The World turns Greek on March 25 to celebrate Greece’s Bicentennial (video)

The whole world will turn Greek to mark Greece’s bicentennial, celebrated on March 25, 2021, commemorating 200 years since the declaration of its War of Independence, according to greekreporter.com.

In every corner of the globe where members of the Greek Diaspora are present, the anniversary will be celebrated. Iconic landmarks in all of those countries will be illuminated in blue and white in honor of the Greek people and their struggle for freedom 200 years ago.

Lighting up their most emblematic landmark buildings and bridges in the blue of the Greek flag for one night, American cities from East to West will honor the nation of Greece as well as the many millions of Greek-Americans who are part of the fabric of the country.

Here is a list of the American cities that will mark the Greek bicentennial with illuminations of their iconic landmarks this year.

California
San Fran City Hall

San Francisco City Hall will be illuminated with the colors of the Greek flag on March 25.

The initiative belongs to the United Hellenic American Societies (UHAS) representing Greek Americans in California and the efforts of Taso Zografos, President of the United Hellenic American Societies of Northern California (UHAS). 

LAX
The iconic pylons outside Los Angeles’ International Airport, LAX, will be illuminated with the colors of the Greek flag on March 25 in commemoration of the Greek Bicentennial of its War of Independence. Credit: Taso Zografos
The City of Los Angeles will mark the celebration of the Greek bicentennial of its War of Independence on March 25 by illuminating the iconic pylons outside its international airport, LAX. 
Other buildings and areas which will also be illuminated to show respect for the Greek Bicentennial are the Richards/I-5 underpass, the Capitol Mall, the K street Tunnel, City College Pedestrian Bridge, Memorial Auditorium and the McKinley Underpass.

The Santa Monica Pier’s “Pacific Wheel” will also have a special, evening-long Light Show for Greek Independence Day on the 25th.

Boston to be in blue and white for Greece Bicentennial
Stratos Efthymiou, the dynamic Consul General of Greece in Boston, spearheaded all the efforts for the commemoration in Massachusetts and elsewhere in New England.

See the complete guide here for many of the New England commemorations on March 25.

He told the Greek Reporter that the illuminations will occur in states all over the country, including Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island — all places where many Greeks flocked in past centuries and decades in their search for a better life.

The iconic Zakim Bridge in Boston will be lit up in blue on March 25. Credit: Facebook/Greek Consulate in Boston
The cities of Boston, Lowell, and Fall River in Massachusetts, as well as Providence, Rhode Island and Manchester, New Hampshire, will light up their iconic bridges and city halls in blue for the celebration of 200 years of Greek independence.

The iconic Piscataqua River Bridge, a span linking the states of New Hampshire and Maine, will also be lit up in the blue and white in commemoration of the Greek War of Independence.

Some of them will keep the lights lit for an entire week.

The venerable New England city of Lowell, Massachusetts, once home to so many Greek immigrants that it was dubbed “America’s Acropolis,” will be the first US city to honor Greece on its bicentennial of the War of Independence on March 25.

Celebrating the Feast of the Annunciation at 7:30 AM, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church will commemorate the seminal day in the life of Modern Greece on the day of the Bicentennial.

Raising the Greek flag in the early morning all around town, the Greek Bicentennial will continue to be commemorated all day long, with a procession after the early morning Liturgy and a ceremony held at 12 noon at Lowell City Hall.

An extensive lighting program has also been designed for City Hall and the city’s iconic bridges, with all the landmarks glowing in white and blue on Thursday night.

Chicago
Greektown Chicago is hosting a free virtual celebration of the 200th anniversary of Greek Independence Day on Thursday, March 25 at 7 pm CST (8 pm Eastern Time).

The festivities will include a special performance from popular Greek singer Glykeria of the song “Να ‘τανε το ’21” (“Let it be ‘21”), which commemorates the beginning of the Greeks’ fight for independence in March 1821.

The event will be streamed on the Greektown Chicago Facebook page.

Greektown’s virtual celebration includes a dynamic history of Chicago’s vibrant Greek-American community with stories from prominent Chicagoans and archival photos highlighting the city’s Greek Independence Day celebrations and parades over the past 126 years.

Furthermore, families from across Chicagoland are encouraged to join the virtual celebration by submitting photos and videos of their Greek Independence Day memories, which may be used in a montage during the virtual event.

CN Tower in Toronto
A series of important landmarks in Ontario, Canada, will glow in the blue and white on March 24 and 25 as well.

The mayor of Toronto, John Troy, Councillor Nick Mantas and Consul General of Greece in Toronto Victor Maligoudis will oversee the illumination of the iconic CN Tower in Toronto on Wednesday, March 24, at 8 pm EST.

The illumination of this monument will take place on Thursday, March 25, following the sunset, at approximately 7:36 pm. The ceremony will be broadcast live on the official CN Tower website (no password required).

Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls, the biggest waterfall in North America, will be illuminated in blue for the Greek bicentennial on March 25. 

The illumination of this wonder of nature, shared between the US and Canada, will take place on Thursday, March 25, from 9:45-10:00 pm EST. The ceremony will be broadcast live on the official Niagara Falls website (no password required).

Vancouver
The City of Vancouver, British Columbia, will honor Greek Independence Day by raising Greek flags in varied municipalities; most notably the raising of a total of 56 Greek flags on city property.

The collective Greek Community of the Greater Vancouver area, comprised of AHEPA, The Hellenic Canadian Congress, The Greek Community of East Vancouver, The Hellenic Community of Vancouver, and the Greek Community of Surrey have arranged a “Drive-by” salute/parelassi to all five Greek flag stations.

Maine 
Bangor, Maine, a New England city that attracted many Greek immigrants in the early 1900s, will honor them and the Greek bicentennial this week, as its pedestrian walkway linking three streets will be lit in the colors of the Greek flag.

The Greeks who came to Bangor, once the largest lumber capital of the world, where timber was shipped to ports all over the globe, were drawn there by the many jobs that the city had to offer.

And, amazingly, almost all of them came from just one area, Vamvakou, on the Peloponnesian peninsula. During the week leading up to the Greek bicentennial, these brave people who had left everything they had known and worked so very hard to forge a new life in the United States, will be commemorated in the city that they made their new home.

Greece Bicentennial in Australia

An artist’s rendering of what the Sydney Opera House will look like during the projection of the Greek flag.
The New South Wales government agreed that the iconic Sydney Opera House will be bedecked in the Greek flag for March 25, the Bicentennial of the War of Independence.

NSW Premier Gladys Berjiklian announced that the Sydney Opera House will be lit up in blue and white on 25 March to commemorate 200 years of Greek independence.

As with other years, the Hellenic RSL will hold a special Commemoration on Thursday the 25th, beginning at Agios Eustathios at 9:30 am, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the Australian Hellenic Memorial at 12:00 pm and wreath-laying at the Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance at 1:00pm.

Canberra to fly the Greek flag
The blue and white will also fly proudly in various locations across Canberra, including:

Vernon Circle
Allara Street (across the footbridge)
Nangari Street
Petrie Plaza
Gold Creek Village
Canberra Shopping Centre

A number of buildings will also be illuminated in blue and white on the night of March 25, as well, including:

The National Carillon Bell Tower
Black Mountain (Telstra Tower)
Questacon
Ian Potter House
The National Museum of Australia
The Hellenic Club of Canberra
The Greek Embassy in Australia

Greece Bicentennial in South Africa
The Hellenic Federation of South Africa (HFSA) will also celebrate several commemorative events in Johannesburg, South Africa on March 25.

The biggest (1,500 square meters/16,146 square feet) thread-sewn Greek flag ever produced will be flown as part of the celebrations. A large-scale “Greek Freedom Dance” was choreographed to an original composition produced by one of the Greek South African community’s Greek scholars as well.

Read the full report here.

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