World Gathers in Athens For International Poetry Festival

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Poets from Greece and around the world will gather at the Megaron Athens Concert Hall on Monday, September 28, for the opening of the 12th Athens International Poetry Festival, titled “No Exit: Poems for Fragmented Times.”

The opening ceremony will take place at 7pm in the Dimitris Mitropoulos Hall, bringing together poets whose work explores the anxieties, sensitivities and hopes of a world shaped by crises, political tensions, declining trust in democratic values and the growing influence of artificial intelligence.

The festival organisers say poetry has become a necessity rather than a luxury at a time when “the law of force” increasingly dominates geopolitics, anti-democratic parties gain support in many countries and artificial intelligence creates increasingly distorted representations of reality.

They describe the festival as an opportunity to reaffirm European identity, support democratic culture and promote a humanistic education that gives greater meaning and quality to life.

The opening ceremony will feature poetry readings by Greek and international poets, combining spoken word with music and visual elements. The programme will explore collective anxieties, the tenderness of human experience and the persistence of hope, while inviting audiences to engage with the many languages of the world, both literally and metaphorically.

Among the participating poets are Harold Alva Viale of Peru, George Alisanoglou, Anna Afentoulidou, Theodoros Gonis, Dioni Dimitriadou, Sofia Dionysopoulou, Ilya Kaminsky of the United States, Chiara Catapano of Italy, Andrea Cote of Colombia, Chloe Koutsoumbeli, Michael Krüger of Germany, James Byrne of the United Kingdom, Javier Bozalongo of Spain, Panagiotis Nikolaidis, Tadeusz Dąbrowski of Poland, Merima Dizdarević of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jelena Radovanović of Serbia, Grigoris Sakalis, Girguis Shukry of Egypt, Alicia Stallingsof the United States, Lina Stefanou, Ilias Frangakis, George Chouliaras and Maria Topali.

Ioanna Angelidi will present the opening evening, with Vasilis Papadopoulos accompanying the event on piano.

The event is organised in cooperation with the Poets’ Circle.

Event Information

12th Athens International Poetry Festival – Opening Ceremony
Monday, September 28, 2026, at 7pm
Dimitris Mitropoulos Hall, Megaron Athens Concert Hall
Admission: Free with online reservation, with a maximum of two tickets per person.
For further information: +30 210 72 82 333

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