Declared as "Europe Day" on May 9 at the European Union (EU) Summit held in Milan in 1985, Europe Day—accepted as the date when the foundations of the European Union were laid—was celebrated with a reception held at the French Palace in Istanbul.
The event, to which WALD was invited, was hosted by French Ambassador Charles Fries. Delivering the opening speech of the event, Fries stated that he was greatly pleased to host the Istanbul celebrations of Europe Day in a venue full of history in the presence of Christian Berger, and expressed, "France and Europe need a stable, prosperous, and democratic Turkey." Following Fries, Ambassador Berger delivered a speech, noting: "EU member states are united around major issues. Matters such as the maintenance of multilateralism, the fight against terrorism and elements threatening our security, and climate change are also issues shared with Turkey. Turkey is of great significance to the EU in terms of unity in diversity. With this diversity it possesses, Turkey will contribute a great deal to the EU."
Following the dinner served for the guests at iftar time, Adrianne Haam (mezzo-soprano) and Benjamin Schaefer (piano) gave a mini concert. Throughout the evening, Haam performed a mini concert consisting of pieces in Turkish, English, German, and French.
