From late afternoon hundreds of cyclists congregated in the centre of the northern port city of Thessaloniki to strip down and get painted up in prepration for the city's fourth annual Naked Bike Ride. However, following clashes with the authorities on previous occasions over the issue of public nudity the vast majority of those taking place choose to avoid causing possible embarassment by donning beach wear and copius body paint.

The Naked Bike Ride, which has now become a landmark on Thessaloniki's cultural agenda, is part of an ongoing effort by local Green groups to promote alternatives to the internal combustion engine in Greece's polluted cities.

After parading through the city the participants ended the evening with a massive street party which lastd into the small hours of the morning,

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