20.07.2026 12:20
Elif Buse Doğan, who took the stage at the Malatya International Culture, Art and Apricot Festival, could not hide her surprise when she saw a sparse crowd in the square. As the young artist looked at the empty space and asked, "Where are the people of Malatya? Is there another concert?" the answer came from the front rows: "They went to pick apricots."
Famous artist Elif Buse Doğan, who took the stage on the opening day of the 28th International Culture, Art and Apricot Festival organized by Malatya Metropolitan Municipality, could not hide her surprise when she could not find the crowd she expected in the square. The "apricot picking" dialogue between the young singer and the few listeners in the area became the most talked-about video of the night on social media.
DAYTIME CROWD HEAVY, NIGHT SQUARE EMPTY
During the daytime, the festival cortege held with the participation of Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı and the protocol received great interest from the people of Malatya, with the streets overflowing. However, in the evening hours, the expected crowd did not form at Elif Buse Doğan's concert held at Orduzu Pınarbaşı Fairground. The famous artist, who saw the empty spaces in the square and was surprised, stopped singing a folk song for a moment and addressed those in the area via the microphone.
FUNNY "APRICOT" DIALOGUE ON STAGE
The artist, who has a large fan base, complained about the crowd that did not fill the area and asked them to call their neighbors. At those moments, the following dialogue, both funny and thought-provoking, took place between the audience in front of the stage and Elif Buse Doğan:
- Elif Buse Doğan: Where are the people of Malatya, I am very curious. Is there another concert? Did they go there?
- Audience: They went to pick apricots!
- Elif Buse Doğan: Is everyone there? I wish we had gone to help too, so they could finish the work and come to the concert in the evening.
BECAME A TRENDING TOPIC ON SOCIAL MEDIA
These moments experienced by the artist, who performed beloved folk songs for about two hours, quickly surfaced on the internet. Social media users showed great interest in the dialogue with comments such as "July is apricot harvest time in Malatya, you can't find people concerned with making a living at a concert" and "The artist made a sincere complaint, but the reality of Malatya right now is in the field."