Cultural events canceled after terror attack
ISTANBUL
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s (İBB) Cultural Department said in a statement that a number of concerts and plays at the CRR Concert Hall were canceled until March 17.
A concert by the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, which was set for March 13, was among the canceled events, the cultural department said, as well as the İBB Turkish Folk Music Band’s concert that was scheduled for March 16.
The İBB’s City Theaters also announced that the gala of its play “Oyunun Oyunu” was canceled.
The Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV) announced it canceled its press launch for the 35th Istanbul Film Festival, which was set to be held on March 14.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims of yesterday’s [March 13] terrorist attack in Ankara and wish a quick recovery to those injured,” it said in a statement.
All social events set for Ankara were also canceled after the terror attack, which killed 37 people in the city’s central Kızılay neighborhood.
An exhibition “Planet Football,” which was set to open at the French Cultural Center in Ankara’s Çankaya district on March 13, was one of the canceled events.
Legendary Beşiktaş football player Pascal Nouma would have been among the guests at the opening ceremony but the event was postponed to a further date.
World famous Turkish pianist İdil Biret’s performance at the Middle East Technical University Culture and Congress Center in Ankara on March 14 was also canceled.
Hayal Kahvesi’s March 14 and March 15 programs at If Performance Hall were also among the canceled events in the city.
Within the scope of the March 14 Doctor’s Day celebrations, theater actor Genco Erkal was set to be on stage at the Hacettepe University Culture Center with his play “Bir Delinin Hatıra Defteri” (Diary of a Madman), which was postponed to March 28.
Dutch violin virtuoso Andre Rieu had originally been scheduled to perform in Ankara and Istanbul last year in November but the concerts were postponed to March 10 and 12.
Following the Feb. 18 car bomb in Ankara that targeted a military convoy and killed 29, the musician once again canceled the concerts “due to recent developments in Turkey,” according to a statement posted on concert promoter IEG Turkey’s website.