Turkey hosts Champions League final after earthquake and tight election – 09/06/2023 – Sport

Drivers driving through — and often congested — Istanbul traffic often see two types of posters: those of the Champions League final and those of politicians, such as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying “thank you” for his re-election.

This Saturday (10) the city, with a population of 15 million, will host the game between Manchester City and Inter Milan, at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium.

The final of Europe’s biggest club tournament comes after turbulent months in Turkey. In February, an earthquake left more than 50,000 dead and 200,000 buildings destroyed. The quake’s epicenter was in the south of the country, over a thousand kilometers from Istanbul.

Then there was a fierce election campaign. On May 28, Erdogan was re-elected, in the second round, by a narrow margin: 52% of the votes. He has been in power for 20 years: he was prime minister and, since 2014, he has been president. Now, he will have another five years in office.

In office, he concentrated power and brought Turkey closer to the model of autocracy, in which the opposition has less space and the ruling party stifles dissenting voices.

One of the signs of the lack of democracy is on the Internet: some foreign news sites, such as the German agency DW, are not available. Pages like Wikipedia and Twitter have already suffered blockages. Pornography and LGBT dating apps are banned. Erdogan has a conservative position and, in the election, sought to point out homoaffective relations as a banner of the opposition.

In Turkey, the inauguration is quick: it took place a week after the election. On Saturday (3), Erdogan began his new term, promising to build a “century of Turkey”.

The day after the speech, many cars took to the streets of Istanbul, but for another reason. Galatarasay, a football team on the European side of the city, beat Fenerbahçe, which is in the Asian part, by 3-0, in the last round of the Turkish Championship, of which it was already the anticipated winner.

Istanbul is located on the border between Europe and Asia and extends across territories on both continents. The two parts are separated by the Bosphorus Strait, which is only a kilometer long in some parts and is easily crossed by bridges and tunnels.

The Galatasaray fans’ party on Sunday focused on Taksim Square, where hundreds of fans stood for hours chanting and waving flags and flags, under the watchful eye of police.

Taksim has been the scene of many anti-government protests over the past decade, as part of what became known as the Arab Spring. Despite protests to the contrary, Erdogan remained in power.

In Istanbul, it is common to have metal detectors and security searches at the entrance to public places such as hotels, shopping malls and the subway. The procedure, however, is often done in a loose manner. At stations, the report saw detectors turned on, with no agent around.

This year’s final will have reinforced security, to avoid a serious problem like the one that occurred last year in Paris. At the time, there was huge confusion around the Stade de France, with gas bombs used against fans. Because of this, the start of the match was delayed by 40 minutes.

This year, there will be blockades one kilometer from the stadium, to bar people without a ticket. Spectators will pass through up to three security barriers to the venue. The sale of alcoholic beverages will be controlled around the arena and prohibited inside it.

The final will take place at the Atatürk stadium, which has a capacity of 72,000 and is located on the outskirts of Istanbul.

The expectation is that the final will take more than 65 thousand travelers to the city, and that it can generate more than US$ 120 million (R$ 589 million) in revenue, estimates the local tourism association. Each person is expected to spend around US$2,000 (about R$9,800) on the visit.