“I do not want the crisis to go on … but we expected sales of 120,000 to 130,000 tickets and in fact sold 180,000,” festival president George Loukos told the Eleftherotypia newspaper.
Revenues at the annual festival which features theater, dance and music performances reached 3.7 million euros ($5.3 million), he added.
Three performances of “Richard III” by Sam Mendes with US actor Kevin Spacey brought in 800,000 euros for a cost of 300,000 euros. The third show was programmed at the last minute due to unexpected demand.
Two performances by French dancer Sylvie Guillem at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a theatre at the foot of the Acropolis, “with a cost of 80,000 euros and receipts of 240,000 euros also contributed … to the festival budget,” said Loukos.
Due to Greece’s severe financial crisis Loukos’ budget shrank to three million euros in 2011 from four to five million over the past years.
“I was really worried because we did not have the money to pay for some expensive productions and also knew that people no longer have so much money,” he said.
Loukos, a former ballet director at the Lyon opera, has headed the renowned Athens and Epidaurus festival which runs all summer for five years.
The festival has closely cooperated with festivals in Avignon, France; Barcelona and Istanbul for some years, making it a still more fascinating venue for culture buffs as some productions are passed on between festivals, said Loukos.
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