Handover ceremony to take place Thursday for European Capital of Sports

ISTANBUL (A.A) - November 30, 2011 - The Mayor of Istanbul, Kadir Topbas, will attend a handover ceremony in Brussels on Thursday in which he will receive Istanbul's title as the "2012 European Capital of Sports" from the Mayor of Valencia, Rita Barbera Nolla. In a statement released Wednesday, the Istanbul Municipality said that the ceremony in Brussels would take place at the European Parliament. Topbas will be accompanied by Turkish Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis and Vice President of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) Goksel Gumusdag. Following the ceremony in Brussels, Topbas will proceed to Barcelona to attend a meeting of the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) of which he is the chair. Topbas will meet the Mayor of Barcelona Xavier Trias as well as the Turkish Consul General in Barcelona Haldun Koc.