Anti-reunifiers have over the years indeed centuries summoned up a fair old array of objections against the reuinification of the Parthenon Marbles (all, not just those in the BM) that we of BCRPM have been calling for since the 1980s.

None of them is persuasive, either individually or collectively, but surely the least persuasive of all in 2025 is what might be called the 'nostalgic-cultural' or 'retentionist-nauseous'.

It's therefore deeply disappointing to find that sort of tired 'argument' still being peddled (inaccurately - citing 'Elgin' not Parthenon Marbles) by the recent 'Principles for Restitution' report of the Policy Exchange, and for that report to be headlined by a distinguished Briton of Caribbean heritage, Sir Trevor Phillips.

Antidotes abound, Sir Trevor! Highly recommended is Chris Hitchens's The Parthenon Marbles. The case for reunification.

Professor Paul Cartledge, Vice-Chair of BCRPM campaigning since 1983, and Vice-Chair of the IARPS since 2019

A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture emeritus
University of Cambridge

More on the Policy Exchange report in the Times (14.04.2025), Telegraph and Mail. 

Today, Saturday 12 April 2025 and page 25 of the Telegraph is the Saturday Review featuring Victoria Hislop.

The article covers a great deal on Victoria's life, growing up and as a Mum, her writing (10 novels) and why Victoria became a member of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles.

Victoria's own special relationship with the British Museum began at school and she explains there were no foreign trips then but a trip to the British Museum was a journey to many exciting places.

"We couldn't afford holidays to Egypt when I was a child - we went to Bognor Regis. So unlike my own children, who got to see culture in the countries, my culture came from the British Museum. I still remember queueing up as a child to see the Tutankhamun exhibition." Says Victoria.

Louise Carpenter writes: 'Hislop's love of the British Museum had already been souring. In 2021, she had joined the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, which seeks to repatriate them from the museum to the Acropolis Museum in Athens. I'd say Hislop is way more Greek than English. Greece is lucky to have her.'

BCRPM also is lucky to have Victoria as a member. We continue to remember the June 2022 BCRPM protest in the BM when we celebrated the Acropolis Museum's 13th anniversary and Victoria held the cake with candles as the assembled sang happy birthday in English and Greek! 

In Room 18 where the sculptures sold by Lord Elgin in 1816 to Britain are still displayed, Victoria flanked by George Gabriel who masterminded the giant banner,  stood in front of a the 'Reunify the Parthenon Marbles' banner. 

We look forward to the day when the giant banner is held up in the Acropolis Museum's top floor gallery, the Parthenon Gallery and reads: 'Thank you British Museum'. 

Here's to the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles in the Acropolis Museum. Here's to that special day. Here's to hope.

The newly elected Chair of the Swiss Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, Comité Suisse pour le Retour des Marbres du Parthénon (CSRMP), Professor Cléopatre Montandon with also recently elected Vice-Chair, Patricia van Gene-Saillet drafted a letter for the British Museum's Chair, George Osborne.

This was circulated by Christiane Tytgat the Chair of International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures (IARPS). The majority of the 21 committees representing 19 countries, approved the letter and it was posted a week ago.

Ta Nea, Greece's daily newspaper's UK correspondent, Yannis Andritsopoulos published in today's edition, an article to highlight the letter sent by the IARPS to the British Museum.

Christiane Tytgat was pleased to alert the committees that the Office of Greece's Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis had picked up on the article and voiced delighted with this initiative.

To read the letter,  follow the link here.

Byzantine Melodies, Hymns, Tsitsanis, and Theodorakis: What’s On at the Acropolis Museum During the 3rd Sacred Music Festival.

The 3rd Festival of Sacred Music spans 40 concerts, transforming Athens into a spiritual stage. At the Acropolis Museum, two days of performances blend Byzantine hymns, Tsitsanis’ songs with Dimitra Galani, and Theodorakis’ orchestral works, including Epitaphios and the Mauthausen Trilogy.

Article in To Vima.

Sunday, April 13

“Vassilis Tsitsanis 100 Years – The Saint of Love”

Museum Courtyard, 17:00

This concert celebrates the centenary of Vassilis Tsitsanis, one of Greece’s most influential popular musicians. The performance will connect the world of Byzantine hymns with Tsitsanis’ iconic songs, interpreted by acclaimed singer Dimitra Galani, with Manolis Pappos on bouzouki and vocals. Also featured are the Estoudiantina Nea Ionia Orchestra of Volos and the Greek Byzantine Choir, under the direction of Giorgos Konstantinou.

Tsitsanis, known for capturing the passions of everyday people, often focused on women, particularly the image of the mother, whom he likened to the Virgin Mary. His music resonates with the sounds of Byzantine tradition, drawing powerful connections between sacred and folk music. The concert will trace the journey of love, pain, sacrifice, death, and redemption, linking the Divine Drama with Tsitsanis’ evocative folk ballads.

Holy Monday, April 14

“O Sweet Springtime”

Museum Courtyard, 17:30 & 19:30

Featuring works by Mikis Theodorakis and hymns of Holy Friday
Orchestration and music direction: Thanasis Papathanasiou
Bass-baritone: Tasos Apostolou
Performed by: Vamos Orchestra

The Vamos Orchestra, a distinguished Cretan ensemble, offers a fresh perspective on Holy Week, balancing sorrow with the anticipation of Resurrection. The first part of the concert will feature Mikis Theodorakis’ Epitaphios (1958), based on poetry by Yiannis Ritsos. Theodorakis’ symphonic arrangement of Ritsos’ verses reflects the image of a mother mourning her child during the 1936 labour strikes in Thessaloniki.

The second part presents Mauthausen (1965), a work by Theodorakis based on texts by Iakovos Kambanellis, which tells the tragic love story of two prisoners in the Mauthausen concentration camp, where Kambanellis himself was held during WWII.

The final piece, Ai Genai Pasae (“All Generations”), focuses on an excerpt from the Lamentations of Holy Friday, offering an innovative orchestral arrangement that blends instrumental music with Orthodox chant, providing a contemporary reflection on the spirit of Holy Week.

All concerts at the Acropolis Museum are free to attend, with no reservation required. Entry will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

'Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan Calls for Return of Parthenon Marbles to Greece' the headline in Ta Na, report by Yannis Andritsopoulos.

"The Parthenon Sculptures should be returned to Greece," said Morgan in an exclusive interview with the Greek daily newspaper Ta Nea.

When asked about consecutive opinion polls showing that the British public, including in Wales, support the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece, Morgan said: "I know this is a really sensitive issue. It's a matter for the UK government, but I think I've been on record in the past to say that actually they should be returned to Greece."

 To read this report in English follow the link here. 

Worth reading is the article that Yannis also published in To Vima.

How do you envision the relationship between Greece and Wales? Are there opportunities for collaboration?

There’s always been a strong connection between Wales and Greece. We have a significant Greek community here. I still remember the Greek grocer from the neighborhood I grew up in – the only foreigner in the area at the time. His impact on our community was huge, and incredibly positive.

We both come from warm, friendly nations with a deep tradition of hospitality. I believe we share many common values, so yes – there’s a real opportunity to build much closer relations.

We’ve heard you know Nana Mouskouri personally?

Yes! I spent quite a bit of time with her in the European Parliament (Editor’s note: Morgan served as an MEP from 1994 to 2009). She’s an extraordinary woman – always focused on collaboration and understanding the importance of compromise to achieve results.

A few years later, she came to Wales for a concert. I was in the audience and sent her a note that said, “I’m here – I’d love to say hello.” I had no idea if she’d remember me. But at the end of the show, she made this amazing speech: “We worked together in the European Parliament,” she said, “and I truly believe if Eluned and I were in charge of the world, we’d have peace.” It was a beautiful moment.

'Eluned Morgan is first senior Labour since general election to call for their repatriation to Athens', writes Ethan Croft for the Telegraph and this was printed in the Sunday paper 06 April 2025.

BCRPM would question Ethan Croft's reference to Giovanni Battista Lusieri and his men as 'bandits', they were being paid by Lord Elgin, surely a British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire would not hire bandits!

On the British Museum's claim that 'many of the relics were removed from the rubble around the Parthenon', that was questions by Professor Anthony Snodgrass and others, post the 2022 ICPRCP session in Paris when the then Deputy Director of the British Museum, Jonathan Williams, said the same! 

BCRPM would like to thank Ethan Croft for concluding his article with the sentence regarding the contested permission that Lord Elgin is said to have been granted to enable his men to remove half of the sculptures from the Parthenon at the start of the 19th century.

Many BCRPM knew and respected Labis Tsirigotakis. For four decades Labis' incisive journalism made its mark on the campaign to reunite the Parthenon Marbles.

"It was such a privilege to be standing behind him when in 2018 he interviewed the late Ian Jenkins, the then Senior Curator, Ancient Greece at the British Museum. The interview had been set up for the start of the Rodin exhibition (26 April to 29 July 2018). Labis and cameraman were met by a member of the British Museum's press team and immediately taken to the far end of the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery to see 'natural light' coming into this space. And yet for the Parthenon Marbles also exhibited alongside Rodin's own sculptures, lamentably the light was not comparable to the light of Attica," remembers Marlen Godwin. 

Over four decades, Labis had interviewed all five of BCRPM's Chairs alongside founder and Hon Secretary, the late Eleni Cubitt.

Dame Janet Suzman spoke with Labis in October 2016 reminding ERT viewers of when she first met with Melina Mercouri in London and how Eleni had invited Janet to support the campaign in the 80's.  

In June 2023, Labis brought a copy of his book, an autobiography aptly entitled: "Life Memories – From John Lennon to Nelson Mandela” and presented to BCRPM. The book is in BCRPM's library and will remain treasured.

Ekathimerini's article, 'Veteran Greek journalist Labis Tsirigotakis'', lists Labis' many achievements including the fact that he produced around 30 documentaries on Greek and international topics for ERT, several of which received awards in Greece and abroad. He was also honoured with the Botsis Foundation Award for objective journalism.

Our thoughts are with Sophia his wife, family and friends, at this very sad time.