Chania’s 12th Mikis Theodorakis Festival unveils program for August 31–September 3
The Region of Crete, the Municipality of Chania and the Pancretan Association of Friends of Mikis Theodorakis have announced the program for the 12th “Mikis Theodorakis – Chania 2026” festival, running from Monday, August 31 to Thursday, September 3, 2026. Admission to all events is free.
This year’s festival marks its 12th edition and the fifth since the composer’s death, coinciding with what organizers describe as “100+1” years since his birth in 1925. September 2 is designated the festival’s Memorial Day, marking the anniversary of Theodorakis’s death in 2021, with events held at his final resting place in Galatas, Chania, and a political memorial in the evening.
Concerts and performances
On Tuesday, September 1, a program titled “Connections to the Musician of the Galaxy” will be presented at 11:30 a.m. at the Great Arsenali and again at 7:00 p.m. at the Theodorakis family home in Galatas. The performance features pianist Tatiana Papageorgiou, singer Costas Triantafyllidis and violinist Giorgos Panagiotopoulos, exploring links between Theodorakis’s classical, popular and international works.
A theatrical performance for children and adults, “Mikis Theodorakis – Our Own Musician,” written and directed by Vicky Panou and based on documents from the composer’s official archive, will also be staged during the festival. The cast includes Aris Delagrammatikas, Stavroula Kamni and Christos Loizos.
The festival closes on Thursday, September 3, at 8:30 p.m. with a concert at the Anatoliki Tafros Theatre featuring singer Kostas Makedonas performing songs by Theodorakis. Those planning to attend the outdoor evening events may want to check events in Crete for scheduling details closer to the dates.
Memorial Day events on September 2
On Wednesday, September 2, the annual memorial service begins at 11:30 a.m. at the Galatas cemetery in Chania, including a memorial prayer, the laying of flowers, songs performed by the Chania Municipal Philharmonic, and a visit to the Theodorakis family home.
In the evening, a guided tour of the photography exhibition “Mikis Theodorakis 1925–2026: With the Distance of Time” will take place at 7:00 p.m. at the Great Arsenali in Chania’s Venetian Harbour. At 7:30 p.m., the central event of the festival — a political memorial — will be held at the Mikis Theodorakis Theatre, also in the Venetian Harbour, with welcome remarks from organizers, a keynote address by Christian Hoesch, head of the concert, opera and musicology departments at music publisher Schott, titled “From Crete to the Rhine – Mikis Theodorakis and His Music Publisher,” and a musical tribute, “Mikis with Piano and Voice,” performed by Tasis Christogiannopoulos and pianist Miltos Logiadis.
Annual photo exhibition
From September 1 to 15, the Great Arsenali will host a bilingual exhibition, “Mikis Theodorakis – With the Distance of Time – 1925–2026,” open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. The exhibition draws on the “A.M.A.” photographic archive and includes rare and previously unpublished images spanning the Marathon Peace March with supporters of Grigoris Lambrakis, Theodorakis’s concerts for Cyprus, his political activity, musical career, interviews, his friendship with composer Manos Hadjidakis, his collaborators and family. Photographers credited include Vasilis Karageorgos, Valasis Festas, Zozo Toledo and Dimitris Alatas, with curation and text by Athanasios D. Alatas and corrections and translation by Niki Kakalia.
The festival forms part of a broader effort by the Region of Crete and local authorities to establish the Theodorakis family home in Galatas as a museum and research center dedicated to the composer’s work. Other cultural programming in Chania this month has included the Chania Film Festival’s summer exhibitions, while music lovers elsewhere on the island can also follow the Walls Festival in Heraklion, which closes its own program with composer Nicola Piovani.
