Lina Mendoni, Minister of Culture of Greece
At issue is a fundraising gala at the British Museum, where sculptures from the Parthenon were displayed. For several years, Greece has been demanding the return of works of art, which were sold to the British Government.
An event at the British Museum is causing a diplomatic crisis between Greece and the United Kingdom. At issue is a fundraising gala full of stars, with dining tables arranged just a few meters from the marbles of the Parthenon.
Greek authorities accused the museum of being a provocateur for staging what they called a show in bad taste in the midst of a long-running dispute over the return of ancient sculptures to Athens.
The event, dubbed “cor-de-rosa dance“, attracted a guest list that included Mick Jagger, Naomi Campbell, Miuccia Prada, Manolo Blahnik, Alexa Chung and Kristin Scott Thomas. Each guest paid £2000 to attend, helping to raise more than £2.5 million for the museum. The event began with a cocktail in the museum’s Great Courtyard, followed by dinner and a silent auction in the Duveen Gallery, where sculptures by Phidias from the 5th century BC, which were once part of the Parthenon’s frieze, are on display, says .
Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni attacked the event for failing to value the cultural and ethical significance of antiquities. “The safety, integrity and ethics of monuments must be the British Museum’s primary concern,” he said, adding that the sight of richly decorated tables next to the marble statues was “offensive“.
The backlash intensified in Athens when authorities accused the museum of treating Greece’s national heritage as a backdrop for celebrity entertainment. Nikitas Kaklamanis, president of the Greek parliament, condemned the “provocative use” of the sculptures, accusing the institution of cynically raising funds.for your own benefit” and to cover “Greek culture in a Barbie tone” while the sculptures “patiently await their return to their homeland”.
Nikolaos Stampolidis, director of the Acropolis Museum in Athens, described the event as “in bad taste“, arguing that it strengthened the case for the reunification of sculptures in Greece. The top floor of the Acropolis Museum was designed specifically to display the Parthenon marbles in view of the ancient monument itself, emphasizing its historical and artistic unity.
The controversy comes at a delicate moment in ongoing negotiations between London and Athens over a possible loan or partial return of the sculptures. The marbles were removed from the Parthenon over 200 years ago by Lord Elgin, then British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, and subsequently sold to the British government in 1816.
The British Museum refused to comment on the negative reaction, but the episode further undermined relations with Greece and reignited the debate over the true place of the Parthenon marbles.
