A WIND OF CHANGE SWEEPS THROUGH OLYMPION
New era, new seats
We are delighted to welcome a groundbreaking moment both for the benchmark building of Olympion and the Thessaloniki International Film Festival: the completion of the large-scale work of the placement of new seats in the historic movie theaters Olympion and Pavlos Zannas.
The placement of the new seats, which will enhance the movie-going experience in the two beloved theaters, fulfills not only a longstanding desire of Thessaloniki’s cinema-loving audience, but also a dream of ours, which took years of persistence and efforts to become a reality.
The financing of the overall project for the replacement of the seats in the movie theaters Olympion and Pavlos Zannas was carried out by the Ministry of Culture through the Public Investment Programme.
The new seats and the works that reshaped the theaters
The new seats are more comfortable and audience-friendly. The back seats are bigger in height and width, whereas the arrangement of seats has been designed in a way that offers an enhanced viewing experience. The new seats of Olympion and Pavlos Zannas greet and welcome the audience in a new era that shows respect to the building's invaluable historical legacy, while ensuring its prosperous future.
Within the framework of the overall project of the seats’ replacement the Festival teamed up with the Nikiforidis-Cuomo Architects office, whereas the supply and placement of the seats was carried out by the Thessaloniki-based BIRO company (https://biro.gr/), commissioned to undertake the project following an open online tender. For the various stages of the overall work (carpet, paintwork, diverse works etc), we reached out to a number of Thessaloniki-based specialized companies.
Olympion parquet’s capacity now amounts to a total of 406 seats (including the ones reserved for people with disabilities), whereas the balcony can now host 80 spectators. The respective numbers for Pavlos Zannas theater is now 180 seats (also including the ones reserved for people with disabilities).
The budget for the supply of the new seats amounts to 212,685€.
The replacement of the seats paved the way for the Festival to proceed to certain important changes in both movie theaters. In particular:
The cost for the above-mentioned works (electrological works, carpentry works, dismantling, paintwork, carpets, placement, disposal and transfer of materials etc.) has so far reached the amount of 100,000€. The works will be concluded within the following months.
Olympion, a building accessible for all
In addition to the replacement of the seats, the accessibility infrastructure works were also completed. We are in the delightful place to announce that the building is now universally accessible to people with reduced mobility. Thanks to the recent works, Olympion’s stage, Pavlos Zannas theater, the Green Room and the Room with a View cafés, as well as the Festival offices at Olympion’s 5th and 6th floor, are now universally accessible.
The respective study was financed by Alpha Bank, the Festival’s Accessibility Sponsor and carried out by Panagiotis Tsalis - Dr. Civil Engineer, specialized in accessibility issues. The work was commissioned, following an open tender, to the company Mouratidis Lift, and was financed by the Ministry of Culture through the Resilience and Recovery Fund.
The cost for the accessibility works amounts to 66,000€.
The old seats are given a new life
The long-beloved velvet seats at Olympion and Pavlos Zannas theaters concluded a wonderful 30-year journey. Staying true to the goals set by our environmental policy, we sought ways to reuse the old seats.
Within the framework of our strategy, the Pavlos Zannas seats were granted for free to AUTh’s School of Film so as to equip the halls and the premises of the School.
Moreover, a number of the Olympion seats were handed out to the participants of the crowdfunding programme that took place in 2019-2020. The seats in relatively good shape were put on sale with a symbolic price for the city’s film-loving audience, which displayed a touching response to the initiative, recording a sold-out within three hours from the announcement.
Watch the time lapse videos of the works for the replacement of the seats at Olympion and Pavlos Zannas.
