Since September 2019, when I assumed the Artistic Directorship of the Athens Epidaurus Festival, my team and I have worked with dedication to renew the philosophy, content, and image of Greece’s foremost cultural organisation. Guided by the principles of artistic excellence, openness, polyphony, boldness, inclusivity, sound financial management, and the upgrading of our existing infrastructure – and despite the extraordinary challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic during the first two years of our initial tenure (2020-2021) – we are proud today to hand over a revitalised, robust, and multifaceted Festival, made possible above all through the focused efforts and care of our entire team.
A Festival outward-looking, thanks to its major international co-productions and world premieres in collaboration with leading cultural organisations. Through the reshaping of its identity, we secured an even stronger position within the European and global cultural landscape.
A Festival that rightly serves as Greece’s cultural ambassador abroad. Through the launch of the grape platform (Greek Agora of Performance), now in its third edition, we presented Greek Theatre and Dance creators with the opportunity to showcase their work on prestigious theatrical stages and renowned festivals in forty cities worldwide. This initiative addressed and filled a long-standing gap, fostering a systematic and fruitful dialogue between Greek artists and the international community.
A Festival expanded in scope, charting new directions and placing a strong emphasis on emerging artistic movements, an approach that drew fresh audiences to our venues. Attendance rose steadily, surpassing 250,000 visitors annually. This intention materialised further into our strategy to renew the Festival’s identity: from a redesigned corporate identity and a strengthened visual communication presence created in collaboration with leading design agencies, to the embrace of new technologies, reimagined publications and merchandise items, outdoor campaigns, and stronger partnerships with traditional media.
A Festival fearless in its artistic choices, proposing a well-balanced approach to the legacy of Ancient Drama. Guided by our six-year plan based on the triad New dramaturgies – International directors – Research, we set out to spark a vital public debate about how Ancient Drama can be reimagined today, a conversation that drew diverse and intergenerational audiences to our venues. Even the intense critique we received at times served as living proof of our programme’s resonance, contributing to the rekindling of public dialogue around this critical matter. Our mission was never to stage museum-like reconstructions of an imagined and glorified past, but to create a bridge that connects the legacy of Ancient Drama with today’s performing arts and dramaturgical quests. In doing so, we aspired to offer productions that were both relevant to contemporary audiences and capable of broadening perspectives on art and society.
We deliver a robust Festival, deeply attuned to society’s pulse, with performances that introduced pioneering international artists to Greece for the very first time and created unforgettable events of lasting impact. By keeping an open call for the submission of new artistic proposals, we continued to support Greek creation – even in the critical years of the pandemic – supplying a podium to emerging voices, embracing newfound aesthetic currents and perspectives, and offering a wide range of free events to the public, all the while maintaining affordable ticket prices in the face of soaring production and booking costs.
A Festival that also made pivotal strides administratively. Its legal status – now restructured as a private legal entity – was redefined to better serve its mission and operation. For the first time, an Organisational Chart and Internal Regulations were instituted, while staffing was set in motion through the Supreme Council for Civil Personnel Selection (ASEP). Meanwhile, we invested in a comprehensive renewal of our infrastructure, including the creation of new spaces, the acquisition of permanent technical equipment, digital modernisation, and the digital organisation of our archives.
A Festival surrounded by a constellation of strong allies. Sponsorships and donations enabled a more diverse and ambitious programme than ever before. For the first time, a wide network of supporters gathered around the festival, achieving an impressive rise in revenue. In 2019, sponsorship income stood at €147,000; in 2025, thanks to the joint efforts of the Administration and Artistic Direction, it rose to €3,250,000. Let it also be noted that preliminary figures for 2025 confirm that not only have we remained within approved fiscal targets, but we are also closing with a surplus – an invaluable resource for the festival’s future.
We believed in a Festival that honours its past while celebrating its future. In this anniversary year, we curated four unique world-class artistic events in Epidaurus, created a film based on Sophocles’ Electra by seven directors – a symbolic nod to the Festival’s seven decades –, published a major commemorative volume tracing the Festival’s seventy-year history, laid the foundation for a long-needed Pavilion in Epidaurus, and, lastly, paid tribute to the people of the Festival through a documentary built from their precious and intimate testimonies.
Every new Artistic Direction carves out its own mission. Acknowledging the Festival’s historical continuum, each seeks to contribute its vision and leave behind a legacy for the organisation’s next day. During our six-year tenure, our ambition was to craft a programme immersed in polyphony, contemporary in spirit, and daring in scope, featuring artists from all corners of the world whose work we believed could offer meaningful and original insights in dialogue with our vision. Were all our choices perfect? Certainly not. Yet, our missteps and omissions were made far from an intent to wrong anyone.
As a closing note of this six-year tenure, we have compiled a thorough report outlining the rationale behind our decisions, alongside the initiatives we launched – new actions, platforms, collaborations, and modes of operation and organisation – which we hope will provide a critical hotbed for the Festival’s continued growth. The eleven pillars of our strategy, listed below, do not constitute an exhaustive list of all of our activities. Yet, they do reflect our philosophy and modus operandi, offering a concise overview of what we set out to accomplish.
The achievements of our endeavour are the result of the tireless efforts of our entire team, onstage and behind the scenes; the coordinated motions of the Administration, the General Directorate, and our President personally; the steadfast support of the Ministry of Culture office; the generosity of our sponsors and donors; the invested energies of the artistic companies; the engagement of the Press; and above all, the audiences, who fervently embraced our vision. Finally, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my closest collaborators and artistic advisors for their patience, creativity, and commitment throughout this journey. I thank each and every one of them from the heart for these six truly unforgettable and fascinating years.
Katerina Evangelatos
Stage Director
Athens Epidaurus Festival Artistic Director (2019 – 2025)
THE PILLARS OF OUR SIX-YEAR TENURE
- Openness: Strengthening the Festival’s global presence
- Production and international touring of Greek performances: grape – Greek Agora of Performance
- Revitalising the legacy of Ancient Drama
- Creation of thematic cycles: Focus on the dramaturgical identity of the artistic programme
- Open Plan: Expanding artistic activities throughout the year
- Polyphony: Embracing diverse artistic genres
- Deepening collaboration with cultural institutions in Greece
- Developing the publishing programme
- Renewing the Festival’s profile and identity
- Strengthening ties with sponsors: Strategic alliances for contemporary culture
- Upgrading the Festival’s infrastructure
