Thessaloniki International Fair was, is and hopefully will be one of the trademark events of Thessaloniki, in the centre of the city.  It is an annual event that takes place the second week of September, bringing people from every part of the world in our city !  It is a general interest fair and since over the years many specialised fairs have emerged, it has lost its former glory.  This year is its 78th anniversary so as you can imagine there is great history behind it.

Some interesting facts that every local knows about the fair are :

• In 1926 the first greek radio station started broadcasting here.
• In 1957 the first frape was made here.
• In 1959 the Thessaloniki Song Festival started here. Unfortunately this popular event was organised for the last time on 2008.
• In 1961 the first greek TV station started broadcasting here.
• During the 80’s the fair also housed an amusement park.  For young school kids like me, a visit there before schools started was the ideal goodbye to summer.
• During the 60’s a new event started – the public appearance of the Prime minister making big announcements about the future.

And this is what brings us to today.  The last few years the opening weekend of TIF is a nightmare. The city centre is blocked by police forces and people have difficulty approaching even by foot !! The area is cleared to avoid demonstrations and attacks towards the politicians.

There are 3 things a local can do today :  Go out and protest despite all, stay home, or stay out of the city centre and go to the nearest beach.

Over the last few years I have done all of the above, depending on the situation and how I felt at that time.  This year I am staying inside and working on lovethessaloniki.com hoping I can offer something to this city !

The last few years TIF offers everyday live concerts with popular artists with your TIF entrance ticket. Concerts start at 21.30.