Locals oppose Galatsi venue for reality TV

With six days to go before a private television channel begins airing a reality TV show set in an Athens bar, local residents yesterday demonstrated against the program which they said would «cause great social upheaval» in the area. Vassilis Zafirakis, the head of a local committee from Galatsi against Mega’s daily «Bar» program, told a gathering of some 200 people that the series would have a negative impact on the area. Bar is formulated along the lines of the «Big Brother» program but allows the bartender-contestants to have contact with the public. It is scheduled to start on Sunday at the Hydrogeios Club on Galatsi’s central Veikou Avenue. Critics say this will cause traffic jams, and complain that the program will have a deleterious effect on the moral fiber of some 2,500 children who attend schools in the area. The Galatsi municipal council – which can revoke the club’s license – will discuss the matter on Thursday.