The White Night finally took place on Friday 9 October, a week after its original date, and Artemida Avenue was packed from early on. The street was closed to traffic from the taxi rank to Ethnikis Antistaseos Square, from 17:00 until 00:30. Shops remained open with discounts and special offers, and at 8.30 pm Kostas Bigalis and Polina took to the stage.
In the photographs taken of the scene, the crowd stretches across the entire width of the avenue and reaches right to the far end of the street. On the pedestrianised area there were bouncy castles for the children, themed stalls and vendors selling balloons.
“The event was a great success yesterday,” wrote Panagiotis Lambrou, Deputy Mayor for Culture, on Saturday. He thanked “the thousands of our fellow citizens” who, as he noted, “once again showed that they want us to organise similar events”. No official estimate of the number of visitors has been given.
Who organised the evening?
The White Night was organised by the Municipality’s Department of Culture in collaboration with SEVEA, the association of Artemida’s professionals. According to the programme, participants included the Federation of Artemida–Spata Associations, the Artemida–Spata Association of Cretans, the Artemida Women’s Association, ‘Environmental Harmony’, ‘Chorodidagmata’, the Panagia Giatrissa Association, the Union of Dodecanese People of Eastern Attica and the Athenian Nautical Club.
In his post, Mr Lambrou thanks the municipal departments that worked that evening, from the procurement and technical services departments to the cleaning services, the municipal police and the traffic police. He also thanks the ‘coava’ and ‘Proedros’, which hosted the artists, and Galaxy Taxi, which provided free transport for anyone wishing to travel from the town centre to Agios Nikolaos.
He makes special mention of Dimitrios Apostolopoulos, who ‘as a road safety adviser, co-ordinated the efforts of the traffic police and the municipal police’. Mayor Dimitris Markou reappointed him as an unpaid special adviser on road safety on 30 September, for a further two years.
A week later
The event was originally scheduled for Friday 2 October. On the eve of the event, with an EMY weather warning in force, the council postponed it due to the weather. On the new date, the programme remained the same, with two changes to the times: the concert began at 8.30 pm instead of 9.00 pm, and the pedestrianisation lasted until 12.30 am instead of midnight. For those who came by car, the local council opened the car park at the Artemida Cultural Centre.
How much does it cost?
The contract for the evening is for €19,988.80 including VAT. It was awarded directly to the company Growupattica EE by Mayor’s Decision 664/2026, and the €13,863.20 covers the concert, including sound, lighting and the stage. The remainder covers entertainers, children’s activities, inflatables, stalls and production.
As we had reported, the same company has been awarded 23 direct contracts for events by the Municipality since 2024. The White Night cost 10,000 euros in 2024 and 22,000 euros in 2025. This year it took place for the first time in October; previous editions had been held in November and December.
The payment to the company has not yet been published on the ‘Diafania’ transparency portal. Regarding the Traditional Dance Evening on 12 September, organised by the same company, the payment of €14,997.80 was published on 1 October, almost three weeks later. Once the payment for the White Night has also been posted, it will become clear whether the one-week delay has affected the final amount.
Source: post by Panagiotis Lambrou, Deputy Mayor for Culture, 10 October 2026; programme of the Culture Department of the Municipality of Spata–Artemida; Mayor’s Decision 664/2026 (ADA ΨΤΕΤΩ1Χ-ΘΔΡ) and payment order RIBSO1X-B89, Diaugia 1 October 2026.
