Tens of thousands of people have been flocking to the central Newroz celebration in Istanbul's Yenikapi Square since early morning. The motto of the event is "Let's resist and free ourselves with the Newroz fire". The mood is exuberant and militant, already in the queues at the checkpoints people started to dance. One group sang the resistance song Çerxa Şoreşê (The Wheel of Revolution) and loudly demanded "Freedom for Öcalan".

While the police set up several checkpoints at the exits of the metro, the organizers have their own places where the participants are searched for security reasons. Several banners were objected to by the police and could only be brought to the ground after a long debate. Among others, the inscription "Rojava's enemy is also the enemy of the oppressed" and a poster against the ban of the HDP were initially wanted to be confiscated.

Members of the Youth Council of the HDP celebrate particularly enthusiastically, dancing and chanting in solidarity with the hunger strike of political prisoners. Women ran united with purple capes with the inscription "Women - it's time for freedom!" on the festival square and also immediately began to dance.