Eurocities and B40 Mayors Visit Istanbul to Show Solidarity with the Elected Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu

Mayors from Eurocities and the B40 Balkan Cities Network visited Istanbul on 27–28 August 2025 to express solidarity with the city’s elected Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. The delegation included Athens’ Mayor Haris Doukas, Zagreb’s Mayor Tomislav Tomašević, Barcelona’s Mayor Jaume Collboni, Utrecht’s Mayor Sharon Dijksma, Timișoara’s Mayor Dominic Fritz and Budapest’s Mayor Gergely Szilveszter Karácsony, as well as representatives from Madrid and Eurocities.

On 27 August, following a dinner hosted by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Acting Mayor Nuri Aslan in Emirgan, the delegation attended a rally organized by the Republican People’s Party (CHP) in Beyoğlu. On 28 August, the delegation met with IMM officials at the municipal headquarters in Saraçhane, where the “Special Democracy Award” granted by Eurocities to İmamoğlu was presented to Dilek Kaya İmamoğlu.

That same day in Silivri, the delegation held a solidarity demonstration carrying placards reading “Free İmamoğlu.” Dilek Kaya İmamoğlu and the mayors delivered statements there. The visit concluded with a bilateral meeting between Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević and Acting Mayor Nuri Aslan.