President's residence in Tbilisi to open for public for festive season
A view of the Orbeliani palace residence decorated for the 2020 festive season. Photo via Salome Zurabishvili social media page on Facebook.
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The Residence of the President of Georgia in Tbilisi will open for the public for a week starting the New Year's Eve, with visitors invited to celebrate the season in its yard, adorned with festive lighting and a Christmas tree.
President Salome Zurabishvili revealed to her social media followers on Thursday her administration would host citizens and visitors of the city to enjoy the festivities at the residence also known as the Orbeliani Palace.
The residence has been adorned with festive lighting and a bespoke Christmas tree. Photo via Salome Zurabishvili social media page on Facebook.
The yard of the building used for the president has been decorated with Christmas and New Year's Eve lighting, with the palace's Christmas tree seen at the base of stairs leading to its entrance.
Zurabishili said the location would open for visitors between 10am and 8pm daily through January 7, the date of the Orthodox Christmas.
The location will be open to the public daily through January 7. Photo via Salome Zurabishvili social media page on Facebook.
The president moved into the building, renovated in 2013 in anticipation of the then-president Giorgi Margvelashvili designating it as his residence, in late 2018.
Located on Atoneli Street in the capital, the residence is built on a spot where an 18th century palace - presented by King Teimuraz II of the Bagrationi dynasty to his son-in-law Dimitri Orbeliani - stood before it collapsed in the 19th century due to neglect.
Constructed in the early 20th century, the current building takes its name from the Orbeliani noble family.
Georgia’s newly elected president Salome Zurabishvili is going to relocate the presidential residence from the Presidential Palace in Tbilisi's Avlabari district to an alternative location on Atoneli Street.
The main building of the Avlabari presidential palace in central Tbilisi, built under the United National Movement leadership, will be used for high-level receptions and ceremonies, head of the Presidential Administration Lasha Zhvania told the media earlier today.
Avlabari Presidential Palace welcomes anyone who wants to visit.
People started gathering near the Tbilisi Presidential Palace in Avlabari, Saturday morning. Two groups of 30 people at a time can go through a simple security check and are allowed to enter the building, accompanied by a guide.
“I wish a Happy New Year to all our fellow citizens both in Georgia and abroad, to our Abkhaz and Ossetian brothers. It is only in unity with them that we will secure a better future for Georgia… I wish you a year of a better tomorrow, of the country’s success, revival and development”, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia said late last night while wishing Georgian citizens a happy new year.
Ambassadors of Israel to Georgia Ran Gidor and EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzel have creatively congratulated Georgia on the New Year.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the New Year gala concert in Tbilisi was held in a different format without spectators and was broadcasted live on TV. The gala concert was held at the Palace of State Ceremonies, where Georgian musicians performed on a specially arranged stage – a multi-storey house with balconies and terraces.