Scramble to save Coldplay’s sold-out Athens shows as stadium’s fate hangs in balance
We are at that point of the year when next summer’s big concerts start being announced and people are already circling dates on their calendars. Earlier this week, for example, the Release Athens Festival announced that Britpop sensations Pulp will be playing the Greek capital’s Water Plaza on June 20, while High Priority Promotions has booked German metal stalwarts Rammstein to play in the Athens Olympic Complex’s outdoor area on May 30.
But there’s one question on the lips of thousands of music fans, and that’s what will happen with the two sold-out Coldplay shows booked by High Priority Promotions for the main stadium of the Athens Olympic Complex (OAKA) on June 8 and 9, after the venue was closed down when structural problems were found with its arched roof.
“What we’re all waiting for right now – the state, organizers, fan clubs and, of course, the band itself – is the final report from the Technical Chamber of Greece,” the lawyer representing High Priority (and also the Panhellenic Association of Cultural Events Organizers), Yiannis Maragoudakis, tells Kathimerini, referring to the much-anticipated assessment of a report issued in early October by the technical advisers of the TAIPED state privatization fund, which owns the property, who expressed serious safety concerns about the venue. The expectation is that the final assessment will be ready by late November one way or another, though no one can say for sure.
“The problem is that the longer the matter drags on, the harder it becomes to find an alternative venue and the more likely it becomes that the show will be transferred to another country,” says Maragoudakis. “If we reach the psychological milestone of Christmas without a clear answer, things will get very difficult indeed.”
The question of venue is crucial, because Coldplay are planning a massive show with very specific technical requirements, which is one of the reasons why the 122,000 tickets for their two performances sold out as fast as they did. It is worth noting also that a third of those tickets were sold to people abroad. Of the potential alternatives, Terra Vibe in Malakasa north of Athens has what is needed to meet the band’s technical requirements, but doesn’t have the space for such a large crowd. The Panathenaic Stadium, meanwhile, may have the room but not the technical capacity. Coldplay, at the same time, is waiting and wants to come to Greece, which was one of six countries that made a very forceful bid to host it.
“Certain moves are being made,” says Maragoudakis, explaining that every effort is being made to save Coldplay’s appearance, possibly including a change of dates on the British band’s jam-packed tour schedule, which started being drawn up two years ago.
Asked whether spaces that are not designed to host concerts are also under consideration, Maragoudakis notes that “what we all want is for OAKA to open again.”
He also takes the opportunity to call for a discussion on a subject that he says has not been addressed adequately. “We must seriously address this thing called concert tourism,” he says.
