Culture).

In 2013 the festival was dedicated to Albert Camus for the 100th anniversary of his birth, while in 2014 to the Belle Époque and the beginning of World War I. In 2015 the theme was the culture of bistros and cafes and a special tribute to the rive gauche in post-war Paris, while the theme of 2016 was “team and arts”. In 2017, the Petit Paris d ’Athènes was dedicated to “women in Europe” and in 2018, the theme of the festival was “May of ’68. Fifty years later… ». The theme of 2019 was “Cabarets du monde”. In 2020 the festival did not take place due to protection measures against coronavirus.

Information on voluntary participation in the organization of the festival

Those interested in volunteering for the festival management and photography teams are kindly requested to send a short CV to petitparis.athenes@gmail.com.

During the preparation of the festival, the volunteer-managers who attend the planned seminars and complete the required hours of attendance and voluntary participation in the festival, receive a corresponding certificate.

Website: mikroparisi.eu

Facebook: Petit Paris d ’Athènes – Μικρό Παρίσι των Αθηνών

Contact: petitparis.athenes@gmail.com, pr.petitparis.athenes@gmail.com