OLYMPICS IS THE ONLY TITLE THAT ISTANBUL NEEDS

20. Sancaktepe yağlı güreşlerini Şaban Yılmaz kazandıSpeaking at the event of the 20th Traditional Sancaktepe Greased Wrestling Contest, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis touched upon Istanbul’s candidacy for the Olympic Games by indicating “Along this road that we set off with the strength of our people and God, we will carry Turkey to the bright tomorrows.”

Minister Bagis stated that just like the wrestlers struggle at the field of contest, they sweat over at the field of political contest with the support of Turkish people. Minister Bagis also mentioned Turkey’s ongoing developments by saying, “In the past we didn’t have the chance to see brave and bold politicians but since the establishment of AK Party, Turkey has been thriving under the leadership of our Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey is growing, Turkey is developing. We do politics without doping like our wrestlers here. Along this road that we set off with the strength of our people and God, we will carry Turkey to the bright tomorrows.”

Minister Bagis emphasized that Istanbul was one of the biggest and the most important cities of the world and said:

“We are living in an important and big city like Istanbul. Istanbul deserves every title, and hopefully Istanbul will take the Olympic title after the decision to be made in September. It is the failure of the Olympic Games not to have Istanbul as a host city up to now. If Istanbul takes this title, there will be an Olympics in a Muslim-majority city for the first time.”

Minister Bagis stated that some people did not want to see Istanbul as a host city, and said: “The Gezi Park protestors applied twice for the cancellation of candidacy but they failed. If they decline us, it will be because of them. Hopefully, Istanbul will take the Olympics title that it deserves because you support Istanbul by your prayers.”