Bulgarian student wins Turkish Olympiad song contest final

Martin Yordanov from Bulgaria came first at the song contest final of the 11th International Turkish Olympiad at İstanbul Sinan Erdem Sports Hall on Friday night. Yordanov greets audience.(Photo: Today's Zaman, Selman Eştürkler)
Martin Yordanov from Bulgaria came first at the song contest final of the 11th International Turkish Olympiad at İstanbul Sinan Erdem Sports Hall on Friday night. Yordanov greets audience.(Photo: Today's Zaman, Selman Eştürkler)


Date posted: June 9, 2013

İPEK ÜZÜM, İSTANBUL

Martin Yordanov from Bulgaria won the most prestigious medal for singing at the 11th International Turkish Language Olympiad on Friday night before a crowd of tens of thousands in İstanbul, beating 14 competitors from various countries.

Foreign students fascinated thousands of spectators with their performances in song contest final as part of the 11th International Turkish Olympiad, a festival that celebrates the Turkish language and this year brought together 2,000 students from 140 countries around the world. The song contest final of the Olympiads was held at İstanbul Sinan Erdem Sports Hall on Friday night. Thousands of people thronged the hall to watch the final.

The Bulgarian student delighted jury members with the song “Deli Gönlüm” (My Mad Heart) in the singing competition of the 11th International Turkish Language Olympiad and came first at the song contest final of the Olympiads on Friday night. Yodanov received his award from Turkish pop diva Ajda Pekkan, who was also a jury member of the contest. Yordanov then performed the winning song once again in front of a cheering audience. Azerbaijan’s Ayhan Bunyadzade came in second while Guınevere Camacho attending the Olympiads from Philippines came in third.

A total of 2000 foreign students from 140 countries came to Turkey for the 11th Turkish Language Olympiad, which is organized by the International Turkish Education Association (TÜRKÇEDER). This year’s competition, which began on June 1 with a grand ceremony in Ankara, will end on June 16 with a closing ceremony to be held at the İstanbul Olympiad Stadium in İstanbul. There have been also various stage shows performed by Turkish Olympiad students in 55 cities of Turkey during the 16-day Olympiad period.

Among the nearly 20,000 attendees of the event were a number of well-known figures from politics, the arts, business, media and the world of sport. Economy Minister Mehmet Şimşek said that Turkish language is the language of love, peace and brotherhood. “Now, students from 140 countries are able to interact with each other in Turkish language, they are able to talk about peace, love and brotherhood in Turkish. We watched a great show this night. These Olympiads being held each year are great examples of success.” Şimşek noted.

Among the jury members of song contest were Arabesque singer and composer Orhan Gencebay, pop singer Ajda Pekkan, Turkish folk singer and songwriter Fatih Kısaparmak, classical Turkish music performer Muazez Ersoy, director Hamdi Alkan, producer Birol Güven, Lebanese-Swedish singer Maher Zain and Turkish pop singer and composer Sinan Akçıl.

Source: Today’s Zaman, 7 June, 2013

Tags: | |


Related News

Cyber attacks on news websites threaten freedom of press, expression

Starting mid-February, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) has been severely penalizing a number of news TV channels known for their anti-government broadcasts. Those channels, which include Samanyolu Haber TV and Bugün TV, were mostly penalized on the grounds that their programs were biased. The channels have been broadcasting reports about claims of corruption and bribery that have implicated some government members.

Gülen-linked journalists organization voices concern over profiling claims

The Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV), one of the most prominent institutions affiliated with Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, released a statement expressing its concerns over the government’s claimed profiling of citizens, civic groups and public employees. “It is worrisome to witness developments that echo the said “National Security Board decision, such as the plan to ban prep schools, the profiling of public employees or the purging of bureaucrats who are affiliated with certain communities,” the statement published on the institution’s website said.

Turkish Olympiad students visit top level gov’t officials in Ankara

İPEK ÜZÜM, ANKARA Students coming from all round the world to participate in the 11th International Turkish Olympiad, a festival that celebrates the Turkish language and which this year brought together 2,000 students from 140 countries, visited the Ankara Governor and the ministers of energy and EU affairs in Ankara on Tuesday. A group of […]

Hate speech and respect for the sacred

Islam seeks to protect five major principles that are specified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and adopted in the modern world: religious freedom, the right to observe religious duties and the protection of this right; the right to life and its protection; the right to mental and physical health and its protection; the right to property and its protection; the right to marriage and reproduction and its protection.

Turks Fleeing To Greece Find Mostly Warm Welcome, Despite History

Now, at least 1,000 Turkish citizens are seeking refuge in Greece, according to the refugee support nonprofit SolidarityNOW. It’s hard to pin down an exact number because not many have applied for asylum, says Antonis Spathis, a human rights lawyer in Thessaloniki. The Greek Asylum Service told NPR that 186 Turkish citizens applied for asylum in 2016 and noted there has been a “significant” increase in 2017.

Organization (Kimse Yok Mu?) helped 79 Syrian families

“Is Anybody There?” Organization officials delivered donations, blankets and food to Syrian families with the coordination of AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Department) officials. The president of “Is Anybody There?” Elazig branch, Mr. Onder Colak, noted that they have been making donations to Syrian refugees in Turkey since the first days of civil war outbreak in Syria.

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

US lawmaker says Gülen should not be extradited, calls his movement strongest element against radical Islamists

Silence of the (AKP) lambs

Ayse Bohurler says International Herald Tribune misquoted remarks on Gülen movement

Purge accelerates Islamist radicalization in Turkey

Pak-Turk schools’ 17th anniversary

Fethullah Gülen’s lawyers fear attacks on his life amid calls for return to Turkey

Erdogan: A saint elsewhere, outside Turkey’s shores?

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News