At the period 8-11 of September the international tournament Rally of Acropolis took part in Athens. Undoubtedly, this famous event deemed as one the most significant and competitive rally tournaments globally. For that reason, a variety of experienced and recognized drivers from all over the word, set as a goal their appearance that spectacular tournament. Nowadays, the Rally of Acropolis is a part of the World Rally Championship.
The Rally of Acropolis was founded in 1951. The first race had 1.923km distance and the destination was from Tripoli, Larisa, Thessaloniki, Serres, Kavala to Athens. The following year, the organizers decided to convert the tournament as an international event. In 1960 the Greek championship was a part of the European rally championship and in 1973 it was integrated in the WRC. In 2005, after a spectacular and impressive tournament Rally of Acropolis was voted as the best rally of the world.
Unfortunately, in 2013 on account of the global financial crisis, which affected Greece, the «Rally of Gods» had been paused until 2021. In 2022, 72 drivers took part in the Greek tournament and some of them are acknowledged and legends in the rally. A typical example is Sebastian Loeb who deemed as the best driver intertemporally and came back to WRC in order to prove that despite of his age (48 years old) is able to make the difference and to win the famous competition. Moreover, in the tournament participated the 22 years old driver Kale Rovanpera who was the winner of the last tournament. The main part of the concept was in Lamia, but the most fascinating moment was in the Olympic stadium of Athens because of the thousand viewers who were there.
There’s no denying that Rally of Acropolis is the best event for all the fans of racing and driving. For that reason many people are visiting the Greek capital every year to watch the spectacular tournament. Needless to say, this event is very helpful for the Greek state because of the financial advantages. The tourists who visit Greece on account of Rally Acropolis are of paramount significance for the Greek tourism. Besides, most of the times, the tourists want to see more than the Rally Acropoli0073: they also want to go to the Greek islands in order to discover integral and important parts of the Greek natural beauty.
Nonetheless, visitors could visit Greek museums and monuments. Definitely, it’s beyond the shadow of doubt that Rally Acropolis can pave the way for a variety of advantages for Greece. In other words, it is claimed that this is an alternative way of cultural diplomacy. Though those events, each state has the opportunity to advertise their greatest places in order to gain the respect, to improve their profile in the outskirts and to have financial and commercial profits.
Petros Kritsonis
Sources:
- https://www.lifo.gr/blogs/retronaut/i-istoria-toy-rali-akropolis
- https://www.tanea.gr/2022/09/08/autonea/agora/eko-acropolis-rally-ekkinisi-simera-to-apogeyma-me-tin-entyposiaki-ypereidiki-sto-oaka/
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