With a modest ceremony on the afternoon of Tuesday, September 2, 2025, exactly four years after the death of Mikis Theodorakis, the theater at Bethlehem Gate was named after the great composer, following a unanimous decision by the Heraklion Municipal Council.

Shortly before unveiling the venue's signage, Heraklion Mayor Alexis Kalokairinos referred to Mikis Theodorakis, emphasizing that

“this man, the leading composer, the intellectual, the politician, left a mark on the course of modern Greece, from the post-war years and especially during the pre-dictatorship era, the dictatorship, and the Metapolitefsi, throughout its long journey.”

Alexis Kalokairinos stressed that

“Mikis Theodorakis was someone who, through his genius, his strength, and his boldness, engraved himself in the minds and hearts of the Greek people. Mikis Theodorakis could not and did not fit into political spaces or categories. His magnitude was — and still is — such that even his biological death, exactly four years later, doesn’t quite feel real. And of course, Theodorakis had — and has — Cretan roots and references, but we are not aiming to appropriate him. Our aim is to have him here too, just as he exists throughout Greece and beyond. Because, indeed, Mikis Theodorakis belongs to humanity.”

He made special mention of the fact that Mikis Theodorakis was a classical music composer of global stature, and to the critical moments when he led the nation and became the voice of the Greek people, underlining that

“This was — and continues to be — redemptive for Greece.”

The Mayor reminded that the naming was the result of a unanimous decision by the Municipal Council, following a proposal submitted by DEPLANAL President Kostas Varverakis, on behalf of Iraklia Initiative, emphasizing that

“This proposal, which was adopted unanimously and wholeheartedly, expresses the spirit of the city.”

He also noted the proximity to the Manos Hadjidakis Garden Theater, saying:

“This creates a symmetry, which reflects the symmetry with which these two giants of Greek music have been inscribed in all our minds and hearts. They had a relationship of attraction and repulsion — but always mutual recognition. And here, we find ourselves in the field of collective recognition and gratitude, which we express tonight and from now on toward Mikis Theodorakis.”

Deputy Mayor of Culture Rena Papadaki, on her part, thanked the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Municipality of Heraklion and the exceptional performer Giannis Kassotakis, who provided the musical background for the event. She noted that the ceremony was part of the Walls Festival of the Municipality of Heraklion, and emphasized:

“We are naming the theater at Bethlehem Gate after our great composer Mikis Theodorakis, and we decided to hold this ceremony on September 2, because today marks exactly four years since the day he passed away, on September 2, 2021. So, following the unanimous decision of the Municipal Council, the theater at Bethlehem Gate, which hosts numerous performances almost daily during the summer season, will from now on be called Open-Air Theater Mikis Theodorakis at Bethlehem Gate.”

Among those present at the modest ceremony were Deputy Mayors Nikos Yalitakis and Giorgos Tsagkarakis, DEPLANAL and Iraklia Initiative President Kostas Varverakis, DEPLANAL Vice President Mara Panagiotaki, former Deputy Mayor Manolis Vasilakis, and members of the Iraklia Initiative.