Greek Citizens Fight to Keep Beaches "Public"

Beach in Loutro, Crete © 2023 Deepika Shrestha Ross

The beaches in Greece are considered a “public good” per their Constitution. 
Increasingly, however, businesses that have been issued permits to operate in the coastal areas have taken over the coast with their concessions, and sunbeds and umbrellas are packed on almost every accessible area of the beach and charge high fees for their use….

Restaurants take over the coast in Santorini, Greece © 2023 Deepika Shrestha Ross

‘No Space for Us’: Greeks Fight Beach Takeover by Pricey Sun Chairs – the New York Times

It is peak tourist season in Greece, and on the pristine Monastiri beach on the northern tip of Paros island, a phalanx of lounge chairs with red umbrellas covers the sand. At 70 euros for a pair of front-row seats near the crystalline waters, less than half were taken on a recent day, as Greeks and tourists alike who did not want to pay instead sheltered from the sun under nearby trees….

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Densely packed sun beds on the Santorini coast, Greece © 2023 Deepika Shrestha Ross

Shore wars: Greeks battle to save beaches from invasion of commercial sunbeds – the Guardian

In the depth of August, when the cicadas sing and the sun burns bright, Archilochos cultural centre on Paros is not usually a hive of activity. If anything, that is reserved for the bars and beaches of a Cycladic isle increasingly drawing le beau monde.

But last week, as Greece’s great summer exodus peaked, the Archilochos was alive to the sound of debate. And, as in weeks gone past, it was a debate ignited by the state of play on the beaches that have become synonymous with pricey sunbeds and greedy entrepreneurs…

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Beach in Santorini © 2023 Deepika Shrestha Ross

Paros Island Council Backs Take Back Beaches Movement – Next Year – the National Herald

Limited in its authority, the municipal council on the island of Paros that’s overrun with unlawful businesses occupying public beaches and charging users for umbrellas and lounge beds said there should be inspections.

But officials on the island said the overall jurisdiction belongs to the Finance Ministry, with the government leasing space on prime spots to private operators although there are many that have unlawfully taken over beaches…

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Asteras Beach Glyfada Athens, Greece (by Falco Ermert CC BY 2.0 via Flickr).

Angry Greeks Take Back Public Beach Movement Grows, State Reacts – the National Herald

The spread of take back public beaches movement in rebellion against private interests blocking access and charging for renting sunbeds and umbrellas has spurred Greece’s government into promising violators would be punished.

The ruling New Democracy has, like previous governments, done little to prevent the takeover of public beaches that has proliferated, especially on islands, in a bid to lure more foreign tourists, enriching the companies using public lands…

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In Greece, There’s a Battle Over Beaches…

Activists in Greece launch ‘Towel protest’ to reclaim public beaches 

Image at top: Beach in Loutro, Crete © 2023 Deepika Shrestha Ross

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Warming Stripes: A representation of annual global temperatures from 1850 - 2022. Using color alone in a minimalist style climate scientist Ed Hawkins was able to intuitively convey global warming trends to the general public. The graphic has inspired many diverse applications around the world and is a powerful reminder of our climate crisis. (Ed Hawkins, National Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of Reading, using Data from Berkeley Earth, NOAA, UK Met Office, MeteoSwiss, DWD, SMHI, UoR & ZAMG, CC BY 4.0 via https://showyourstripes.info/).
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