Economist article says Parthenon Sculptures may return to Greece in 2025

The dispute between Greece and the United Kingdom regarding the return of the Parthenon Sculptures – long stalled since Greece first formally demanded their return in the early 1980s – could finally “take a big step forward”, according to an article included the print edition of “The World Ahead 2025” produced by ‘The Economist’ under the headline “Losing your marbles”.

According to the headline of the online version, “The restitution of cultural heritage will race ahead in 2025” and, the article says, “in 2025, the marbles may finally be on the move-or, at least, negotiations about their status might take a big step forward.” 

The magazine notes “many arguments against returning them have been toppled”, especially after one of the staff at the British Museum was accused of pilfering almost 2,000 antiquities and selling them on eBay, while both the government and the museum are “almost ready” for a deal with Greece. There has also been a shift in public opinion, with a YouGov polls finding that 49% of Britons were in favour of returning the sculptures and only 15% believed they should remain.

While the 1963 law prohibiting the museum from giving away the sculptures is not likely to be revised, the article claims, the “museum’s chair, George Osborne, and its reform-minded new boss, Nicholas Cullinan, support a long-term loan of the marbles, perhaps borrowing other antiquities from Greece in return.” The UK prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, would not “stand in the way” of such an agreement, it adds.

Source: AMNA