Marmaris New Year Fest - (English)

THE FESTIVAL OF THE YEAR:

NEW YEAR FEST Marmaris Municipality hosted a festival which was the first of its kind in Turkey. Aiming to make the month of December an alternative tourism destination, the project was held between December 1 and 31 under the name “New Year Fest” with the theme “A Meeting of Cultures.” The festival introduced both expats in Marmaris and local and foreign tourists with the cultural figures of Santa Claus and Ayaz Ata. Marmaris welcomed 2019 with joyous and spectacular events to attract local and international tourists to Marmaris for Christmas and New Year holidays. The festival began with performances and music bands along with a crowded parade of participants on December 1 and ended with a New Year concert enriched with fireworks on the night of December 31. As part of the month-long festival, May 19 Youth and Atatürk Squares presented guests with a variety of local delicacies and souvenirs in addition to entertainment parks and artificial ice rinks for children.

While May 19 Youth Square hosted colorful events, Sevgi Yolu Road and Atatürk Square also witnessed

dance performances. With open-air concerts, visual performances, autograph sessions, contests, amateur and professional bands, dancing, DJ performances, and street musicians, Marmaris rivaled world capitals in the last month of 2018.

The festival was very colorful thanks to many street musicians, live sculptors, and performance groups who visited the city under the auspices of Marmaris Municipality. The events began in the day and continued late in the evening. People of all ages were entertained with energetic music and shows from various cultures.

Many performance groups from Turkey and abroad met the locals in Marmaris. Aydın Metropolitan Municipality, Çankaya Municipality, Karşıyaka Municipality, Odunpazarı Municipality, Bayındır Municipality, and Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University supported the festival with shows and music bands. The festival was enriched with the attendance of our sibling city of Nizhnekamsk from Tatarstan, Jinan, and Nepal. Tatarian opera singer Elvira Gimatdinova mesmerized the guests with her intense voice.

Opening Cortège Participated by dozens of groups and hundreds of participants from Turkey and abroad, Marmaris Municipality’s opening cortège and ceremony was one of the most colorful events.

The cortège started from the entrance of Municipality Yacht Dock and witnessed fun moments. Filled with dancing, folk dances, bands, street artists, Ayaz Ata, and Santa Claus, the cortège was followed by a performance of guest artists on the main stage at May 19 Youth Square which filled the streets with people.

The National Press Visited the Festival Invited to Marmaris for the New Year festival, the representatives of the national press were welcomed in the city for two days.

The press delegation (comprising national channels and publications such as Milliyet, FOX TV, DĂźnya Gazetesi, Marketing TĂźrkiye, Skylife, AnadoluJet Magazin, and ELLE Magazine) got to know the city better. The delegation left the town to write or talk about the New Year Festival and the town through the written or visual press channels they work for.

The Festival Hosted Music and Dance The cold December nights were warmed with dance and music. Marmaris New Year Fest was frequented with people for a month with concerts and modern, classical and local dance performances. The festival hosted concerts in many genres from rock to Turkish and foreign pop, Turkish Folk Music to Turkish Classical Music.

Festival Lives On the Street!

Marmaris New Year Fest along with the district’s locals and guests welcomed 2019 with a long-term celebration. The streets of Marmaris were the places that experienced this joy the most. Going on a walk or shopping on Sevgi Yolu Road and Yacht Harbor, the locals witnessed lovely surprises such as music bands or dance groups.

Events for Children Children were arguably the happiest guests of the festival. They had great moments with colorful booths, stage shows, playgroups, bumper cars, artificial ice rink, clowns, magic shows, live sculptures, and contests. Families with kids especially preferred May 19 Youth Square on sunny days.

Local Shopkeepers Support for the Festival Local shopkeepers answered to the call before the New Year Fest. Some decorated their showcases with branches of pine trees, some colored their shops with New Year’s decorations, and others laid down a red carpet in front of their stores to celebrate the New Year.

New Year Market

As part of the festival, the booths on May 19 Youth and AtatĂźrk Squares offered guests local delicacies and souvenirs.

City Decorations

Marmaris, one of the most special tourism destinations in Turkey, and its locals welcomed thousands of local and international guests with illuminated decorations. Hosting the first and only New Year Festival in Turkey for a month, the district’s squares and streets were ornamented with New Year decorations, trees made with recycled materials, and LED lights.

Turkey’s Longest New Year

Festival in Numbers

310 events

2000 stage performers

600

hours of live music

31 +100,000 60

day-long festival

visitors

booths

2.000.000 TRY worth of economic mobility in December

1-31 December 2019

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