Greek Famous Singer Cancels Performance in Izmir: Reason Revealed

Greek famous singer Despina Vandi has canceled her performance at a concert organized by the Turkish Educational Foundation. According to Greek Reporter, the singer made this decision after learning that a banner featuring the portrait of Kemal Atatürk was displayed on stage (the concert participants had not been informed about this). The concert took place in the town of Çeşme, Izmir province, where Vandi was set to perform the city’s official anthem alongside a choir.

On her Instagram page, Vandi explained her decision not to take the stage: “With all due respect to the audience who honored my performance with their presence, I declare that my participation in the concert is impossible solely due to the Turkish Educational Foundation, which unilaterally and without warning decided to distort the essence of the concert, giving it a political tint.”

Manager of Çeşme, Lal Denizli, tried to alleviate the situation by going on stage and urged the audience not to waste their energy booing the singer. He added that the Turkish nation has given many martyrs to conquer that land.

Turkish media reacted with similar aggression. The Hurriyet newspaper reported that Vandi committed an “extreme incident,” and other publications expressed a similarly strident tone.

It is reminded that the mass extermination of Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, and Yezidis continued in Turkey even after the establishment of the republic, during Atatürk’s era. In September 1922, the Turkish army entered Smyrna (present-day Izmir). A massive fire was organized aimed at the extermination of Greeks and Armenians (the main population of the city), while those saved from the flames were slaughtered by the marauders. Very few managed to escape on foreign ships that evacuated refugees from the city’s port.