Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me to be here with you at the opening of the “Delighted” music festival. “Delighted” Music Festival, as the name suggests, to me resembles Turkish delight.

The festival is giving us the opportunity to have a musical feast from an eminent group of musicians, which are considered among the best in their respective genres.

The festival aims at presenting the musical colors of the vibrant, dynamic and multi-faceted nature of Turkish music from tango to rap, from rock to jazz, from traditional Turkish classical music to Anatolian music.

With its strong message, I believe that the festival would be a milestone in fusion music of Berlin. I am sure that “delighted” will be a feast to “Berliner ears” and further promote Turkish and international fusion music in the beautiful multi cultural town of Berlin.

What makes us particularly “delighted” is that the festival coincides with the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Labor Agreement between Turkey and Germany.

50 years ago, Turkish guest workers started to come to Germany. Their intention was to work for some time, save some money and return to home. But they worked so well that they were asked to stay longer to contribute to Germany’s economic miracle.

Today these guest workers are particularly proud that their children and grand children contribute to a cultural fusion, with their great music and talent. I am thankful to the organizers that they agreed to highlight this special anniversary.

I would like to thank to Atze Theatre, to Mr. Sutter and to Mr. Müller-Heuser. I would like to thank Sinem Altan, Begüm Tüzemen, Özgür Ersoy, DJ İpek, Duo Ekin, Fabian Martino, Kerem Can and many other distinguished musicians and artists for their great contribution to the festival.

We have a full 10 days of great music in front of us. So let us start with Olivinn and Guests in the opening concert of ­“Delighted Music Festival”. Enjoy the Turkish-German delight! Thank you.