Athens mayor Kostas Bakoyiannis has taken to his social media pages to apologize to the city and its residents for what he called a “big mistake.”

The opening of Omonia Square in Athens on Thursday, including the switching on of a grand fountain, attracted thousands of residents who didn’t heed the warning of government to avoid large gatherings.

Greek authorities loosened stay-at-home restrictions after two months of strict measures to help control the spread of the Coronavirus in the country. Over the past week, there have been numerous incidents involving large gatherings of young people at various squares throughout the city— some which were even broken up by riot police.

Numerous videos on social media showed thousands of people assembling and the Mayor himself circulating freely amongst the crowd of people.

As a result, Bakoyiannis was criticized for encouraging the gathering.

In his apology, he admitted that it was a big misstate to schedule the opening of the fountain during these times of social distancing and admitted that he didn’t think thousands of people would converge on the square in Athens.

Watch Mayor Kostas Bakoyiannis’ Message