Mayors from Eurocities and the B40 Balkan Cities Network visited Istanbul on 27–28 August 2025 to express solidarity with the city’s elected Mayor and founder of the B40 Network, Ekrem İmamoğlu. The delegation included the President of the B40 Balkan Cities Network & Sofia’s Mayor Vasil Terziev, as well as Athens’ Mayor Haris Doukas, Zagreb’s Mayor Tomislav Tomašević, Barcelona’s Mayor Jaume Collboni, Utrecht’s Mayor Sharon Dijksma, Timișoara’s Mayor Dominic Fritz and Budapest’s Mayor Gergely Szilveszter Karácsony alongside representatives from Madrid and Eurocities.
On 27 August, following a dinner hosted in Emirgan by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Acting Mayor Nuri Aslan, the delegation attended a rally organized by the Republican People’s Party (CHP) in Beyoğlu. The next day, they met with IMM officials, including B40 Permanent Secretary Barbaros Büyüksağnak, at the municipal headquarters in Saraçhane, where Eurocities’ “Special Democracy Award” for İmamoğlu was presented to Dilek Kaya İmamoğlu.
Later in Silivri, the delegation held a solidarity demonstration carrying placards reading “Free İmamoğlu.” Dilek Kaya İmamoğlu and several mayors delivered statements during the gathering. The visit concluded with a bilateral meeting between Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević and Acting Mayor Nuri Aslan.
