On a freezing February night, the Greek towns of Tempi and Evangelismos stood still. The air smelled of iron, fire, and things no one wants to describe. A passenger train, teeming with 352 souls, collided head-on with a freight train just outside the Thessaly region. It wasn’t just metal screeching against metal; it was life cracking in half. Fifty-seven gone in a flash, and countless others left scarred, inside and out. Some numbers still haunt: eighty-one badly wounded, ninety-nine more holding their injuries quietly, trembling. Europe hadn’t seen a railway disaster this grim since Santiago de Compostela in 2013, and even those wounds were not yet healed.
In the aftermath of the smoke, the questions started. And amidst questions, so much grief—disbelief layered over raw pain. The kind you don’t go through alone. In Ierapetra, a town far from the crash site yet deeply connected through human empathy, action sprang forth. They wouldn’t ignore what happened. They couldn’t.
The Event: Live Performances in Ierapetra’s Heart
On Monday, March 20, Ierapetra unites under the open sky for an evening of solidarity. The central square, a place usually bustling with the everyday rhythm of life, will hold something heavier and far more significant. Starting at 7:30 p.m., the Tempi victims solidarity concert takes the stage.
Musicians will lend their voices to the silence left behind in February. Among them, Eleanna Karandeinou, the soulful local group “Fer’ to Foko,” and the evocative Ioanna Liapaki. Each performance is more than music—it’s remembrance; it’s a call to never let tragedy fade into ordinary headlines.
What You Should Know About the Concert
- Date and Time: Monday, March 20, at 7:30 p.m.
- Location: Central square of Ierapetra, a meeting space for locals and visitors alike.
- Performers: Eleanna Karandeinou, “Fer’ to Foko,” and Ioanna Liapaki will deliver emotional, live performances.
- Purpose: To honor the victims of the February 28 train collision in Tempi, Greece.
This isn’t merely an event; it’s a moment to gather and say, “You are not forgotten.” To travelers passing through Ierapetra, it’s an invitation to be part of something boundless—grief turned into togetherness, despair translated into song.
