“Olympia is a cultural force of geopolitical size”, Mayor of Ancient Olympia
Key points of the speech during the greeting of the Mayor of Ancient Olympia, Mr. Georgiopoulos, at the Olympia Forum conference, on Friday, October 21, 2022:
“Olympia is not a random name in this country but also on the planet. However, many times, even by technocrat experts as well as by government officials, over time it is treated simply as a tourist destination like Mykonos, Santorini, Ios, etc. Olympia cannot be viewed in terms of economic added value alone. Both I and the previous mayors are tired of talking about what Olympia is: A repository of values, a radiant area, a historical place, the womb and nurturer of Olympic ideals.
Olympia is a national capital and this intangible cultural heritage is a cultural force for the place. Economists say that development is a triangle: economy, environment, society. All three must coexist. Because society is also culture, education, cohesion and much more. But we are talking about culture, sports, education.
We have made some efforts this time together with the Universities of Patras & Nicosia, with Mr. Syrigos, with Ms. Kerameos, with Mr. Avgenakis, who gave us here the seat of the Institute for the Training of Sports Executives so that we can at least have a density of actions to give Olympia the content it deserves and deserves.
Thanks to the Olympic Games, Olympia shines today like no other place on the planet – not even Athens with the Athenian Republic. Olympia is a cultural force of geopolitical importance for the place.
