The Olympic connection will be a major part of the appeal. Of the 26 sports planned, 22 feature on the Los Angeles 2028 programme and 21 will be linked to its qualification process. With 122 Olympic quota places envisaged, Istanbul will offer opportunities that could shape an athlete’s career. For fans, there will be the added excitement of watching competitors move closer to their next big goal.

Women are expected to account for 51% of participants, with men making up 49%. That balance will also be reflected in the programme, which includes 153 women’s events, 148 men’s events and 33 mixed events. The mixed competitions will add another dimension to the Games, bringing women and men together to compete for a shared place on the podium.

Athletics will have the largest number of competitors, with 1,800 athletes expected. Aquatics will follow with 570, fencing with 460 and gymnastics with 432. From races and jumps to fencing bouts and gymnastics routines, the programme will take spectators from speed to precision, and from endurance to body control. These different sporting challenges will make every day a chance to discover something new.

Combat sports will also have a strong presence. Boxing and wrestling are each expected to feature 400 athletes, alongside 248 in taekwondo and 200 in judo. Karate, kickboxing and muaythai will add to the range of techniques and styles on display. The pace of rugby sevens and 3×3 basketball will bring another kind of intensity, alongside sports such as climbing, squash and padel. There will be plenty of reasons to follow familiar favourites and give something different a try.

On the grass in Edirne, yağlı güreş, or oil wrestling, turns strength and balance into a tactical challenge. Its wrestlers, known as pehlivans, wear leather trousers called kıspet and cover themselves in olive oil, making it harder to get a grip on their opponent. Its best-known festival, Kırkpınar, traditionally traces its origins to the 14th century and was recognised by UNESCO in 2010. Anyone who follows Olympic wrestling will recognise the importance of unsettling an opponent’s balance, controlling their movements and choosing the right moment to attack. Although each discipline has its own rules, both demand technique, stamina and the ability to make decisions in a split second.

Cirit takes the action onto horseback. The practice arrived in Anatolia with Turkic peoples migrating from Central Asia and became an important part of equestrian and military training during the Ottoman period. Two teams of riders chase and dodge one another while throwing short, blunt wooden javelins towards their opponents. The throwing might bring athletics to mind, but here accuracy and movement matter more than distance. Its clearest connection with modern sport lies in equestrian disciplines, where balance, speed control and coordination with the horse are essential. These are shared skills, rather than evidence that cirit gave rise to Olympic equestrian sport.

Traditional Turkish archery developed from a tool for hunting and warfare into a sporting pursuit, flourishing particularly during the Ottoman Empire. In Istanbul, this history has a setting of its own: Okmeydanı, whose name means “field of arrows”, was home to an archery ground established under Sultan Mehmed II. Archers competed to shoot over great distances, and some commemorative stones still mark their achievements.

Türkiye, where sporting heritage lives on

Recognised by UNESCO in 2019, this tradition retains its own cultural identity while sharing Olympic archery’s emphasis on concentration, body control and a precise release of the bowstring. Materials and competition formats have changed, but coordination between body, mind and bow remains at the heart of the challenge.

The journey begins in Beyoğlu, where Galatasaray was founded in 1905. The club’s birthplace, Galatasaray High School, stands on İstiklal Avenue, one of Istanbul’s best-known and busiest pedestrian streets. From here, you can walk to Taksim, discover theatres, galleries and historic buildings, or explore the cafés and shops tucked into the surrounding streets. While the club’s identity remains closely tied to this cosmopolitan neighbourhood, its basketball team plays at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall in the district of Bakırköy.

From Beyoğlu to Kadıköy, Beşiktaş and Zeytinburnu, Istanbul’s neighbourhoods bring distinct identities to a city shaped by contrasts.

To explore Fenerbahçe territory, cross the Bosphorus to Kadıköy, one of the main hubs on Istanbul’s Asian side. Around the market, Bahariye Street and the streets leading towards Moda, you will find restaurants, bookshops, street art and a lively nightlife scene. Moda’s waterfront is a favourite spot for locals to run, cycle or catch the sunset. The team plays at Ülker Sports Arena in nearby Ataşehir, a much more modern district shaped by skyscrapers, shopping centres and residential developments.

Back on the European shore, Beşiktaş offers a different atmosphere. Its square and market form one of the city’s liveliest gathering places, surrounded by small restaurants, food stalls and bars, with ferry connections to the Asian side close by. Dolmabahçe Palace, the Bosphorus waterfront and the club’s football stadium are all nearby. The basketball team plays further north in the district, at Akatlar Sports Complex. Quiet and residential, Akatlar sits close to Etiler and Levent, offering a glimpse of a calmer Istanbul away from the main tourist trails.

Anadolu Efes is less closely associated with a particular neighbourhood, so its arena provides the starting point. The team plays at the Basketball Development Center, a modern complex in Kazlıçeşme, within the district of Zeytinburnu. From here, you can explore the Marmara Sea waterfront, walk towards the ancient walls of Constantinople and visit Fişekhane, a former Ottoman factory dating from the 19th century that now brings together culture, dining and entertainment. Shaped by its industrial past, this area is undergoing significant urban renewal.

A look at the map explains how it works. The Bosphorus connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara and separates Istanbul’s European and Asian sides. Neighbourhoods, waterfront promenades and ferry terminals line both shores, all belonging to the same city. Ferries and bridges connect these two halves every day, making a journey between continents as ordinary as heading to work, meeting friends or going home.

Organised by the Turkish Olympic Committee since 1989, the swim turns that everyday connection into a sporting challenge. Its roughly 6.5-kilometre course starts in Kanlıca, on the Asian shore, and finishes in Kuruçeşme, on the European side. That distance is the length of the course, which follows the strait with the help of its current, rather than the gap between the two shores. This is an organised competition with entry requirements, where stamina and navigation are part of the challenge, alongside the excitement of swimming between continents.

The start and finish also offer a way to explore Istanbul without putting on a swimsuit. In Kanlıca, the streets around the ferry terminal invite visitors to pause by the water and try the yoghurt that has made the neighbourhood famous. In Kuruçeşme, the area around Cemil Topuzlu Park brings visitors to the European waterfront and its views across the strait.

The Bosphorus connects Istanbul’s shores, while swimming brings its continents and communities together.

Following the swim offers a fresh perspective on this landscape of boats, bridges and coastal neighbourhoods. The Bosphorus is a transport route, but it is also a place where geography shapes sport.