Istanbul Shopping Fest kicks off June 8

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

This photo shows a scene of some of the festivities from last year’s Fest.

The second Istanbul Shopping Fest is getting ready to kick-off on Friday with a concert at the Taksim Gezi Park and a performance by Turkey’s pop icon Hadise, as well Model and DJ Funky C.

The 21-day festival aims to convert Turkey into a regional shopping and entertainment center by increasing retail trade by 50 percent more than last year’s event, according to the company press release.

The Istanbul Shopping Fest will take place in over 100 modern shopping centers throughout the city, as well as on the streets of Taksim, Nişantaşı, Şişli, Bakırköy, Fatih, Bahariye and Bağdat Caddesi. It will be accompanied by concerts from famous performers, street parties, fashion shows, competitions and all kinds of other surprises.

Last year’s Istanbul Shopping Fest, which lasted 40 days, hosted over five million domestic and foreign visitors and this year’s aims to bring in seven billion Turkish Liras in 21 days. Visitors will be able to receive special discounts on retail items and, like last year, foreign visitors will be able to benefit from tax-free purchases.

With a constantly growing and changing list of over a couple of hundred retail participants, some of the brands included in this year’s Istanbul Shopping Fest are the following: Tommy Hilfiger, Ralf Lauren, DKNY Jeans, Guess, Zara, Mudo, H&M, GAP, Tekin Acar, Darty, Teknosa, Tefal and many more famous labels.