Much of Athens city center will be closed to traffic for up to 10 hours on Thursday for the start of the Acropolis Rally, which for the first time will include a special run through Syntagma Square.

To facilitate the event, all traffic around Syntagma and the Acropolis will be prohibited from 11 a.m. The prohibition on the parking and stopping of vehicles in the area will commence earlier at 6 a.m.

Also known as the Rally of Gods, the Acropolis Rally is the ninth stage of the 2021 World Rally Championship. The rally was first held in 1951 and has appeared in the WRC 38 times. This year marks the rally’s return to the WRC fold after leaving it in 2013.

The rally concludes on 12 September.

Meanwhile, police have announced that Mitropoleos Street and some surrounding roads will be closed to traffic from 10 a.m. on Wednesday for the funeral of Mikis Theodorakis at Athens Cathedral.

This article was previously published at ekathimerini.com.