Nikaia bid farewell to Giorgos Mazonakis in a way that perhaps best suited an artist who lived through music and was loved like few others: with songs, applause, flowers, tears, and thousands of people lining the streets of the neighborhood where he grew up.

From the evening of Sunday, September 13, until noon on Monday, September 14, the Holy Church of the Holy Trinity in Nikaia became the center of one of the most emotional farewells in recent years.

The body of Giorgos Mazonakis was laid in state, allowing people who loved him through his songs to pay their last respects in person.

The arrival of the body and the crowd’s rendition of “Athanasos”

The moment the singer’s body arrived at Agia Triada was one of the most moving. As the hearse slowly approached the church, “Ores Mikres” played over the loudspeakers, while the crowd erupted in applause and shouts of “Immortal.”

Flowers rained down on the black coffin, and people of all ages tried to get close enough to lay a flower or say their own personal “goodbye.” The gathering had begun several hours earlier and continued late into the night, with the narrow streets around Agia Triada packed to capacity. For hours, Nikaia seemed to have been transformed into a vast space of musical remembrance.

“My child”—His mother broke down in front of the coffin

One of the most heart-wrenching images of the evening was that of his mother, Kleio Mazonaki. As soon as she saw her son’s coffin, she could no longer contain her grief. She covered her face with her hands and cried out, “My child.”

At her side were Giorgos Mazonakis’s two sisters, Vasso and Maria, who followed the casket into the church, visibly devastated. His parents, Kleio and Manolis Mazonakis, arrived early the next day at Agia Triada for the funeral service, their grief clearly visible on their faces.

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An entire night filled with his songs

The farewell to Giorgos Mazonakis was anything but silent. Outside the church, people sang over and over again the songs that marked different periods of his career.

“I Want to Go Back to the Old Days” and “I’m Leaving for Myself” were among the songs heard most often, inevitably taking on a different symbolic meaning in this particular context.

At certain moments, some of those gathered even got up to dance the zeibekiko, turning their grief into a spontaneous tribute to the artist who, like few others, had become synonymous with contemporary folk music. His voice rang out from the speakers, and the crowd sang along to the lyrics.

His final return to his neighborhood

The choice of the Holy Trinity Church held special symbolism: Nikaia was the place where Giorgos Mazonakis was born and raised, and he had a deep personal connection to this particular church. He had been baptized there, and it was there that he returned for his final public farewell. From the neighborhood where his first dreams and musical aspirations took root, to the country’s biggest stages, and, finally, back to Nikaia.

Nikos Oikonomopoulos’s Difficult Confession

Among the artists in attendance was Nikos Oikonomopoulos, who made a particularly personal revelation. Speaking to television cameras, he mentioned that Giorgos Mazonakis had been trying to contact him repeatedly about a month before his death.

“Lately, for about a month, he kept calling me, and since I was on tour and couldn’t be in Athens, I’ve been feeling sad because I didn’t understand what he wanted to tell me. That’s why I feel a little guilty,” he admitted.

And he added: “Despite all that, I believe that Giorgos is doing well somewhere.”

“He gave love and receives love”

The eulogy delivered by Metropolitan Alexios of Nicaea was particularly moving. The Metropolitan spoke of the public’s deep love for the singer, as well as his generosity toward those in need.

“The true grave of the dead is in people’s hearts,” he said at one point in his speech, adding about Giorgos Mazonakis: “He gave love and receives love.”

His reference to “I Want to Go Back to the Old Days” was particularly poignant, linking the lyrics about the old neighborhood to the singer’s return to Nikaia.

“And he’s back among us, so young and so creative,” he remarked.

The tears of Natasa Theodoridou and Maria Bekatorou

The atmosphere inside and outside the church was somber, with many of the singer’s friends and colleagues unable to hide their emotion.

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Natasha Theodoridou was visibly distraught as she left the Holy Church of the Holy Trinity, where the funeral service for Giorgos Mazonakis was being held. Visibly moved, she left the church after saying her final goodbye to her beloved friend and colleague. Eugenia Giannakelou

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Natasha Theodoridou burst into tears and at one point had to step outside the church to catch her breath and cope with the emotional turmoil.

A little later, Maria Bekatorou also appeared, visibly moved. The TV host broke down in the courtyard, with Natasa Theodoridou initially standing by her side and then her husband, Antonis Alevizopoulos, hugging her and trying to calm her down.

The commotion involving Eleni Louka

The otherwise emotionally charged farewell was not without an unexpected incident. Eleni Louka appeared at the Holy Trinity Church and began shouting, causing a commotion among the crowd.

The moment Eleni Louka “stormed” the grounds of the Holy Trinity Church in Nikaia, reacting to the “public vigil” in memory of Giorgos Mazonakis

Video: Giannis Kemmos https://t.co/ibfq9wq4xX

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When police officers attempted to remove her from the courtyard, she sat down on the ground and continued to resist, resulting in the police ultimately having to intervene to remove her.

The Final Round of Applause

The farewell reached its climax when the funeral service concluded and Giorgos Mazonakis’s coffin was carried out of the Holy Trinity Church. For a few seconds, the scene changed; the crowd erupted into prolonged applause, while shouts of “Immortal” rang out again and again.

People moved as close as they could to the casket; others threw white roses, and many remained on the street for a long time, watching the hearse as it drove away. Some even began running after it as it drove away from the church.

The burial took place in the presence of close family members

Following the funeral procession, the body of Giorgos Mazonakis was transported to the Third Cemetery of Athens. The burial took place in the presence of his immediate family, away from the large crowd that had gathered in Nikaia.

After an entire night during which thousands of people sang, wept, and applauded in his memory, the final leg of his journey belonged to his family.

Cover photo: KYPE