Syntagma square in front of the Greek parliament, a place which has witnessed protests against government’s austerity measures, was transformed into a beach playground this week for the Athens Beach Volley Golden Cup.
Amidst the economic crisis that hit hard the country this year, Greek tourism industry already suffered significant losses due to images of chaos from strikes and clashes between protestors and riot police.
The promotion of the joy of the sport and a more positive image of Athens is the main goal of the organizers, Vassilis Kikilias, chairman of the Youth and Sport Organization of the City of Athens, told Xinhua on Friday.
Eight teams of professional players including worldwide famous stars of the game such as Brazilian Roberto Pitta, Estonian Rivo Vesik and the Finnish twins Erika and Emilia Nystrom, compete at the tournament which runs to Sunday.
Around 500 Greek schoolchildren also had the opportunity so far to play beach volleyball in the playground created on Syntagma square and learn the tricks of the game from Greek professional players.
A former professional basketball player himself, Kikilias stressed that the Athens Golden Cup could show how to have a better way of life style to younger generations.
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