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Wikimania:Expressions of Interest/2028/Istanbul, Türkiye

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Expression of interest: Türkiye

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Abstract/description

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In a few sentences tell us about your submissions. What made you and your community want to host the next Wikimania?

Candidate logo
Historical site of Istanbul

We, Wikimedia Community User Group Turkey and the Turkic Community, are interested in organizing Wikimania in Istanbul, Türkiye. The group had the opportunity to host Wikimedians from the world in Istanbul in several previous events. Therefore we could observe the first hand how Istanbul was convenient for and capable of hosting international conferences; the good experiences from the previous events gave us courage and willingness to host the largest event of our Movement.

About Istanbul

Istanbul is the largest city in Türkiye, country's economic, cultural and historical center. The city has a population of over 15 million residents, comprising 19% of the population of Türkiye. Istanbul is the most populous European city and the world's 16th-largest city.

Istanbul, The City That Lies On Two Continents

One of the world's most dynamic cities, Istanbul is a metropolis. Istanbul is a transcontinental city straddling two continents by its inland sea, Marmara. The city is divided into four regions and has a natural harbor, the Golden Horn. One of the world’s busiest waterways, the Bosphorus, is in northwestern Türkiye between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. Connecting the two seas, Bosphorus also separates Istanbul into two sides, the European side and the Asian side.

Istanbul was the most touristed city in the world in 2023, attracting 20.2 million international visitors. Hosting two international airports (Istanbul Airport on the European side and Sabiha Gökçen Airport on the Asian side), Istanbul is reachable by most of the major international airlines and charters. The city is 2 -5 hours away from European destinations and 9 hours from North America.

CEEM 2024 Istanbul group photo

As the turnaround port for many cruise ships, Istanbul is mostly reached from the Aegean Sea. GalataPort is also used as a stopping point for many international ferries. The Bosphorus is an important passageway for international cargo ships and tankers and a crucial stopping place for Mediterranean cruises.

It's possible to travel Istanbul by railroad transportation. The city can be reached from Belgrade (via Balkan Express), Bucharest (via Bosphorus Express), Budapest (via TransBalkan Express), Kishinev (via Prietenia Express), Pythion (via IC 90/91) and Munich (via IstanbulExpress).

Istanbul has a very extensive road network requiring a Green Card and appropriate insurance for coming from Europe. Speed ​​limits are 120 km/h for motorways, 90 km/h on main roads, and 50 km/h in towns. The city's international bus terminal is about ten kilometers from the city center and serves all international and domestic lines.

Wikidata Istanbul event, 2022

In recent years Istanbul has hosted such international events as 2019 UEFA Super Cup, Formula 1 Turkish Grand Prix, (9 times) International Istanbul Jazz festival (every year) and 2023 UEFA Champions League Final will play in Istanbul. More importantly, Istanbul has experience in hosting local and international Wikimedia events. The largest event held was in September 2024- Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2024. Wikidata Trainings For Turkic Wikimedians 2022, Turkic Wikimedia Conference 2023, Wikimedia Hackathon 2025 were also held in Istanbul.

Organizers

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Who is submitting this expression of interest? List individuals or groups. Please identify the Wikimedia region or thematic group your group is representing.

This submission is made jointly by Wikimedia Community User Group Turkey (Dijital Bilgi Derneği) and and the Turkic Community, by:

The team members have experience in organizing Wikimedia events in Istanbul. Each member have previous experience in organisation of two Turkic Languages Conferences in 2022 & 2023, CEE Meeting in 2024 and supported organisation of Hackathon in 2025.

Requirements

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Interested community groups do not need to have a venue selected, contracts drafted or sponsors lined up. This is why we are starting the process early. Please provide solid information about the points below to help our decision making. We will be taking into account various factors about potential sites and hosts especially the cost, location sustainability, accessibility, security, global rotation of Wikimania, and the capacity of the organizing team.

Venue + lodging

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Conference venues

Istanbul is home to the largest convention centers in the country and university campuses which are good candidates to host Wikimania including below:

Haliç Congress Center
  • Haliç Congress Center stands on the shores of the Golden Horn. It is possible to access the venue within 25 minutes from Istanbul airport by car and in 40 minutes from Sabiha Gökcen Airport. Taksim, the main center of the city, is 7 minutes and the Sultanahmet district is 10 minutes away by car. The venue offers 5 auditoriums and 17 meeting rooms in 4 four buildings linked to each other by galleries and foyers. The largest auditorium is for 3008 participants, and the second largest auditorium is for 1138 participants. Link
Santralistanbul
  • Istanbul Congress Center is situated in the Congress Valley at Taksim-Nişantaşı district within easy walking distance of hotels. Various cafes, restaurants, hotels and shopping facilities surround the center. It is possible to access the venue in 37 minutes from Istanbul airport by car and in 55 minutes from Sabiha Gökcen Airport. The largest hall, Harbiye Auditorium, hosts up to 3555 people and Usküdar Hall has a capacity of hosting up to 1280 people. The venue alo has medium and small halls and workshop places. Link
Lütfü Kırdar Congress Center
  • Lütfü Kırdar Convention & Exhibition Center is the first congress center of Istanbul and located in the Congress Valley, on the heart of the European side of the city. Surrounded by Various cafes, restaurants, hotels and shopping facilities.It’s 41 km away from the Istanbul Airport and 50 km away from Sabiha Gökcen Airport. Anadolu Auditorium hosts up to 10 900 people. Link
  • Grand Cevahir is located in the Şişli district of Istanbul and is a very easily accessible place to the main attractions of the city. It’s the only venue having a hotel, shopping center, and congress center under the same roof. The 1013-person capacity auditorium is the largest hotel-auditorium of Türkiye. In addition to the auditorium, the venue has 22 meeting rooms. Link
  • Istanbul Bilgi University Santralistanbul Campus is a unique place located by the Golden Horn. The campus is not only the home of some faculty and departments of Istanbul Bilgi University but also an art and culture center attracting outside visitors to its museum and art gallery serving in a historically renovated power plant. The venue also houses some dining, refreshment and entertainment facilities. Link
Lodging

Istanbul has more than 2300 accommodation facilities having a total of around 232.000 bed capacity. In terms of room number, the majority of the hotels in Istanbul are located on the European side. Accommodation options in Istanbul include a range of facilities from the super modern deluxe category hotels and holiday complexes to the affordable ones.

Travel + visas

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Airport of Istanbul.

Istanbul is a global transport hub, mainly an air hub. Istanbul has two international airports (Istanbul Airport and Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport), which connect Türkiye with more than 150 locations on the world. Located at the intersection of Asia, Europe and the Middle East, Istanbul Airport is a strategic connection point for all destinations and the second busiest airport in the world.

Sirkeci Station

Istanbul is also connected to European capitals with a railway. There are also bus links with neighboring and European capitals.

Two large national airlines operate in Türkiye, one of which is Turkish Airlines. Turkish Airlines is the national flag carrier airline of Türkiye. As of 2025, it operates scheduled services to 352 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, making it the largest mainline carrier in the world by the number of passenger destinations. Holding the record for flying to more countries than any other airline in the world since 2012, currently flies to 131 countries. The airline serves more destinations non-stop from a single airport and flies.

Visa requirements

The second airline is Pegasus. This is a Turkish low-cost carrier. At the moment, the airline flies to 103 international destinations.

Türkiye has a very flexible visa policy and provides citizens of foreign countries with various options for obtaining a visa. At the moment, citizens of 91 countries can travel to Türkiye without a visa, and in addition to this, citizens of 21 countries can obtain an electronic visa to travel to Türkiye.

Visitors of most nationalities must hold a passport valid for no less than 150 days from the date of arrival. The passport validity requirement does not apply to citizens of Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland who can enter with a passport expired for less than five years, citizens of Germany who can enter with a passport or an ID card expired for less than one year, citizens of Bulgaria who are only required to have a passport valid for their period of stay. An identity card is accepted instead of a passport for citizens of Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Northern Cyprus, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, and Ukraine. The validity period requirement also does not apply to nationals of countries whose identity cards are accepted.

As of 2024, Türkiye has embassies and consulates in 252 locations around the world. Turkish diplomatic missions are represented on all continents. Türkiye is the third country with the highest number of diplomatic representations in the world. You can see the full list of Turkish diplomatic missions on this link.

Facilities + services

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  • Thanks to technological advancement and high service quality, Istanbul is well-known for its hospitals and health care system. It has 220 hospitals, 41 of which are JCI* accredited (which is more than any other country in the world) are operating in Istanbul.
  • Istanbul provides efficient communication tools via Internet and cellular phone services. Those services are available around the clock 24 hours 7 days a week. Even providers for home users offer up to 1000 Mbps speeds.

*Joint Commission International (JCI) is an independent, not-for-profit organization that accredits and certifies health care organizations and programs across the globe.

Safety + security

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Busy afternoon at Istiklal Street, Istanbul

As a rule, Türkiye is safe. The country remains one of the most popular destinations around the globe. 40-45 million visitors come to its shores every year, with the vast majority experiencing no problems and enjoying their stays. Türkiye ranked 5th on world tourism list in 2024 according to World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Maintaining a safe environment for foreign tourists is a top priority for Türkiye and the majority of its population, as tourism is a major part of the country’s economy.

Generally, crime levels are low, but street robbery and pick-pocketing are common in the major tourist areas of Istanbul. Visitors should maintain at least the same level of personal security awareness as in other touristic places in the world. For instance, visitors visiting any major attractions worldwide, including those in Türkiye, are advised to keep an eye on their belongings, to avoid street robbery and pickpocketing. This simple piece of advice will keep travelers safe anywhere around the world, including Türkiye.

Turkish law enforcement agencies protect the rights and safety of international visitors at a high level. Turkish courts are free and protected from the influence of third parties. Thus, freedom of thought in Türkiye is guaranteed by the country's constitution and protected by the country's courts.

Hybrid format and remote participation

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  • Istanbul has the infrastructure to allow remote participation and hybrid conference. The city ranked 87th in the world for mobile speeds and 117th for fixed broadband speeds during December 2024.
  • Türkiye is located in the UTC +3 time zone. There is no time zone difference between Istanbul and other provinces. The time at most is the same as in the Moscow Time and Arabia Standard Time zones.