...NEW YORK, USA - MAY 16, 2025: An official ceremony was held in New York on Friday (May 16) to commemorate Türkiye’s May 19 Youth and Sports Day. Turkish and U.S. flags were raised during the event near Wall Street, organized by the Turkish Consulate General. The ceremony featured performances by a Janissary Band, following the national anthems of Türkiye and the United States. May 19, 1919, was the day when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who was later the founder of the Republic of Türkiye, arrived in the Black Sea city of Samsun from Istanbul to launch the war that four years later transformed the nation into modern Türkiye. In 1938, Ataturk dedicated May 19 to the youth of the Turkish nation as Youth and Sports Day -- a national holiday that sees young people take part in sporting and cultural activities with official ceremonies across the country.