Friday, September 10, 2010
75th Thessaloniki Int'l Fair
The 75th Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) begins tomorrow and will lasts until September 19. As it is traditionally the case, Prime Minister George Papandreou will inaugurate the exhibition and will conclude his visit with the customary tour around the TIF’s exhibition premises and the deliverance of a press conference at noon on Sunday. 
The motto of this year’s main exhibition show - Innovation and Green Development - reflects the importance of innovative technologies in coordination with environmental practises in a country where the prospects of developing this type of technologies abound. In this context, various related happenings have been organised, such as the construction of a green gate using plants on special scaffolding and the provision of electric energy bikes that visitors can ride during the TIF.
Hungary is the honoured country of the 75th TIF and in this framework, a Business Forum will be held with the aim of boosting business cooperation and economic relations between the two countries since. according to the Ambassador of Hungary, "Greek investments in Hungary amount to 500 million Euros."
September brings Thessaloniki to the centre of economic life, but the city is a cultural hub all year round.
The city’s wide array of museums includes the Archaeological Museum with a unique collection of exhibits dating back to ancient Macedonia, as well as the Museum of Byzantine Culture (Council of Europe Museum Prize 2005). No sightseeing tour is complete without a visit to one of the many World Heritage Byzantine Monuments of the city.
Dimitria, the city’s most important cultural festival is already underway until the end of November, in its 45th edition. Not to be missed, among the numerous events, are the music and contemporary art festival Reworks 2010 on September 17 and 18, already in its fifth year, the Toulouse Lautrec Retrospective in the Telogleion Foundation of Art starting on October 15 and Sylvie Guillem and Russel Maliphant’s dance performance Push on October 17 and 18.
Home to the Greece’s biggest University (the Aristoteleion), Thessaloniki is further the unofficial "going out" capital of the country. The historic centre and the old waterfront offer a large selection of cafes and restaurants, suitable for posh, the traditional and the alternative alike.
