Melina Mercouri in the context of "Tony Award"

A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can be an opportunity for a city to generate considerable cultural, social, and economic benefits, and it can help foster urban regeneration, change the city's image, and raise its visibility and profile on an international scale. Multiple cities can be a European Capital of Culture simultaneously.

In 1985, Melina Mercouri, Greece's Minister of Culture, and her French counterpart Jack Lang came up with the idea of designating an annual City of Culture to bring Europeans closer together by highlighting the richness and diversity of European cultures and raising awareness of their common history and values.

Never on Sunday (Greek: Ποτέ την Κυριακή, Poté tin Kyriakí) is a 1960 Greek romantic comedy film starring, written by and directed by Jules Dassin.

The film tells the story of Ilya, a contented Greek prostitute (Melina Mercouri), and Homer (Dassin), an earnest American classicist. Homer attempts to steer her toward morality while Ilya attempts to make Homer more relaxed. The original screenplay examines the impact of intellectual imperialism upon indigenous joie de vivre. It constitutes a variation of the Pygmalion plus "hooker with a heart of gold" story.

Topkapi is a 1964 American Technicolor heist comedy film produced and directed by Jules Dassin from a screenplay by Monja Danischewsky, based on the 1962 novel The Light of Day by Eric Ambler. Produced by Filmways and distributed by United Artists, the film stars Melina Mercouri, Peter Ustinov, Maximilian Schell, Robert Morley, and Akim Tamiroff. The plot follows a small-time con artist who gets roped into helping a gang of international art thieves steal an emerald-encrusted dagger from Istanbul's Topkapı Palace, while he is simultaneously forced to spy on them for the Turkish police.

The music score was by Manos Hadjidakis, the cinematography by Henri Alekan, and the costume design by Denny Vachlioti. For his performance, Ustinov won his second Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

The Europe Theatre Prize (Premio Europa per il Teatro) is an award of the European Commission for a personality who has "contributed to the realisation of cultural events that promote understanding and the exchange of knowledge between peoples". "The winner is chosen for the whole of his artistic path among notable personalities of international theatre considered in all its different forms, articulations and expressions". The prize was established in 1986 when Carlo Ripa di Meana was first commissioner of culture. In those years a contribution to its creation also came from Melina Mercouri, who was patroness of the Prize, and from Jack Lang, then French minister of culture and current president of the Prize. The European Parliament and the European Council have supported it as a "European cultural interest organisation" since 2002.

In 1987 the prize was first awarded to Ariane Mnouchkine for her work with the Théâtre du Soleil. She received a money prize and a sculpture of Pietro Consagra. The first international jury was chaired by Irene Papas. Recipients have included choreographer Pina Bausch and stage director Patrice Chéreau.

Kostas Georgakis (Greek: Κώστας Γεωργάκης; 23 August 1948 – 19 September 1970) was a Greek student studying geology in Italy. On 26 July 1970, while in Italy, he gave an interview denouncing the dictatorial regime of Georgios Papadopoulos. The junta retaliated by attacking him, pressuring his family, and rescinding his military exemption. In a final, fatal, protest in the early hours of 19 September 1970, Georgakis set himself ablaze in Matteotti square in Genoa. He died later that day, and his funeral on 22 September was attended by an estimated 1,500 people, including Greek actress Melina Mercouri. After being briefly interred in Genoa, his remains were transported by ship to Corfu, and on 18 January 1971 he was buried. After the junta collapsed, the Government of Greece erected a monument and plaque in his home town of Corfu, another plaque was placed in Matteotti Square, and multiple poems have been written in his honor.