Greek Minister of Culture and Sport, Lina Mendoni updated the media on the Acropolis upgrades.

“It is our priority for all eight projects planned for the Acropolis to proceed without hindrance so that we may upgrade the archaeological site’s image and the services it offers. Once completed, it can live up to visitors’ expectations,” Minister Mendoni commented, following a briefing on the progress of the work.

The Acropolis, which receives some 1.5 million visitors a year, and all other archaeological sites and museums in Greece have been closed since March 13, when the government ordered a lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Currently there are 8 individual projects being implemented at the Acropolis Archaeological Site, aimed at protecting and upgrading the space and quality of services for visitors.

Two of these are aimed at helping wheelchair users to visit the ancient citadel, with the installation of a new lift, access ramps and paths. Improvements will also be made to the lighting on the Acropolis, both for making it safer for pedestrians and for showing the Parthenon in the best light. These are expected to be installed in August and completed by next July. The new lighting system will use less power and fewer bulbs than the current one. The improved lighting is being supported by the Onassis Foundation.

The former Acropolis museum will be used to enhance visitors’ outlook with a new interactive experience to be added. This follows on from an international tender for this museums relaunch.

Ticket sales system will also be made more efficient and the gift shops stocked with more attractive souvenirs.

The app, called “Chronos” after the mythological king of the Titans and Greek word for “time,” uses augmented reality to place the ancient impression of the site onto the screen, matching the real-world view as visitors to the Acropolis walk around.

AR after a wait, is set to affect a huge range of leisure activities. Memories of using it in June 2016 with Russell Darnely the then international liaison officer of the Australian Committee for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles founded over four and half decades ago by Emanuel Comino. As we gathered for a commemorative event to mark 200 since the British government bought the sculptures from Lord Elgin, we also visited the British Museum with those that had attended the conference at Senate House. The then Chair of the British Museum Trustees Sir Richard Lambert did not allow those of us with the AR posters into the museum.  

From 27-29 September, the 22nd session of the ICPRCP, UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in case of Illicit Appropriation, took place in Paris.

The ICPRCP advisory body facilitates bilateral negotiations and offers mediator services to states concerning the return and restitution of cultural property.

To watch the proceeding of the three days, visit: http://webcast.unesco.org/events/2021-09-22ICPRCP/ 

The presentation by Greece took place on Wednesday the 28th of September. Greece was represented by the Ministry of Culture by the Secretary General of Culture George Didaskalou, the new General Director of the Acropolis Museum Nikolaos Stampolidis, the Head of the Directorate of Documentation and Protection of Cultural Heritage and Legal Adviser of the Special Legal Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Artemis Papathanassiou. For the first time, apart from the recommendation, a decision with stronger wording was also agreed.

Greece's Minister of Culture and Sports Lina Mendoni, made the following statement:

"Greece's request for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures to Athens has been on the agenda of UNESCO Intergovernmental Committees on the Return of Cultural Property to the Countries of Origin (ICPRCP) since 1984, when it was first introduced by Melina Mercouri and remains there again today, 30 September 2021.

At the 22nd session of the ICPRCP, which ended on the 29th of September evening, the Committee issued (due to the countless efforts of Greece and the invaluable support of Zambia, Egypt, and other countries-members of the ICPRCP) for the first time, a Decision concerning specially the issue of the return of the Parthenon Sculptures. The Committee urges , through the Decision, the United Kingdom to reconsider its position and to negotiate with Greece, in bona fide, acknowledging that the matter is intergovernmental - contrary to the British side's claim that the case concerns exclusively the Trustees of the British Museum - and that Greece is claiming rightly and legally the Return of the Sculptures. The new Decision, is a very important development in the recognition of the legality and intergovernmental character of Greece’s just claim.

I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart the members of the Greek delegation, as well as our Permanent Representation to UNESCO for their diligent commitment to the return of the Sculptures. All worked rigorously and consistently to achieve this extremely positive result.”

The UK's prsentation during the meeting upheld the BM's position with the same old and tired arguments for the continued retention of the fragmented sculptures from the Parthenon in Room 18. Nonetheless, there was a consensus among member nations that this cultural dispute deserved after all this time, to be resolved through the faciliation of the ICPRCP. 

BCRPM in supporting Greece and nations across the globe, which have all recognised the significance of this peerless collection of sculptures and the exceptional top floor Parthenon Gallery in the Acropolis Museum, applaud these ICPRCP recommendations and the new decision. We are all looking forward to dialogue. It is our collective respect for the Parthenon, which deserves to be the catalyst for change, starting with honest talks to resolve the long awaited reunification of the Parthenon Marbles. The time is now.

The added value of this year's ICPRCP new decision as summed up in eKathimerini, reads as follows:

The decision of the 22nd session of the ICPRCP's Commission expresses its strong dissatisfaction with the fact that the issue remains unresolved due to the United Kingdom's stance. In addition, it urges the United Kingdom to reconsider its position and enter into a bona fide dialogue with Greece, emphasizing the intergovernmental nature of the dispute.

This decision was the result of the tireless efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with the Ministry of Culture.

Accordingly, the text of this year's Recommendation reflects, inter alia, the Commission's concern that the Duveen Gallery at the British Museum, where half of the surviving Parthenon Sculptures are on display, is closed to the public due to the necessary restoration work.

On the 20th of June, eight supporters for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles including for the firrst time, the Chair of the British Committee Janet Suzmann, stood outside the British Museum, handing out leflets and repeating slogans: BM Come Clean, Reunite the Parthenon Marbles, Tell The Story,Time is Now, Renite the Marbles in the Acropolis Museum in Athens. In the queue to get into the BM there were those that were looking forward to seeing the sculptures from the Parthenon too. They emerged disappointed. The Parthenon Galleries were closed.

The telephone call to the museum on the Monday, the 21st of June to ask how long the closure would last was met with: "not long, as the sculptures are a popular treasure of the museum." When asked when to call back, the reply was 'in a week's time'. That week became 8 weeks and then the article in the Art Newspaper: 'Is it raining again in the British Museum’s Parthenon gallery? A leaking roof has delayed the reopening of seven galleries of Greek art', written by Cristina Ruiz and published this Wednesday, 11 August 2021.The article was updated today, Friday 13th August to include a statement by Greece's Minister of Culture & Sport, Dr Lina Mendoni.

The statement from Minisiter Mendoni can be read in the Art Newspaper article, as well as on the official Greek Ministry's portaland below:

"This is not the first time that photographs have been published revealing that the conditions for exhibiting the Parthenon Sculptures at the British Museum are not only inappropriate, but also dangerous. In September 2019, when similar photos were published, we had stressed that these images fully strengthen the legal, ongoing and non-negotiable request from Greece for the reunification of the sculptures. The Parthenon Marbles, one of the greatest monuments of Western civilisation, must return to their homeland."

The leak that occured on 21 December of 2018 was questioned by Ta Nea's UK Correspondent Yannis Andritsopoulos and published in an article in January 2019, where he asked the Director of the British Museum, Hartwig Fisher, this question: 'There were several media reports last month regarding a leak in the Duveen Gallery where the Marbles are housed. As you can imagine there was a negative reaction. What’s your explanation about what happened?'

Dr Fisher's reply was: "We had a tiny leak in one area of the roof in the Parthenon Sculptures’ galleries. A small quantity of rain entered the gallery, but did not touch any of the Sculptures and this was fixed right away."

As the leak was fixed right away and was only 'tiny', 2 years and 5 months later, another leak? And why is this one taking months to repair ? With no date for when Room 18, the Parthenon Galleries at the British Museum, might be re-opening.

Many question the climate controls of the gallery even when there are no leaks. In the winter large blow heaters are positioned in the room to provide heating and in the hotter summer months, the Fire Exit doors are kept open for ventilation.

Whatever the long term prospects for the sculptures still in London (unnecessarily divided from the their surviving halves in Athens' Acropolis Museum), the lack of dialogue between two friendly nations, Greece and the United Kingdom, on this cultural matter, continues to be long overdue. All the efforts made by Greece since their independence over 200 years ago and at other key times, including in the 80's when the then Minister of Culture, Melina Mercouri visited the British Museum and vowed to keep campaining for ever or until the Parthenon Marbles were returned.

BCRPM began campaigning in 1983 and Emanuel Comino's Australian Committee started even earlier. The calls have not diminished and are echoed by the International Association supporting the Greek governments efforts. There is no time like the present to start a dialogue that would result in a long awaited reunification of a peerless collection of sculptures, which still belong to the Parthenon (as their name suggests).

The Parthenon still stands, with the Acropolis Museum in Athens offering an exceptional opporunity for all to see the sruviving pieces displayed the right way round, with direct views to the Parthenon. This context is one, which the ancients that created such an iconic building, would be proud to 'see' humanity respect.

Janet Suzman's commented on the current closure of Room 18: "Aware as we were of this, what is going on? Is the British Museum trying to Anglicise the Parthenon Marbles by covering them in damp? BCRPM is a little bit concerned. They would be much happier in that Attica light."

Additional statement made by Dr Mendoni, Greek Minister of Culture and Sport, 15 August 2021, in response to the conditions and ongoing closure of the Greek galleries in the British Museum:

"For decades, the main argument of the British, for the Parthenon Sculptures to remain in London, was that in the British Museum these masterpieces are exhibited in more suitable conditions than those that Greece could offer.

For 12 years, the Acropolis Museum in Athens, one of the best museums in the world, exhibits the Parthenon Sculptures in the most appropriate way, with direct views to the Parthenon itself. The sculptures in Athens await their final reunion with those illegally looted by Elgin. The British argument has long since been refuted.

Today, the conditions for exhibiting the Parthenon Sculptures at the British Museum are offensive and dangerous. The Sculptures cannot be expected to wait in Room 18 for the completion of the "masterplan" of the British Museum, which does not match those of the Parthenon Gallery, here in Athens.

Greece's constant and fair request for the return of the Sculptures to Athens is non-negotiable and today is absolutely relevant."