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The 26th International Famagusta Culture and Arts Festival will bring together concerts, theater, dance and special stage performances from June 23 to July 16, turning two of the city's landmark heritage venues, Othello Castle and the Salamis Ancient Theater, into open-air stages for summer evenings in the the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
Organized by the Famagusta Municipality, the festival has become one of the city's main cultural events, drawing in local audiences and visitors with a program that places international and local artists inside Famagusta's historical setting.
This year's edition continues that approach with performances ranging from contemporary Cypriot music and jazz to tango, theater and major concerts.
The festival will be held at the Othello Castle and the Salamis Ancient Theater, two venues presented by the municipality as among Famagusta's most important historical venues. By bringing performances into these spaces, the municipality aims to link the city's cultural heritage with the arts and strengthen Famagusta's profile as a center for international artistic events.
The opening concert by Selin Gecit on June 23 will be free of charge. Tickets for paid events will be available through Kibris Biletcim, Gise Kibris, Tixcy, Famagusta Municipality and venue entrances on event days.
The festival will open at Othello Castle on June 23 at 9:00 p.m. with a concert by Selin Gecit, one of the younger generation's promising voices. Known to a wider audience through her YouTube performances and her cover of "Yalanci Bahar," Gecit began her professional music career after studying in England with Mahmut Orhan's track "In Control."
On June 24, Kyprogenia will take the same stage at Othello Castle at 9:00 p.m. The project, led by composer and performer Larkos Larkou since 2005, brings together Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot musicians, offering an alternative and contemporary reading of Cypriot musical traditions through a shared cultural memory.
On June 30, "Devlerin Savasi" will be staged at Othello Castle at 9:00 p.m. The play brings together Okan Bayulgen, Celal Kadri Kinoglu and Nihal Usanmaz, focusing on the inspiring and much-debated lives of two major classical music conductors, Herbert von Karajan and Leonard Bernstein.
The following evening, July 1, the Famagusta City Orchestra will share the stage with Cypriot artist Fikri Karayel at Othello Castle. The performance will bring together the orchestra's role in the city's cultural life with Karayel's distinctive voice and well-known songs.
On July 6, Othello Castle will host a Tango Gala by Naturalis Labor Dance Company, founded in 1988 by Luciano Padovani and Francesca Mosele. The performance will feature eight tango dancers and live music by the Tango Spleen Quartet, presenting Argentine tango as a theatrical language shaped by passion, sensitivity and storytelling.
Jazz will take over the venue on July 7 with Oytun Ersan & Blue Deja Vu Band. Ersan, who has performed at international jazz festivals and prestigious venues, will bring his energetic stage identity to the festival with a concert designed as one of the program's standout music nights.
The festival will move to the Salamis Ancient Theatre on July 9 with Theater Best's "Atreuslarin Yalnizligi," a bilingual Turkish and Greek production created especially for the venue. Presented under the subtitle "After the Silence... Testimonies from the House of Atreus," the play revisits the figures of the Atreus dynasty after war, sacrifice and broken family ties, with artists from both communities of Cyprus taking part.
One of the festival's international highlights will follow on July 14, when Pink Martini performs at the Salamis Ancient Theater at 9:00 p.m. Known for its multilingual repertoire and global musical influences, the group will bring its distinctive stage energy to one of the festival's most atmospheric settings.
The festival will close on July 16 with a concert by Sertab Erener at the Salamis Ancient Theater. Recognized as one of Türkiye's powerful vocalists, Erener will wrap up the festival with a repertoire of well-known songs and a closing-night performance shaped around her voice and stage presence.
Over the past 25 years, the International Famagusta Culture and Arts Festival has hosted global names including Natalie Cole, Jose Feliciano, Lara Fabian, Randy Crawford, Goran Bregovic, Pink Martini, Bonnie Tyler, Loreena McKennitt, Apocalyptica, Cesaria Evora, The Wailers, ZAZ, Paco Pena, Boney M, Buika and Lila Downs.
The festival has also welcomed artists from Türkiye such as Nilufer, Candan Ercetin, Sertab Erener, Zulfu Livaneli, Bulent Ortacgil, Teoman, MFO, Zerrin Ozer, Sebnem Ferah, Athena, Levent Yuksel and Cem Adrian, along with major theater and dance names, including Yildiz Kenter, Okan Bayulgen, Ferhan Sensoy, Genco Erkal, Levent Kirca, the Bolshoi Ballet, Los Vivancos and Anadolu Atesi.
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