Despina Vandi decided to cancel her concert in Izmir, Turkey, organized by the Turkish Education Foundation (TEV) because, according to Turkish media, a poster of Kemal Ataturk was posted at the event venue on Wednesday night.

In her Instagram post, she stated that TEV was entirely responsible for the incident as “they unilaterally decided to change the nature of the event from a concert and give it a political character, which we had not agreed upon.”

“As a result, my participation in the concert was not possible,” added Despina Vandi, who also expressed her respect for those who honored her with their presence in Izmir.

According to Turkish channel NTV, after the Greek singer’s refusal, the TEV choir, which was supposed to perform with Despina Vandi, appeared on stage and sang the anthem of Izmir.

Then, the mayor of Izmir, Lal Denizli, took the stage and said, “Ms. Vandi will not perform because she requested the removal of the Turkish flag and the poster of Ataturk. Do not boo her; I don’t think it is worth tiring yourselves and wasting your breath. We have given so many martyrs to win this land, and we believe that brotherhood and friendship will prevail.”

After expressing hope that what happened would serve as a lesson for the Greek singer, Ms. Denizli continued, saying, “No one can force us to take down the poster of Ataturk. This lady should leave here immediately, calmly and peacefully. But I hope she never tries again to take down the Turkish flag, which is stained with blood.”

Ne BAYRAĞIMIZI, ne de ATATÜRK’ümüzün bayrağını indirmeye hiç kimse cesaret edemez! Herkes haddini bilecek! pic.twitter.com/3p5ugHkUXd

— Lâl Denizli (@laldenizlicesme) July 17, 2024