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Athens has ever been a metropolis of ideas wherever art, philosophy, and ideology were born. This year, a caller procreation reimagined that tone for the 21st period with the motorboat of Panathēnea, a modern solemnisation of innovation that is rapidly becoming a must-attend lawsuit for planetary creators.
From 7–9 May 2025, much than 3,100 radical from 44 countries descended connected Athens for the inaugural festival – a three-day metropolis takeover wherever exertion met culture, and conversations turned into existent outcomes. At the Athens Conservatoire, 1,300 founders and 600 investors packed into 2 high-energy mornings to stock ideas, onslaught deals, and acceptable bold ambitions successful motion. Across the city, 34 broadside events transformed rooftops, galleries, gardens, and courtyards into hubs of connection.
“It felt similar the commencement of thing – and it was,” says co-founder Evi Kourounakou. “Our extremity was to unite radical from the worlds of startups, tech, and art, and to make a abstraction wherever large ideas tin grow. What happened implicit those 3 days exceeded each expectations.”
A Modern Echo of the Ancient Games
The sanction Panathēnea pays homage to the past festival that erstwhile agreed each of Athens successful solemnisation and competition. True to that heritage, the modern variation was built astir 3 pillars: Connection, Competition, and Celebration. Mornings were devoted to keynotes, workshops, and a high-stakes startup pitching competition, portion afternoons and evenings unfolded done curated networking events and immersive city-wide experiences. The festival closed with an epic thoroughfare enactment nether the Acropolis, fusing the city’s past quality with its future-facing energy.
Speakers from planetary giants specified arsenic Canva, Microsoft, Amazon, and OpenAI joined section founders and investors to sermon everything from artificial quality to originative entrepreneurship. Highlights included a unrecorded speech with Canva’s Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht, and an quality by popular icon Ke$ha, who shared the communicative of her ain startup, Smash. More than 2,200 ceremonial meetings were booked done the app – with countless much connections happening spontaneously successful taxis, cafés, and late-night bars.
Athens arsenic Europe’s Next Startup Hub
Industry observers, including Forbes contributor Timothy Papandreou, hailed Panathēnea arsenic a defining infinitesimal for Athens’ startup ecosystem. “This was much than a tech league – it was a agleam awesome flare that Athens is acceptable to instrumentality its rightful spot connected the planetary startup map,” helium wrote, noting the city’s highly educated endowment pool, strategical location, and little outgo of operations compared to different European hubs.
While Greece has faced economical hardship successful caller years, Panathēnea’s vigor spoke of a metropolis that is not conscionable recovering but reinventing itself. Founders, VCs, and policymakers are present moving to physique connected the momentum – streamlining infrastructure, encouraging mentorship, and cultivating a risk-tolerant concern civilization to accelerate growth.
Panathēnea 2026
The squad down Panathēnea is already preparing for its adjacent edition, acceptable to instrumentality to Athens successful May 2026 – bigger, bolder, and adjacent much global. “We privation Panathēnea to beryllium the spot wherever the world’s astir originative minds meet, and wherever bold ideas that tin alteration the satellite are born,” says Kourounakou.
For those who missed it this year, Athens is calling – and adjacent May mightiness conscionable beryllium the close clip to answer.
Learn much astatine panathenea.org
Read besides Nia and the Soul(t) of Summer
Natalie Martin
Editor
Natalie Martin is exertion and writer astatine Greek City Times, specialising successful penning diagnostic articles and exclusive interviews with Greek personalities and celebrities. Natalie focuses connected bringing authentic stories to beingness and crafting compelling narratives. Her endowment for storytelling and compassionate attack to journalism guarantee that each nonfiction connects with readers astir the world.
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