An international dance festival in Heraklion has unexpectedly turned into a heated local controversy after several Turkish flags were carried through the city center during a parade on Saturday.
The procession formed part of the 3rd International Dance Festival Symposium, which brought hundreds of dancers from several countries to Crete for events in Heraklion and Chania.
The sight of Turkish flags along 25th August Street, however, quickly triggered strong reactions online and locally, with images from the event spreading across social media.
The location proved particularly sensitive because the historic street bears the date of the 1898 massacre in Heraklion, when Christian residents of the city were killed during the Ottoman period.
Tourism Official Apologizes
Michalis Vlatakis, president of the Association of Tourist and Travel Agencies of Crete, publicly apologized for the incident during an interview with journalist Manolis Argyrakis on Radio Crete.
Vlatakis said he felt deeply uncomfortable about what had happened and accepted responsibility for his involvement in bringing the festival to Crete.
He also stressed that the Municipality of Heraklion was not responsible for the parade’s controversial appearance. According to his explanation, the municipality had simply granted permission for the event and provided sound support.
Vlatakis said the festival organizer, award-winning international dance festival producer Dora Satolia, approached the association about six months earlier, seeking help bringing the event to Crete to support tourism.
The festival involved around 400 dancers from 10 countries and 25 dance schools, according to the organizers’ account.
Why Were the Turkish Groups Together?
The controversial image apparently did not result from a decision to stage a Turkish-themed section of the parade.
The original plan was for the participating dance schools to be mixed together, creating what organizers described as a visual “blending of cultures.”
Instead, the five dance schools that traveled from Turkey marched together at the end of the procession.
With the Turkish dancers carrying their national flags, their position at the rear of the parade created a much stronger visual presence than it would have if the groups had been interspersed among the other participating countries.
Vlatakis said the festival organizer had not been aware of the historical significance attached to the route through 25th August Street.
He also emphasized that the dancers from all participating countries, including those from Turkey, performed Greek dances during the festival. The program included performances in Chania, including a hasapiko at the Venetian Lighthouse.
A Sensitive Place and a Sensitive Memory
The controversy has been particularly intense because the parade passed through one of Heraklion’s most historically charged streets.
The date “25th August” commemorates the 1898 massacre of Christian residents of Heraklion. For many locals, therefore, seeing a large group of Turkish national flags carried along the street was bound to evoke a painful part of the city’s history.
Vlatakis said he understood the anger expressed by residents and noted that his own family history is connected to victims of the Ottoman-era violence in Crete.
He also said Satolia was deeply upset when she realized why the procession had caused such offense and had promised that, if she organizes a future festival in Smyrna, the city would be filled with Greek flags.
Municipal Officials Say They Were Not Responsible
Vlatakis also made clear that Heraklion Mayor Alexis Kalokairinos and the city’s deputy mayor for culture, Rena Papadaki-Skalidi, were not involved in the decision that produced the controversial arrangement and were unaware of the parade’s details.
The incident has nevertheless opened a wider conversation about how international cultural events are planned in places where historical memory remains particularly strong.
The dance festival itself was intended to promote cultural exchange and tourism, bringing international performers to Crete rather than creating a political statement.
That distinction, however, did little to prevent the images from provoking a strong reaction once they appeared on social media.
Watch the Video
Patris has published the full video of Michalis Vlatakis discussing the incident and explaining how the parade came about.
Readers can watch his full statements on Patris.gr.
