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Do not fill this in! === Entertainment and performing arts === [[File:Εθνικό Θέατρο Αθηνών 9854.jpg|alt=|thumb|The [[National Theatre of Greece]], near [[Omonoia Square]]]] Athens is home to 148 theatrical stages, more than any other city in the world, including the ancient [[Odeon of Herodes Atticus]], home to the [[Athens Festival]], which runs from May to October each year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home Page |url=http://www.urbanaudit.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206144738/http://urbanaudit.org/ |archive-date=6 February 2009 |access-date=21 March 2009 |publisher=Urban Audit}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Athens – Epidaurus Festival 2008 |url=http://www.greekfestival.gr/?lang=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090222165312/http://www.greekfestival.gr/?lang=en |archive-date=22 February 2009 |access-date=21 March 2009 |publisher=Greekfestival.gr}}</ref> In addition to a large number of multiplexes, Athens plays host to open air garden cinemas. The city also supports music venues, including the [[Athens Concert Hall]] (''Megaro Moussikis''), which attracts world class artists.<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 October 1997 |title=Megaron Events Chart |url=http://www.megaron.gr/megaro/programeng/top.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201025145/http://www.megaron.gr/megaro/programeng/top.htm |archive-date=1 February 2009 |access-date=21 March 2009 |publisher=Megaron.gr}}</ref> The Athens [[Planetarium]],<ref>{{Cite web |script-title=el:Ίδρυμα Ευγενίδου. Εκπαιδευτικό Κοινωφελές Ίδρυμα |url=http://www.eugenfound.edu.gr |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080608171428/http://www.eugenfound.edu.gr/ |archive-date=8 June 2008 |access-date=21 March 2009 |publisher=Eugenfound.edu.gr |language=el}}</ref> located in [[Andrea Syngrou Avenue]], in [[Palaio Faliro]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rizzo |first=Demetrio |title=Athens Today |url=https://www.athens-today.com/it/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128070911/https://www.athens-today.com/it/ |archive-date=28 November 2020 |access-date=29 May 2020 |website=athens-today.com}}</ref> is one of the largest and best equipped digital planetaria in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Athens Eugenides Planetarium |url=http://www.barco.com/reference/2484 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707220221/http://www.barco.com/reference/2484 |archive-date=7 July 2011 |access-date=16 June 2011 |publisher=Barco}}</ref> The [[Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center]], inaugurated in 2016, will house the [[National Library of Greece]] and the [[Greek National Opera]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vision |url=http://www.snfcc.org/about/vision/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116230830/http://www.snfcc.org/about/vision/ |archive-date=16 November 2016 |access-date=16 November 2016 |publisher=SNFCC}}</ref> In 2018 Athens was designated as the [[World Book Capital]] by [[UNESCO]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 March 2018 |title=Athens: Books everywhere |url=https://en.unesco.org/courier/2018-2/athens-books-everywhere |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423165332/https://en.unesco.org/courier/2018-2/athens-books-everywhere |archive-date=23 April 2022 |access-date=31 March 2022 |website=UNESCO |language=en}}</ref> Restaurants, tavernas and bars can be found in the entertainment hubs in [[Plaka]] and the [[Monastiraki|Trigono]] areas of the historic centre, the inner suburbs of [[Gazi, Athens|Gazi]] and [[Psyri|Psyrri]] are especially busy with nightclubs and bars, while [[Kolonaki]], [[Exarcheia|Exarchia]], [[Metaxourgeio]], [[Koukaki]] and [[Pangrati]] offer more of a cafe and restaurant scene. The coastal suburbs of [[Piraeus|Microlimano]], [[Alimos]] and [[Glyfada]] include many tavernas, beach bars and busy summer clubs. [[File:Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center - 52035330487.jpg|alt=|thumb|[[Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center|The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre]], home of the [[Greek National Opera]] and the new [[National Library of Greece|National Library]]]] The most successful songs during the period 1870–1930 were the Athenian serenades (Αθηναϊκές καντάδες), based on the [[Heptanese]]an [[Greek folk music#Ionian Islands|kantádhes]] (καντάδες '[[serenade]]s'; sing.: καντάδα) and the songs performed on stage (επιθεωρησιακά τραγούδια 'theatrical revue songs') in [[revues]], [[Musical theatre|musical comedies]], [[operettas]] and [[nocturnes]] that were dominating Athens' theatre scene. In 1922, following the war, genocide and later population exchange suffered by the Greek population of Asia Minor, many ethnic Greeks fled to Athens. They settled in poor neighbourhoods and brought with them [[Rebetiko]] music, making it also popular in Greece, and which later became the base for the [[Laïko]] music. Other forms of song popular today in Greece are elafrolaika, entechno, dimotika, and skyladika.<ref name="Tales of Orpheus">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fT5TAQAAQBAJ |title=Athens – The Truth: Searching for Mános, Just Before the Bubble Burst |date=1 September 2013 |publisher=Tales of Orpheus |isbn=9780955209031 |access-date=24 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205131700/https://books.google.com/books?id=fT5TAQAAQBAJ |archive-date=5 February 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> Greece's most notable, and internationally famous, composers of Greek song, mainly of the entechno form, are [[Manos Hadjidakis]] and [[Mikis Theodorakis]]. Both composers have achieved fame abroad for their composition of film scores.<ref name="Tales of Orpheus" /> The renowned American-born Greek soprano [[Maria Callas]] spent her teenage years in Athens, where she settled in 1937.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rémy |first=Pierre-Jean |url=http://archive.org/details/mariacallastribu00rm |title=Maria Callas, a tribute |date=1978 |publisher=New York : St. Martin's Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-312-51448-8 |pages=19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Petsalis-Diomidis |first=Nikolaos |url=http://archive.org/details/isbn_9781574670592 |title=The unknown Callas: the Greek years |date=2001 |publisher=Portland, Or. : [[Amadeus Press]] |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-57467-059-2 |pages=76, 88 |url-access=registration}}</ref> Her professional opera career started in 1940 in Athens, with the [[Greek National Opera]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Petsalis-Diomidis |first=Nikolaos |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781574670592 |title=The unknown Callas: the Greek years |date=2001 |publisher=[[Amadeus Press]] |isbn=978-1-57467-059-2 |series=Opera biography series |location=Portland, Or |pages=214 |url-access=registration}}</ref> In 2018, the city's municipal Olympia Theatre was renamed to "[[Olympia City Music Theatre "Maria Callas"|Olympia City Music Theatre 'Maria Callas']]"<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 February 2023 |title=Olympia {{!}} ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑ ΔΗΜΟΥ ΑΘΗΝΑΙΩΝ |url=https://oly.gr/en/oly/ |access-date=31 October 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Βατόπουλος |first=Νίκος |date=30 November 2018 |title="Ολύμπια", η μεγάλη επιστροφή |url=https://www.kathimerini.gr/culture/music/997785/olympia-i-megali-epistrofi/ |access-date=31 October 2023 |website=Η ΚΑΘΗΜΕΡΙΝΗ |language=greek}}</ref> and in 2023, the Municipality inaugurated the [[Maria Callas Museum]], housing it in a [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassical building]] on 44 Mitropoleos street.<ref>{{Cite web |last=IEFIMERIDA.GR |first=NEWSROOM |date=25 October 2023 |title=Maria Callas museum, first in the world, opens in central Athens |url=https://www.iefimerida.gr/english/maria-callas-museum-first-world-opens-central-athens |access-date=29 October 2023 |website=iefimerida.gr |language=el}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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