Former Greek president of the republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou will be the next president of the Athens-Epidaurus Festival, the iconic and pre-eminent performing arts festival in the country, an unexpected development that was announced on Thursday.

Sakellaroupolou, a high court jurist who served as the head of state between 2020 and 2025 after being elected by a majority of Parliament MPs, will assume a very public and prominent position after her tenure – a more-or-less unprecedented move, given that her predecessors after the restoration of democracy in 1974 held only honorary positions.

A press release issued by the culture ministry said Sakellaropoulou was visited by Culture Minister Lina Mendoni at her office on Thursday and asked to lead the summer festival organization.

The Athens-Epidaurus Festival was founded in 1955 by the Constantine Karamanlis government as an annual theater, music and cultural festival mostly hosted at two renowned venues: the Herodes Atticus Odeon at the foot of the Acropolis in central Athens and the ancient theatre of Epidaurus (Epidavros), on the archaeological site of the Asclepion, in the northeast Peloponnese.

The festival’s performances are held every year during the summer months.

“I gladly accepted the proposal by Culture Minister Lina Mendoni to take over the helm of the board of the Greek Festival S.A. (the organization that manages the Athens-Epidaurus Festival), the most important cultural organization in our country, which for decades has connected ancient Greek cultural heritage with contemporary artistic creation,” Sakellaropoulou said.