18.10.2026 12:20
Soner Olgun, who passed away at the age of 67 due to pancreatic cancer, is being commemorated with a ceremony held at the Harbiye Muhsin Ertuğrul Stage. While the emotional farewell message from his ex-wife Özlem Koldaş draws attention, the artist will be buried in Hasdal Cemetery after the noon prayer.
A memorial ceremony is being held at the Harbiye Muhsin Ertuğrul Stage for musician, composer and lyricist Soner Olgun, who died at the age of 67 in the hospital where he was being treated for pancreatic cancer. His family, relatives, artist friends and fans came together at the ceremony to bid farewell to Olgun, who passed away on October 16.
The funeral of the artist, known for his works “Happy Holidays Türkiye” and “A Bird Called Love,” will be taken to Teşvikiye Mosque after the ceremony in Harbiye. After the funeral prayer to be performed at noon, Olgun will be buried in Hasdal Cemetery.
EMOTIONAL FAREWELL FROM HIS EX-WIFE Soner Olgun’s ex-wife Özlem Koldaş published an emotional message after the artist’s death, beginning with the words, “We couldn’t make our marriage work, but we became good friends.” Recalling the years she shared with Olgun and their daughter Elif, Koldaş said:
“How does a person say goodbye to someone with whom they shared half their life? I don’t know… I was 21 when he entered my life; now I am 47. We couldn’t make our marriage work, but we became good friends. The most beautiful years of a lifetime, the hardest times, the laughter, the tears, the stages, the songs… You were in all of them. We grew up together, we changed together, sometimes we hurt each other, sometimes we walked on separate paths; but no matter where life took us, our place in each other’s lives was always very precious. You were my youth, my companion, my closest friend, and you were the father of the most precious gift life gave me, our Elif. In your last days, as I held your hand, looked at you, and rushed about trying to ease your pain even a little, the same thing always went through my mind: I wish there were more I could do for you. Today we lost you; even putting these two words side by side hurts me. I don’t know how it is possible to accept that a person who has been in my life for so many years will no longer be there.
But I know one thing: you will continue to live through your voice, your songs, our memories, everything we experienced together, and most of all in our daughter’s eyes. And today, when I look back, only one feeling remains over all that we have lived through: I’m glad you passed through my life, I’m glad you became our Elif’s father, I’m glad we lived all these years together. Now I have to send you off, but I cannot say goodbye to you, my dear Soner; because how does a person say goodbye to such a big part of their own life? Sleep in peace, my dear Soner; our Elif is entrusted to me, and you are with us forever in both of our hearts.”
Singer Kubat, who attended the ceremony, also stated that he visited Olgun at his home for the last time and said, “I sang a folk song; that was our final farewell.”
HE MADE HIS MARK IN MUSIC AND TELEVISION Born in Fethiye in 1959, Olgun graduated from Bornova Anatolian High School and then from Dokuz Eylül University Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Theatre and Dramatic Writing. The artist, who entered the music world with his first album “Grace,” released the albums “Everything Must Change,” “Happy Holidays,” “Happy Holidays Türkiye” and “A Bird Called Love.”
Olgun, who also prepared and presented television programs, has 35 works for which he wrote the lyrics or composed the music.