2026 Cartoon Contest & Humor Service Awards Ceremony held in Kyrenia, Cyprus

At the ceremony held at Kyrenia Municipality’s New Service Building

2026 CARTOON AND HUMOR SERVICE AWARDS PRESENTED

Awards were presented to the artists who won the top prizes in the 15th International Cartoon Contest - traditionally organized by the Kyrenia Municipality and the Cypriot Turkish Cartoonists Association as part of the 25th International Olive Festival and Olive Humor Festival 2026 - as well as to the recipients of the 2026 Golden Olive Humor Service Awards.

OLIVE FESTIVAL CANCELLED THIS YEAR DUE TO NATIONAL MOURNING;

ONLY THE AWARDS CEREMONY TOOK PLACE

A nationwide period of mourning was declared - resulting in the cancellation of musical venues and festive events - after a passenger ship traveling between Kyrenia and Mersin sank off the coast of Kyrenia on August 30, 2026, causing the drowning deaths of 18 of the 267 passengers on board. In accordance with this decision, the traditionally held International Olive Festival was cancelled, and only a modest awards ceremony was organized for the cartoon contest.

A SOMBER AWARDS CEREMONY

The awards ceremony, held on September 30, 2026, at the Kyrenia Municipality’s New Service Building, was attended by a large gathering of guests. Among the attendees were Kyrenia Mayor Murat Şenkul; Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ayşe Ünlüce - who was in Kyrenia to offer condolences regarding the recent maritime tragedy - and Adana Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Mayor Güngör Geçer, along with their accompanying delegations.

SPEECHES AND AWARD PRESENTATIONS

Prior to the awards ceremony, speeches were delivered by Kyrenia Mayor Murat Şenkul, Cypriot Turkish Cartoonists Association President M. Serhan Gazioğlu, and General Secretary Hüseyin Çakmak. Following the speeches, awards were presented to the cartoonists who won prizes in the 15th International Cartoon Contest, as well as to the artists deemed worthy of the 2026 Golden Olive Humor Service Awards. The awards were presented by Kyrenia Mayor Murat Şenkul, Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ayşe Ünlüce, Adana Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Mayor Güngör Geçer, Kyrenia Municipal Council Member and Head of the Culture and Arts Committee Ziya Egemen Sencer, Cypriot Turkish Cartoonists Association President M. Serhan Gazioğlu, General Secretary Hüseyin Çakmak, and Kyrenia Municipality Culture and Arts Department Head Aysun Çelik.

SPEECHES BY AWARD-WINNING CARTOONISTS

The guest cartoonists attending the ceremony delivered meaningful speeches regarding the event. The artists who attended the ceremony by invitation and received awards are: Ömer Çam (Turkey), Alessandro Gatto (Italy), Jugoslav Vlahovic (Serbia), and - from Cyprus - Arif Albayrak, Dolgun Dalgıçoğlu, Hüseyin Özel, and Mustafa Kemal Kasapoğlu.

INTERNATIONAL CARTOON EXHIBITION ALSO OPENED

Following the awards ceremony, an exhibition was opened featuring the winning works from the 15th International Cartoon Contest, which saw the participation of 148 cartoonists from 44 countries with a total of 586 entries. The cartoon exhibition, hosted at the Kyrenia Municipality’s New Service Building, will be open to visitors until October 16, 2026.