On the day of his 100th birthday, the Ministry of Culture declared 2026 as a year dedicated to Manos Hadjidakis. This is a small tribute to the leading composer who dared, in the post-war period, to blend classical music with tradition in exquisite compositions, bringing folk music to the forefront.

The decision of the Ministry of Culture is a fitting tribute to the rich work of this insightful creator, who served Greece and its culture with dedication, social distinction, and sensitivity. Teaching with his free spirit, his sincere advice, and his selfless political interventions, he opposed vulgar populism with his profound education and his belief in freedom and human ideals. Three decades after his death, his work continues to enrich contemporary music production, enjoying unique resonance.

The Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, referring to the proclamation of 2026 as a year dedicated to Manos Hadjidakis, stated:

Manos Hadjidakis, as a creator and intellectual, managed to impose his own rules of production on his musical creations, but also on the dissemination of his liberal ideas, through written and public interventions, sometimes consciously deviating from the dominant trends of his time. By implementing his original ideas through diverse and multi-level actions, he overcame the ideological constraints of his time, often breaking the rules, which he ultimately influenced dramatically. He worthily represented Greek culture internationally, which he attempted—and succeeded—to broaden, enrich, and ultimately redefine, essentially freeing it from the old ethnography. He emerged as a universal intellectual who selectively intervened in the public sphere with groundbreaking opinions, maintaining a critical distance from state power.

For 2026, the Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with its supervisory bodies, intends to establish a robust program of actions to revive the work and reevaluate the cultural contribution of Manos Hadjidakis. Mano and his influential creative journey will be reintroduced to younger generations who did not have the good fortune to walk alongside him. They will experience the unfolding of his catalytic intervention in art and in the orientations of contemporary Hellenism.