Hard Rock International has become the latest organisation to publicly declare its interest in Greece’s €8bn Hellinikon Project.

The move follows Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment, believed to be the front runner, commenting on its interest to operate a casino that forms part of the extensive complex.

Subsequently, HRI has announced the company’s participation in the Greek Government’s request for proposal process to issue a licence for the integrated resort and casino at the former Hellinikon Airport site in the city of Athens.

This follows over a year and a half of work on the project and, if awarded, construction is estimated to take 24-26 months.

Furthermore, the firm also revealed two donations from Greek music artists to Hard Rock’s extensive music memorabilia collection, firstly from singer and songwriter Giorgos Seferis, before Grigoris Bithikotsis contributed three pieces that pay homage to the country’s musical heritage

During a press conference at the company’s Hard Rock Cafe in Athens, Jim Allen, chairman and CEO of Hard Rock International, shared the company’s vision for Hellinikon: “We have always believed Athens to be one of the world’s great gateway cities, and Hard Rock International envisions creating a must see destination that will help draw from the over 120m annual guests across 74 countries, driving year-round tourism and being an economic driver for Greece.  

“This marks another step in the company’s efforts to expand our world-class brand of entertainment and hospitality to Europe.  

“This announcement continues to illustrate Hard Rock’s commitment to Greece and the great city of Athens, following our investment in the company owned Athens Cafe when no one else was investing during the financial crisis in 2014.”

The casino, being lauded as Europe’s first integrated casino resort and the first Hellinikon investment, will include gaming-integrated hotels, convention facilities, entertainment shows, theme parks, luxury retail and fine dining, and is set to occupy approximately 15,000 square metres of the 6,200,000 square metre Hellinikon Project.