The "Crete Festival", an initiative of the Region of Crete and a well-established cultural event on the island over the past five years, concludes this year’s edition with a tribute to the world-renowned Cretan, Mikis Theodorakis, featuring the Athens State Orchestra.

Two free concerts will be held for the people of Crete, both starting at 9 p.m.:

• On Thursday, 18 September 2025 at the Venetian Harbour of Chania

• On Friday, 19 September 2025 at the Venetian Harbour of Heraklion

Under the baton of conductor Tasos Symeonidis, the orchestra—widely respected both in Greece and abroad—will present works by Theodorakis that shaped the collective memory.

According to the festival organisers, this concert is a hymn to art, freedom, and Greek cultural identity, all values that Mikis Theodorakis championed throughout his life.

True to its mission of promoting Greek culture and enhancing artistic outreach, the Crete Festival, in collaboration with the Athens State Orchestra, will perform two of Theodorakis’ most iconic works:

• The Mauthausen Song Cycle, based on poems by Iakovos Kambanellis, a deeply moving tribute to the victims of the Holocaust and one of the most powerful fusions of Greek verse and 20th-century music.

• The Suite from Zorba, arranged by Dimitris Michas, bringing to life the spirit of Zorba, the emblematic literary figure of the Greek soul, freedom, and the power of life—with all its rhythm and passion.