The six-member girl group will perform their first British concert this autumn, following a rapid rise in Türkiye and growing international streaming success.
Turkish pop sensation Manifest will be live in London at OVO Arena Wembley on Friday 16 October 2026. Manifesto will become only the second Turkish artists to take to the stage at the iconic venue, following in the footsteps of megastar Tarkan who performed there at back in 2008.
Turkish girl band Manifest have celebrated one of the biggest moments of their young career after performing at the prestigious Sunny Hill Festival in Kosovo—just two days after the mayor of Çorum made disparaging comments while rejecting young residents’ calls for the group to perform in their city.
The six-piece appeared on Sunny Hill’s main stage in Pristina on Friday evening, 31 July, performing before an international festival audience on the same night as headline act Katy Perry. Manifest’s scheduled 8.15pm set was followed by performances from Kosovan-Albanian star Dhurata Dora and Perry.
Manifest also met British-Kosovan pop superstar Dua Lipa, whose family founded the festival, and shared photographs of the encounter with their followers.
“A little dream came true today,” the group wrote. “Performing at Sunny Hill Festival, founded by Dua Lipa, was something we’ll never forget,” they added, before thanking the Grammy-winning singer for hosting them.
The joyful post prompted numerous Turkish social-media users to draw comparisons with the treatment Manifest had received in Çorum, with variations of “Çorum’s loss” appearing among the reactions.
The row began during one of Çorum Municipality’s neighbourhood meetings in Akkent, where children reportedly told Mayor Halil İbrahim Aşgın that they loved Manifest and asked for the council to organise a concert.
Aşgın, an elected representative of Türkiye’s governing AK Party, was reported as abruptly responding: “As long as we are here, no Manifest girl can enter Çorum. We cannot pollute our city with them.”
After his words caused widespread criticism and claims that the group had effectively been banned from the city, Aşgın issued a clarification. He denied imposing any restriction on the individual members visiting Çorum, but stood by his refusal to stage their concert.
“The members of this group can, of course, come to our city, but as Çorum Municipality we will not organise or undertake this event,” he said, claiming the council would instead support performers it considered compatible with the city’s “values and culture”.
Manifest’s Sunny Hill booking had, however, been secured long before the controversy. Dua Lipa publicly amplified the festival’s announcement in May, while Manifest were named among the event’s first confirmed performers weeks before Aşgın’s comments.
Formed through the Big5 Türkiye talent competition, Manifest comprises Esin Bahat, Hilal Yelekçi, Lidya Pınar, Mina Solak, Sueda Uluca and Zeynep Sude Oktay. Since debuting in 2025, the group have rapidly established themselves as one of Türkiye’s most prominent new pop acts, combining vocals with elaborate dance performances.
Sunny Hill, meanwhile, attracts more than 100,000 music fans to Pristina and has previously hosted international stars including Miley Cyrus, Calvin Harris, Shawn Mendes, Stormzy and Dua Lipa herself. This year’s three-day festival is headlined by Katy Perry, Lewis Capaldi and Martin Garrix.
The Kosovo appearance was therefore already an important international step for Manifest. Coming so soon after the contemptuous rejection in Çorum, however, made the sight of the six young Turkish women proudly representing their country on one of Southeast Europe’s leading festival stages feel even sweeter.
British fans will have their own opportunity to see Manifest later this year, when the group stages its first-ever UK concert at London’s OVO Arena Wembley on Friday, 16 October. The landmark show, featuring special guest XO, marks another major step in the six-piece’s rapid rise beyond Türkiye.
