Cultural Road Festivals to spread to more cities

ANKARA

Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has expressed his intention to expand the Cultural Road Festivals, currently held in the country's 11 of all 81 provinces, to more cities.

The first stop for the festivals started in the Central Anatolian province of Nevşehir’s Cappadocia on Aug. 5 as the Cappadocia Balloon and Culture Road Festival. The festival brought together more than 300 events consisting of exhibitions, concerts, talks and workshops with art lovers free of charge.

"The festivals in four cities have concluded, and the initial figures are indeed heartening. Our citizens are enthusiastically participating in these festivals. Nearly 4.7 million art enthusiasts had the opportunity to join these events," Ersoy stated during a press conference in the capital Ankara on Sept. 18.

Reminding that the gastronomy festival in the southeastern province of Gaziantep and the events in Ankara are still ongoing, Ersoy stressed his ministry’s goal of adding five more cities to the festival each year.

"By adding at least five cities every year, we plan to host festivals in 15 cities next year. In 2028, we aspire to organize the Cultural Road Festivals in 35 cities. This year, we are talking about a 100-day festival series starting on Aug. 5 and continuing until Nov. 15"

"Starting next year, we will be talking about an eight-month marathon that runs from April 1 to the end of November," he added.

Over eight months, millions of art enthusiasts will come into contact with culture and art, with the participation of 10,000 artists in different cities, Ersoy noted.

Stating that the primary objective of cultural festivals is to facilitate access to culture and art for the citizens while providing support to culture, art and artists, Ersoy pointed out that these festivals also aim to increase the visibility, awareness and branding of the cities both in Türkiye and worldwide.

The Cultural Road Festivals are one of the most comprehensive and long-running events in the world in terms of culture and arts, appealing to citizens of all ages and backgrounds as well, Ersoy said.