The Municipality of Spata–Artemida has published the programme of events for 28 October for the Municipal Unit of Artemida. The events will take place on Wednesday 28 October at the Church of Agia Marina and the War Memorial, and the parade of schools and associations will start at 10.50 am on the main avenue. In Artemida, the thanksgiving service takes place 40 minutes and the parade 20 minutes earlier than in Spata, where the thanksgiving service is at 10.30 and the parade at 11.10.
Wednesday’s programme
- 07:30 Joyful ringing of church bells.
- 09:30 Pupils from all schools gather at the Church of Saint Marina, accompanied by their headteachers.
- 09:40 Arrival of clubs, societies and organisations with their executive committees.
- 09:45 Arrival of deputy mayors, municipal and local councillors, representatives from the Spata–Artemida Police Station and the Rafina Coastguard, and school headteachers.
- 09:50 Official thanksgiving service.
- 10:10 Memorial service at the Heroes’ Monument, a celebratory address for the day, wreath-laying, a minute’s silence and the National Anthem.
- 10:50 Parade of pupils and clubs along the main avenue, in front of the dignitaries.
- 18:30 Official lowering of the flag.
The speech marking the occasion will be delivered by the headteacher of the 2nd Artemida Lower Secondary School, Marinetta Gounari-Karella. The parade will be coordinated by Vasiliki Vlami, a Physical Education teacher at the same school, and the master of ceremonies will be Eleni Gennaou, a municipal employee.
Flags from Monday
The general flag-raising ceremony begins on Monday 26 October at 08:00 and continues until sunset on Wednesday 28 October. On the evenings of Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 October, public and municipal buildings, public-law bodies and banks will be illuminated.
What parents need to know
This year, 28 October falls on a Wednesday, so the public holiday is in the middle of the week and schools are closed. Pupils taking part in the parade must be at Agia Marina at 09:30, ‘in full uniform’, as stated in the programme. The meeting point and time for each class are set by the school, so it is worth checking these details with your child’s teacher on Tuesday 27 October.
As of Tuesday 20 October, the local council had not announced any traffic arrangements or road closures for the duration of the parade. Anyone travelling by car in the centre of Artemida between 09:30 and 12:00 should allow for delays and park away from the church and the avenue. We will provide an update if any arrangements are announced by the Traffic Police.
Each Municipal District has its own programme, with its own thanksgiving service, its own memorial and its own parade, involving the local schools. We published Spata’s programme on 19 October.
Source: Municipality of Spata–Artemida, Mayor’s Office, programme of events to mark the National Anniversary of 28 October 1940 for the Municipal Unit of Artemida (spata-artemis.gr, 19 October 2026).
