A magnificent opening for the Golden Karagöz

The International Golden Karagöz (Altın Karagöz) Folk Dance Competition, organized by the Bursa Culture, Art and Tourism Foundation (BKSTV) on behalf of Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, is being held for the 38th time this year.

Nearly 700 dancers from Bulgaria, Algeria, South Korea, Georgia, Hungary, Mexico, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, Chile, Uruguay, Greece and Iran are taking part in the competition. In addition, 23 local folk dance ensembles will meet the people of Bursa across the city with special performances.

Through the competition, which will continue until 12 July, dancers from all over the world will present their cultural riches to the people of Bursa. The competition jury consists of Nilgün Bilsel Demireller, Özlem Kadirağa, Pavel Zinkov, Joseph Szigetvári, Marketa Vasulkova, Prof. Dr. Kang Sunok and Aneliya Ivanova Nikolova.

The festive spirit of the competition began with a performance by the Ottoman mehter band in front of the Atatürk Statue at Heykel on Atatürk Avenue and continued with the laying of a wreath at the Atatürk Monument. The cortege parade, setting off from the Atatürk Statue, produced a colorful spectacle, while the people of Bursa showed great interest in the visiting dancers.

THE ENTHUSIASM OF THE PARADE GREW EVEN STRONGER AT THE OPEN-AIR THEATRE
Following the cortege parade, the program continued at the Kültürpark Open-Air Theatre. All the folk dance ensembles from 13 different countries were called to the stage one by one to greet the people of Bursa.

The opening ceremony was attended by Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Mayor Şahin Biba; AK Party Members of Parliament for Bursa Emine Yavuz Gözgeç, Mustafa Yavuz and Muhammet Müfit Aydın; BKSTV Board Chairman Zekeriya Birkan; members of the BKSTV Board; BTSO Board Chairman İbrahim Burkay; Bursa Provincial Police Chief Kadir Gökçe; and President of the Bursa Regional Court of Appeals Abdulkadir Şahin, along with provincial and district officials of political parties, representatives of civil society organizations, invited guests and a large crowd of citizens.

BİBA: OUR GUESTS WILL BECOME VOLUNTEER AMBASSADORS FOR OUR CITY
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Mayor Şahin Biba said that the local and international folk dance ensembles were filling the streets of Bursa with the colors of friendship, brotherhood and peace. Noting that over the next six days the folk dance ensembles would showcase their own cultures and traditions in the city's streets, avenues and squares, Deputy Mayor Biba said, "Our local and international guests coming to Bursa will, together with the friendships they build here, go on to tell their own countries about Bursa's history, natural beauty, cultural heritage and unmatched hospitality. They will become volunteer ambassadors for our city. In this respect, our festival also fulfills a truly valuable mission, uniting the unifying power of culture with tourism and the promotion of the city."

"CULTURE AND THE ARTS ARE AN INDISPENSABLE PART OF CITY LIFE"
Underlining that Bursa Metropolitan Municipality regards culture and the arts as an indispensable part of city life, Deputy Mayor Biba said, "Cities that embrace their culture look to their future with confidence and walk toward it with confidence. We will continue with conviction to promote Bursa's historical, cultural and artistic riches on international platforms and to make our city one of the world's leading cultural centers. I hope the 38th International Golden Karagöz Folk Dance Competition brings peace, friendship and brotherhood to our city, our country and the world. I thank everyone who contributed, and I wish success to all the ensembles taking part in the competition."

BİRKAN: WE ARE DELIGHTED TO SHARE THE SAME STAGE AND THE SAME EXCITEMENT WITH OUR GUESTS FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD
BKSTV Board Chairman Zekeriya Birkan, in his remarks at the ceremony, said:
"Today we share the excitement of a very special gathering, one whose roots draw on the past and which reaches toward the future with hope. Welcome, all of you, to the 38th International Golden Karagöz Folk Dance Competition. As the Bursa Culture, Art and Tourism Foundation, working since 1987 to add value to Bursa's cultural, artistic and tourism life, we continue, with our institutional experience, to preserve and develop our city's cultural heritage and to make it visible on international platforms. The Golden Karagöz Folk Dance Competition is one of the strongest and most deeply rooted embodiments of this vision. For thirty-eight years, the Golden Karagöz has been not merely a folk dance competition but an international meeting point where cultures come to know one another, friendships are forged, and differences are seen as riches. Today, too, we are delighted to share the same stage, the same excitement and the same shared feeling with our guests from different parts of the world."

After the speeches, the Karagöz Folk Dance Ensemble was first to take the stage, earning great applause for its performance. All the ensembles then took the stage in turn, both presenting their performances and delivering messages of peace to the world.