On BBC Radio 4's news at 7:30 a.m on Friday 21 July, the headline: 'the Government is facing more pressure to allow the Parthenon Sculptures to return to Greece with 2/3rd of people in the UK supportive of the move. The British Museum says that talks with Greece are onging and constructive."
The ground swell of musems and institutions returning items to their country of origin is adding to the pressure that the British Museum continues to face.
The request for the return of the sculptures removed from the Parthenon at the start of the 19th century was first made shortly after Greece gained indepence and repeated, with the most passionate call in the 80's by the then Greek Minister of Culture, Melina Mercouri.
Despite the repeated calls by Greece, there has not seen a shift in the British Museum's stance, which is also curtailed by the UK's Museum's Act. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport told the BBC the government has "no plans to change the law" to allow a permanent return.
Not surprising that the Parthenon Marbles are regarded as a high profile case, and one that UNESCO has also been committed for four decades, to urging the UK to find a resolution to this cultural heritage dispute.The chair of trustees, George Osborne, has been conducting behind-the-scenes discussions with Prime Minister Mitsotaki's government for 18 months.
This most recent poll conducted by YouGov on behalf of the Parthenon Project, a campaign launched in October 2022 by John Lefas, and Chaired by Lord Ed Vaizey, claims to be promoting a cultural cooperation agreement that would see the British Museum send the sculptures to the Acropolis Museum in Athens in return for what it calls "blockbuster artefacts that have never been seen outside Greece before".
This generous offer of Greek artefacts not seen outside of Greece was first made by Greece 23 years ago, and repeated often. The British Museum has always stood its ground, offering to consider a short term loan of the sculptures to Greece.
This new survey shows that 64% of Britons are in favour of returning the Parthenon Sculptures if other unique Greek artefacts are loaned to British museums in exchange. It also showed that the overwhelming majority of Britons support cultural collaborations with museums in other countries. More specifically, 77% of Britons agree with this type of cooperation, while 68% believe such actions have a positive impact on the United Kingdom's relations with other states.
Surprisingly 77% of the British public have never seen the Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum while seven out of ten say that their return to Athens would not have an impact on their interest in visiting the British Museum.
The YouGov survey's sample included 2,294 adults, with the results published on the BBC and the Greek newspaper Ta Nea.
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