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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
Sport
Sarah Clapson

'Always present' - Praise for Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis as club prepare to celebrate

Nottingham Forest will hope to have something to celebrate come the end of the season, as they target promotion to the Premier League.

Should they manage it, it would be a fantastic achievement for head coach Sabri Lamouchi - and show the great progress since Evangelos Marinakis bought the club.

It would also be a double celebration for the Greek, who also owns Olympiacos - with the Super League team preparing to mark their 45th title.

Marinakis has been praised for his “initiatives” both in Greece and abroad as Olympiacos prepare to celebrate their milestone with a special event.

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At the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium on Sunday, the club say: “The lights of hope will shine from Piraeus all over the world, as art meets football in a pioneering and distinct celebration.”

Olympiacos sporting director Christian Karembeu has spoken about the plans and also singled out Marinakis for the role he has played, as the team triumphed amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“Our party this year is entitled ‘the lights of hope’. We have the pleasure to celebrate the 45th championship in the history of our club,” Karembeu told the club’s website.

“Like any team in the world, we would like to celebrate the conquest with our fans. Because of the pandemic, we had to find a solution.

“I would very much like to talk about the great season we had, about our great victories, about our winning streaks and, of course, about the fact that we have the opportunity to add another title to the history of Olympiacos.

“I want to add at this moment the initiatives of Mr Evangelos Marinakis, both in Greece and abroad, because he was always present where there was a need.

“The show you will watch will be unique, it will be great, it will be full of art and emotions, because football is all about emotions. Therefore, stay safe.”

Artist Asteris Koutoulas will contribute to the show and said: “We want to send a message of optimism and hope, from Olympiacos to the world, from Piraeus to the world, from Olympiacos and Piraeus to Greece.

“It will be very special for me. For all of us artists across Europe, it’s a time of crisis, a time of forced contemplation because everything has been cancelled.

“Under these circumstances, to give such a sign of hope and optimism is something very special.

“What we are doing here is the first such event to take place across Europe.

“When I had the first brainstorm sessions on this project, I met Mr Marinakis and saw on his arm a tattoo that read “dream”, “love”, “create”, “fight”, “win”, words that are a slogan in football, sports, art and life. They apply everywhere and are humanitarian values.

“I identified with it and I got inspiration to get to this point, because both football and art unite. Let’s do something for the people of Piraeus, for the Greeks and for the whole world.”

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