Venue: Istanbul Lütfi Kırdar International Convention and Exhibition Center
Town: Şişli, TR

Istanbul Lütfi Kırdar International Convention and Exhibition Center, often referred as Istanbul Lütfi Kırdar ICEC, shortly ICEC, (Turkish: İstanbul Lütfi Kırdar Uluslararası Kongre ve Sergi Sarayı), formerly Istanbul Sports and Exhibition Hall (İstanbul Spor ve Sergi Sarayı), is a multi-purpose convention complex located in Harbiye neighborhood of Şişli district in Istanbul, Turkey. Istanbul Lütfi Kırdar International Convention and Exhibition Center as the main building hosts along with its extension building, the "Rumeli Fair and Exhibition Center", important conventions, fairs, concerts, exhibitions as well as social and cultural events. Upon extraordinary success of the Turkish sport wrestlers achieved at the 1947 European Wrestling Championships and 1948 London Olympics, it was decided that the 1949 European Wrestling Championships take place in Istanbul. However, the city lacked an indoor sports venue appropriate for this event. Italian architect Paolo Vietti-Violi (1882-1965) and the Turkish architects Şinasi Şahingiray and Fazıl Aysu, who had designed also the Dolmabahçe Stadium in 1939, prepared the project. The groundbreaking of the Istanbul Sports and Exhibition Hall building took place on January 30, 1948 in presence of the city's governor and mayor Lütfi Kırdar (1887-1961). Kırdar refused the proposal of the chairman of the Istanbul Soccer and Athletes' Federation made during the ceremony that the building to be named after him, with the rationale unethical while still alive and in office. Right after the completion of the construction, it was opened on June 3, 1949 to host the European Wrestling Championships. The next event, which took place, was the Istanbul International Trade and Industry Fair held on October 2, 1949. In the center's grand hall with a seating capacity of 7,000 people, many different national and international sports events took place, such as basketball, handball, volleyball, boxing, weightlifting, wrestling, ice skating, ice hock