“We are exploring whether we can arrange for some of the sculptures to be in Athens at some point, where they were originally located. In return, Greece would lend us some of its archaeological treasures,” Osborne notes in the interview.
Greece appears to be inching closer to the resolution of a decades-long dispute with the British Museum for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to their home of origin.
The results of the YouGov poll show 53% in favor of the prospect, out of a total sample of 4,280 respondents
Greece and the British Museum have held several private meetings in the hopes of striking a deal over the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece according to reports at Sky News.
The discussion about the Parthenon Marbles remains a longstanding request for Greece addressed not only to the British government, but also to the British Museum.
Greece has argued for almost two hundred years that the collection of marbles should be returned to Athens, and the British Museum has maintained they belong in their collections.
PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis and PM Keir Starmer will meet next week in London and, according to the Financial Times, Starmer will support whatever deal is made between Greece and the British Museum over the Parthenon Marbles.
The Economist informs its readers of a notable shift in British public opinion on the matter, with 49% in favor of returning the Marbles, against only 15% opposing it, according to a 2023 YouGov poll.
A new piece in the Times adds its weight to a cascade of reports in the British press claiming an agreement on the Parthenon Marbles is increasingly likely
The first episode of the Australian TV series, which focuses on the artifacts the British Empire has illegally removed throughout its reign from countries from around the world, covered the Parthenon Marbles
The protesters unfurled a huge banner reading “Reunite the Marbles!” in front of the statues of the eastern pediment
TO VIMA talks to the Turkish official, Zeynep Boz, who surprised the world at the recent UNESCO meeting by supporting Greece and its plight to get back the Parthenon marbles from the British museum
"We are closer to the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles," former British Secretary of State for Culture, Ben Bradshaw, tells TA NEA
This was also evident from the reaction of the British Museum, whose spokesperson expressed a desire for a "realistic solution."
Turkey's representative at UNESCO said her country was not aware of any Ottoman-era document legitimizing the removal and sale of the Parthenon Sculptures to Lord Elgin.
The director of the Acropolis Museum Nikos Stampolidis said the perfect space to host the Marbles is the Acropolis Museum
The report from artnet.com notes that the Parthenon Marbles, along with Assyrian and Roman artifacts, are housed in an antiquated room on the verge of crumbling, with leaky roofs, peeling paint from the walls, problematic climate control, and cracked floor tiles
Greek Minister: “Our position is clear: Should the sculptures be reunited in Athens, Greece is prepared to organise rotating exhibitions of important antiquities"
The former British diplomat, who served as a Minister of the UK Cabinet between March and December 2021 emphasized, "Britain should participate in a pan-European effort to repatriate the Parthenon Marbles to Greece"
Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni said that the current unique climate was conducive to seeking the repatriation of forcefully removed and stolen cultural artifacts from countries of origin