Kanye West Performs in Istanbul for the First Time
World-renowned rap artist Kanye West performed in Istanbul for the first time, meeting music lovers at one of the year's largest music events. The concert was held at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium (Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadyumu) in collaboration with the NTRteam organization.
Approximately 118,000 listeners attended the sold-out event, with visitors arriving from the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Russia, Poland, and Middle Eastern countries.
West began his set with the song "Father" and concluded the repertoire with "Stronger". During his continuous two-hour performance on a spherical structure, he performed career favorites including "King", "Runaway", "Power", "Flashing Lights", "Heartless", "Black Skinhead", "All The Love", and "Homecoming".
The audience accompanied the artist by singing and dancing, with cheers and applause echoing throughout the stadium. A standout feature was the stage design, which evolved from his Los Angeles SoFi Stadium performances. A giant hemispherical stage positioned at the center was transformed into a massive world model using high-resolution projection technology.
Supported by intense light shows, fog effects, and synchronized visuals, thousands of fans turned on their phone lights to accompany the performance, creating an impressive visual display across the stands and the field.
Celebrity Attendance and Global Broadcast
Notable figures in attendance included Sukru Ozyildiz (Şükrü Özyıldız), Alina Boz, Umut Evirgen, Nilperi Sahinkaya (Nilperi Şahinkaya), Ayse Tolga (Ayşe Tolga), Hazar Erguclu (Hazar Ergüçlü), Yasemin Allen, Afra Saracoglu (Afra Saraçoğlu), Asli Tandogan (Aslı Tandoğan), Elif Buse Dogan (Elif Buse Doğan), and Burak Kut.
The concert was broadcast live via Kanye West's official YouTube account, reaching millions of viewers within minutes.
