A coalition of pro-government civil-society groups is preparing to stage an annual New Year’s Day rally for Gaza on Istanbul’s Galata Bridge, a demonstration that organizers describe as a recurring January 1 tradition—and that critics increasingly view as a made-for-television political showcase elevating President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son, Bilal Erdoğan.
At a press conference hosted at the headquarters of the Turkey Youth Foundation (TÜGVA), Bilal Erdoğan—who sits on TÜGVA’s high advisory board—urged the public to gather on the morning of January 1, 2026, framing the Gaza war as an issue “above politics” and “a matter of humanity’s conscience,” while also praising the president’s “leadership” on Palestine.
The optics of the launch event were notable: leaders of three of Turkey’s biggest football clubs—Galatasaray, Beşiktaş, and Trabzonspor—appeared alongside Bilal Erdoğan, lending a sense of national “consensus” to a rally promoted under slogans such as “We won’t be silenced; we won’t forget Palestine.”
Why Sadettin Saran wasn’t there — and why that absence matters
One absence stood out. Fenerbahçe President Sadettin Saran did not attend the press conference; the club was represented instead by board member Ertan Torunoğulları. The absence came immediately after Saran was questioned and released under judicial restrictions in a high-profile narcotics investigation that has ensnared entertainment and media figures.
This is where optics become politics. The broader probe cited by prosecutors has included accusations such as drug offenses and, in parts of the case, facilitating prostitution. Saran’s specific suspicion, as reported, related to providing and facilitating narcotics use, and he provided samples for testing before release under conditions including a travel restriction.
In that context, keeping Saran away from the stage is easily read as damage control: the organizers could still claim “all four big clubs” are represented, while avoiding the photograph that would fuse Bilal Erdoğan’s carefully polished “national figure” image with a club president newly tied — even by allegation — to a scandalous investigation.
From one-off protest to ritualized “New Year message”
The New Year Gaza march is no longer framed as a one-time protest. Turkish press reports say the Galata Bridge gathering will be held for the third consecutive year on January 1, explicitly marketed as a “first day of the year” tradition.
The repetition matters because the rally’s core messaging is also repeating. Organizers again promise a symbolic “New Year’s message” to the world—built around the same themes: we haven’t forgotten Gaza; the ceasefire is not real; public witness is required. A
That continuity is reinforced by what happened last year. On January 1, 2025, tens of thousands gathered on the Galata Bridge in a protest organized by the “National Will Platform,” waving Turkish and Palestinian flags and chanting pro-Palestinian slogans; Bilal Erdoğan addressed the crowd, urging support for Gaza and condemning Israel’s actions.
Why the football photo-op matters
In Turkey, football is not merely sport—it is a mass social identity, a vast network of associations, and a highly visible channel for political signaling. A press line-up that places Bilal Erdoğan shoulder-to-shoulder with club presidents does more than promote a rally: it visually suggests institutional alignment and national endorsement.
For critics, this is precisely the point. They argue that the Gaza cause—deeply emotive and widely supported—becomes a “safe” banner under which a succession-friendly image can be built without openly announcing a succession plan. The rally is presented as “above politics,” yet it simultaneously functions as domestic political theater by centering a single surname and surrounding it with the country’s biggest social megaphones.
While organizers and participating institutions presented the turnout as a broad civic mobilization, the presence of top club presidents—figures with massive public reach far beyond formal politics—has fueled criticism that the event is also serving as a soft-power stage for Bilal Erdoğan’s domestic branding.
The succession subtext
Whether or not any formal plan is declared, the pattern fits a broader narrative described in earlier analysis by News About Turkey (NAT), which argued that Erdoğan has been positioning Bilal Erdoğan through “carefully orchestrated public appearances,” “strategic messaging,” and institutional ecosystems linked to TÜGVA and similar networks.
That analysis highlighted how high-profile rallies and youth-linked organizations can serve as “strategic platforms,” offering repeated public exposure, tested slogans, and a ready-made grassroots machinery—especially when wrapped in symbolism and causes that resonate strongly with conservative-nationalist constituencies.
In that light, the annualization of the Galata Bridge Gaza rally looks less like a spontaneous civic tradition and more like a scheduled stage: the same date, the same location, the same moral framing, and increasingly the same political protagonist.
By: News About Turkey (NAT)
