In cooperation between the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) and the Municipality of Hamm, Germany, a sports, culture and recreation festival will be organized between the dates of June 28-30, in Hamm city, one of the German cities where Turkish people are densely populated.

Within the scope of the Europe Sports and Culture Festival (ASKFEST) to be held between June 28-30 in Hamm, Germany, where there is a dense German-Turkish population, modern and traditional sports competitions, individual and team sports activities, games for children and adults, cultural-art activities and other various activities will be organized.

Festival will be held at an old mine called Lippenpark near the shores of Lippe River. This mine is famous since Turkish mine-workers who have migrated into Germany since 1950s and worked there had important roles in the development of the city and Germany.

The ASKFEST is aimed at Turkish and German citizens of all ages offering a chance to achieve a profound experience of each other’s culture by playing sports and having fun together with the activities that originate from both Turkish and German cultures.

The festival to be organized under the slogan, “Play Sports Together! Have Fun Together! Live Together!” is composed of countless activities of sports, culture and recreation. The festival will hold football, basketball and athletics competitions along with sports such as ping pong, bowling, skating and cycling, traditional sports like archery, oil wrestling, knucklebones and also children games and mind games.

Along with these gastronomy activities in which the unique examples from Turkish and German cuisines can be seen, products from Turkish and German cultures will be exhibited and concerts and other activities will be organized in the festival.

Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoğlu the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Abdullah Eren, the President of YTB, Thomas Hunsteger Petermman the Mayor of Hamm and authorities of both countries will attend the festival, and the attendance of many famous sportspeople and artists from Turkey and Germany are expected. 

The entrance to the festival is free and the participation of hundreds of thousands of visitors, mainly from Turkish and German citizens of Hamm as well as from Germany and Europe is expected.