Summer Olympics

In comments to Skai television channel, the head of the committee tasked with overseeing preparations to mark the bicentenary of Greece's 19-century revolt against Ottoman Turkey, Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, said the celebrations would be more significant than those for the 2004 Olympics, for which she headed the organizing committee.

An ancient Greek cup awarded as a prize to the marathon winner in the first modern Olympics of 1896 has been returned to Athens from a German university.

Greece's Culture Ministry says the 6th century B.C. pottery vessel was considered lost for decades until research in 2014 by archaeologist Giorgos Kavvadias identified it in the University of Muenster's collections.

The Olympic Flame for the Tokyo 2020 Games will be lit on March 12 at Ancient Olympia, the organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympics announced on Monday.

Pierre de Coubertin's enlightened vision for the modern Olympic Games will be going under the hammer at Sotheby's in New York in December, Agence-France Presse has reported.

London-based designer Sophia Kokosalaki has died at the age of 47, local media report.
Born in Athens in 1972, Sophia Kokosalaki studied Greek and English literature at the University of Athens before moving to London, where she graduated with an MA in womenswear from the venerable Central Saint Martins fashion college.

This month, we're taking a moment to remember the success of the Athens 2004 Olympics. We hope our friends in Athens and all Greeks do so as well. We had the privilege of witnessing this success close up, as advisers to the Athens 2004 Bid and Organizing Committees. We've not been back to Greece in these 15 years, and appreciate we have missed a very, very difficult period.

A total of 17 Turkish athletes has earned olympic quota places so far for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. 

The first 200 years are the difficult ones, my friend Vasilis Papavasiliou says sarcastically whenever he gets the chance, referring to the approaching bicentennial of the start of the Greek War of Independence, leaving those listening to wonder about the precise meaning of his statement.

Brazil and Bulgaria won in the first day of the men's volleyball Olympic qualification in Varna on Friday to battle for one ticket to Tokyo 2020.

South America's reigning Olympic champions beat Puerto Rico 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-19), while the hosts defeated Egypt 3-1 (25-11, 33-31, 19-25, 25-19) in the Palace of Culture and Sports on the Black Sea coast.

The former head of the Athens Olympics Organizing Committee Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki will head the committee tasked with organizing events for the 200th anniversary of the Greek War of Independence in 2021, it was announced Wednesday.