ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece has filed a lawsuit over the alleged violation of a law for the protection of antiquities by what appeared to be a drone show advertising sports retailer Adidas near the Acropolis, its culture minister said on Friday.
Images on social media showed illuminated drones forming the logo and a shoe by Adidas with the Acropolis hill, a UNESCO world heritage site, in the background.
The Acropolis, a rocky outcrop over Athens, houses the Parthenon Temple – a symbol of Athens’ Golden age that was built in 432 B.C. to honour the goddess Athena, and is one of the most visited sites worldwide.
Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said in an interview on Friday that the show used the Acropolis for commercial purposes against a national law and took place without prior approval from the Culture Ministry.
“It’s like the Adidas shoe kicking the Acropolis,” Mendoni told local Skai radio. “A lawsuit has been already filed against anyone responsible.”
Adidas said “all required permits were received and adhered to”.
“No image of the Acropolis monument was used by Adidas for advertising or other purposes,” the company said in an emailed statement.
The culture ministry said it was also investigating whether the licensing procedure for the drone overflight had been followed.
The move comes weeks after Greece dismissed a request by director Yorgos Lathimos to film scenes of his upcoming “Bugonia” movies on the Acropolis hill on the grounds they were incompatible with what the ancient Greek monument symbolised.
(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Additional reporting by Alexander Huebner; additional writing by Tom Sims; Editing by Jan Harvey)
