George Dalaras (, born 29 September 1949) is a Greek singer and musician. He is one of the most prominent figures of Greek music. In October 2006, he was selected as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency.

He was born in Piraeus. His first memories of music were the basic forms of Greek music, such as traditional, folk, rebetiko, laïka, which influenced him as an artist. In addition, he has performed many other music genres in several different languages, such as pop, rock, latin, contemporary, byzantine music, classical, opera etc. He has collaborated with many Greek and foreign artists (composers, poets, maestros, musicians, etc). In all, he has released almost 90 personal albums and has collaborated in more than 150 others as singer, musician or producer."List of Greek Discography 1950 – 2019", by Petros Dragoumanos He is the Greek artist who has performed the biggest concerts of all time, both in Greece and abroad. He has performed at some of the most famous concert halls and stadiums all over the world, and has collaborated with many of the most renowned symphonic orchestras of the world.

He has received several honors and awards including Cyprus citizenship, the "Kennedy" Award and the UNHCR Goodwill Ambassadorship.

Concerts and sales George Dalaras has released almost 90 personal albums (which in total have sold more than 18,000,000 copies worldwide) and has collaborated in more than 150 albums of others as singer, musician or producer, always expanding his musical horizons with his multi–faceted creativity."gr design" magazine (10/2020)

"George Dalaras sings in Greek, yet his music, springing from the heart, has a universal appeal" stated the French daily Le Figaro in 1993, long after his reputation had reached across the borders of his native land. The packed theatres and stadiums, many concerts and tours around the world, the collaborations with many prominent Greek and foreign artists, the collaborations wit renowned symphonic orchestras of the world ascertain George Dalaras’ mettle as an artist and as an ambassador of the Greek culture.

In 1983, he performed two back to back sold-out concerts in the Olympic Stadium of Athens, attended by more than 160,000 people. It is the biggest music event ever held in Greece. "Greek music enters the era of the big stadiums" stated the Rolling Stone magazine."Μουσικό Κουτί" (1997): Αυτοβιογραφικό ένθετο & αποκόμματα περιοδικών/εφημερίδων In 1987, he performed a third personal sold-out concert at the Olympic Stadium of Athens.

Since the late 1970s, he has performed in over 800 concerts outside Greece, promoting Greek culture abroad. He has performed at some of the most famous concert halls all over the world, such as Radio City Music Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Metropolitan Opera, Olympia, Roy Thompson Hall, Meadowlands Arena, Kooyong Stadium, Rod Laver Arena, Sydney Opera House, Hammerstein Ballroom, Madison Square Garden, Wembley Arena, Rosemont Theatre, Trump Taj Mahal, Heichal HaTarbut, The Wang Theatre, Apollo Theater, Place des Arts, Wiener Konzerthaus, Palais des Congrès, etc.

He has also appeared at numerous cultural festivals, including Cuba (1981,1998), the Europalia Festival in Brussels (1982), the Peace Festival in Vienna (1983), the Youth Festival in Moscow (1985), the Aid to Africa Concert in the Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus (1986), the Amnesty International Concert in Athens with Peter Gabriel, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Tracy Chapman and Youssou'n'Dour (1988), the Poznan Jazz Festival in Poland (1999), the Crossing Border Festival in Amsterdam (2001), the Saratoga Festival in USA, with the famous Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Charles Dutoit (2001), etc.

In 1992, he performed a sold-out concert at the Wembley Arena in London. It is the biggest Greek concert ever held in United Kingdom. It was a personal initiative of George Dalaras, to support Cyprus and to promote the Cyprus problem. Among others, Vanessa Redgrave and Georges Moustaki had taken part in the concert.

In 1994, he performed at the Meadowlands Arena in New Jersey before an audience of 22,000.Boxscore. Clipping from Billboard georgedalaras.com It is the biggest Greek concert ever held outside of Greece. This concert was also dedicated to Cyprus. After this concert, he was invited to Washington D.C., where he received the "Kennedy" Award from Senator Edward Kennedy, in recognition of his humanitarian contributions.

Orchestral collaborations

Dalaras is known for emphasizing the distinct character and global appeal of Greek music. His career has often bridged traditional Greek sounds with international musical styles, leading to collaborations with orchestras and artists worldwide. The famous Dutch Metropole Orchestra is the first big orchestra with which George Dalaras collaborated. It was an exciting artistic gathering which took place in 1995, in the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, under the direction of Dick Baker. It consisted of two musical performances which moved and captivated the public through a song list which was dedicated to the soundtracks and the songs by Mikis Theodorakis the performances were recorded live and, consequently, released by EMI CLASSICS in fifteen countries, in an album titled "GEORGE DALARAS & METROPOLE ORCHESTRA". The artist's next collaboration with one of the most prominent and long-existent choirs in Europe took part when, in 1996, he interpreted Ariel Ramirez Misa Criolla Mass accompanied by the choir of the Deutsche Oper Berlin in the Berlin Opera. It was a much anticipated concert since, the tickets had long been sold out and, so much the daily press as well as the opera leaflets had extensively referred to the event. The fact that, the concert was transmitted live by SFB –a radio station with a predominantly classical repertoire- is worth mentioning. The next event was to be with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the most outstanding orchestras worldwide. In 1997, the Orchestra invited George Dalaras to stage two concerts in the Tel Aviv Mann Auditorium. The orchestra was conducted by Ilias Voudouris. It was a collaboration which materialized, in the best possible way, George Dalaras’ long desire to interpret a number of the most brilliant Greek songs accompanied by a symphony orchestra. The internationally acknowledged interpretation skills of the Philharmonic Orchestra came together with the powerful and charismatic stage presence, the promptness and, lastly, the soulful interpretation of George Dalaras in an unfolding of the portrait of contemporary Greek music. A musical journey which began from the rebetiko songs to cross over to his big hits, to all-time classics by prominent Greek composers, to melodies from the Mediterranean as well as to medieval songs by the Greek Jewish Sephardi population (in Ladino) The live recordings of these performances were internationally released in April 1999 by EMI CLASSICS in a digital disc titled: "GEORGE DALARAS AND THE ISRAEL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA", a release which made quite a stir. In parallel George Dalaras has collaborated with the Armonia Ateneaa, on the stage of the Athens Concert Hall in both the "...and by light and by death incessantly" by Costa Gavra (1994, 1995) and the "Angel Hymns in Human Rhythms" (1997) by Stavros Kougioumtzis, conducted by Alexandros Myrat. In 1999, George Dalaras collaborated with the Osipov State Russian Folk Orchestra. It was a high standard collaboration which made an impression by means of its simplicity and its musicality. Thousands of spectators went for a standing ovation following George Dalaras’ interpretation of songs by Greek composers as well as of ballads from the Mediterranean. These versions were magnificently executed by the Ossipov Orchestra which is one of the most famous and grand orchestras worldwide since, it manages to merge the symphonic structure with the pop and folk elements. The 70-membered orchestra – which consisted of players of balalaikas and domras- was conducted by Nikolai Kalinin. The performances were staged in the Athens Concert Hall, in Salonica, in the Patras Ancient Conservatory, in Cyprus, in London's Queen Elizabeth Hall and, finally, in Moscow, in November 2000. In October 1999, George Dalaras met in the famous Notre-Dame Basilica, which is situated in the old city of Montreal, with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra which was conducted by Charles Dutoit, the famous conductor. The Montreal Symphony Orchestra, which consists of distinguished soloists, was founded in 1934 and is, today, one of the biggest orchestras in the world. In September 2000, George Dalaras collaborated, for the first time, with them BBC Concert Orchestra, one of the most outstanding British orchestras. They met at the packed theatre Odeon of Herodes Atticus in a recital of superb orchestrations for a grand orchestra under the direction of Nick Davies and the participation of Joan Faulkner, the famous American jazz singer. The concert, the tickets of which had been sold out days before, was repeated in October of the same year in London's Royal Festival Hall with the participation of the big School. In October 2000, four concerts that were staged in Cyprus signaled George Dalaras’ collaboration with the famous Kremlin Moscow State Symphony Orchestra. This was an event in which Margarita Zorbala, the exquisite performer, had also taken part. The Kremlin Symphony Orchestra consists of 70 superb soloists while, its main characteristic is the coalescence of the instrumental harmony structure with an impeccable technique and artistic expression. Pavel Ovsianikov is the artistic director and conductor of the orchestra; he is a composer who, in the course of his creative career, has managed to combine the preservation of the rich Russian cultural heritage with the quest for new musical ideas. In November 2000, they, once more, met in Russia, in a concert that was staged in Grand Kremlin Palace’s George Hall. In June 2001, George Dalaras collaborated again with the Osipov State Russian Folk Orchestra conducted by Nikolai Kalinin. The event took place in Delphi and it was a unique concert that was part of the list of events scheduled for the celebration of the First World Refugee Day as well as for the completion of 50 years upon the founding of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The song list of the concert in which Jocelyn B. Smith, the prominent American singer had also taken part, included, mainly, songs by Mikis Theodorakis to whom the concert was dedicated as being one of the most renowned refugees globally. In August 2001, George Dalaras –through his participation in the Saratoga Classical Music Festival- collaborated for the first time with the famous Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Charles Dutoit, the renowned maestro with whom they had met two years before in the Montreal Notre Dame Basilica Cathedral. The above Festival is one of the most celebrated Classical Music Festivals around the world which, each summer, is organized in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. It was the first time that a Greek artist participated in it. In September 2001, he collaborated with Armonia Atenea Orchestra, with ninety musicians in total and the Fons Musicalis choir, at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. He was accompanied by Emma Shapplin. Toward the end of 2002 and the beginning of 2003, George Dalaras collaborated with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra. Together, they staged three concerts in London, Copenhagen and Paris which aimed at promoting the cultural visage of Europe, upon the instance Cyprus’ imminent integration within the European Union.