On Sunday 26 May 2024, the ceremonies for the formal celebration of the 83rd anniversary of the Battle of Crete reached their peak; they included a formal doxology in the Metropolitan Church of the Presentation of Virgin Mary in the morning, as well as a closing ceremony at the Battle of Crete Memorial (Maleme Airport, Chania) in the evening.

The celebrations were attended by the Deputy Minister of Education, Religious Affairs, and Sports, Ms. Ioanna Lytrivi as representative of the Government, MPs of the Hellenic and European Parliament, the Chief of Hellenic Army General Staff, Lieutenant General Georgios Kostidis as representative of the Chief of Hellenic National Defence General Staff, General Dimitrios Houpis, the Head of the Region of Crete, Mr. Stavros Arnaoutakis, the Mayor of Chania, Mr. Panagiotis Simandirakis, His Eminence the Metropolitan of Kissamos and Selino, Mr. Amfilohios, the Governor of the Bank of Greece, Mr. Giannis Stournaras, the Chief of Hellenic Navy General Staff, Vice Admiral Dimitrios Eleftherios Kataras HN, the Chief of Hellenic Air Force General Staff, Lieutenant General (HAF) Dimosthenis Grigoriadis, and the Commanding General of the High Command of Interior and Islands “AEGEAS”, Lieutenant General Emmanouil Theodorou.

The celebrations were also attended by the British Ambassador in Greece, Mr. Matthew Lodge, the Australian Ambassador, Mr. Alison Duncan, the German Ambassador, Mr. Andreas Kindl, the Deputy Head of Mission of New Zealand in Rome, Mr. Daniel Wai-Poi, the First Secretary of the Embassy of India, Mr. Balji Nagrath, Defence and Military Attachés, representatives of local governments, active duty and retired Officers, as well as other guests.

#ΕλληνικόςΣτρατός #HellenicArmy