UNESCO added Mount Olympus to its World Heritage list on Saturday, recognizing the mountain as a site of outstanding natural and cultural value. The unanimous decision came during the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee in Busan, South Korea.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called the inscription a major national success, while Culture Minister Lina Mendoni described it as a historic day for Greece. Greece's culture and environment ministries said the listing vindicated a 12-year campaign to secure the designation.
The mountain hosts nearly 2,000 plant species, including numerous endemics, along with rare raptors, brown bears, and Greece's largest population of wild goats. More than 10 million euros are earmarked for protecting the region. The Normandy landing beaches and Boma-Badingilo savannas were also inscribed the same day.