WThe 40th Chess Olympiad, organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place in Istanbul, Turkey, from 27 August to 10 September 2012. The city also hosted the event in 2000.
WThe 2012 European Curling Championships was held from December 7 to 15 at the Löfbergs Lila Arena and the Karlstad Curling Club in Karlstad, Sweden. The Group A competitions was held at the Löfbergs Lila Arena, while the Group B competitions was held at the Karlstad Curling Club. The 2012 European Curling Championships marked the fourth time that Sweden hosted the European Curling Championships. The Group C competitions were held from October 5 to 10 in Erzurum, Turkey.
WThe 11th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) was held in Istanbul, Turkey on 12–16 December 2012. This swimming-only championships took place in the Sinan Erdem Dome; all events were swum in a 25-meter (short-course) pool.
WThe 2012 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship was held at the Milli Piyango Curling Arena in Erzurum, Turkey from April 23 to 29. Erzurum previously hosted the 2011 Winter Universiade, during which the Milli Piyango Curling Arena was used for the curling competition. Among the previous hosts of the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championships, Turkey is the nation with the least experience in curling; its curling federation joined the World Curling Federation in 2009. For the first time since 2009, the event was not held in conjunction with the same year's World Senior Championships.
WThe 2012 Balkan Athletics Indoor Championships was the 17th edition of the annual indoor track and field competition for athletes from the Balkans, organised by Balkan Athletics. It was held on 18 February at the Ataköy Athletics Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. The competition was the first international event to be hosted at the newly-constructed Ataköy Athletics Arena, following the Turkish Indoor Athletics Championships in January and preceding the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships held in March. It also marked the re-launch of the Balkan Indoor Championships under the aegis of Turkey – the Hellenic Amateur Athletic Association had organised the event up to 2009 but the 2010 and 2011 championships were cancelled due to funding issues stemming from the Greek government-debt crisis.
WThe 2012 Eisenhower Trophy took place 4–7 October on the PGA Sultan course at Antalya Golf Club and the Faldo course at Cornelia Golf Club in Antalya, Turkey. It was the 28th World Amateur Team Championship for the Eisenhower Trophy. The tournament was a 72-hole stroke play team event with 72 three-man teams. The best two scores for each round counted towards the team total. Each team was due to play two rounds on the two courses.
WThe 2012 Espirito Santo Trophy took place 27–30 September at the Gloria Golf Club, on its New Course and Old Course in Antalya, Turkey.
WTurkey competed at the 2012 European Athletics Championships in Helsinki, Finland, between 27 June and 1 July 2012.
WThe 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was the 14th edition of the global-level indoor track and field competition and was held between March 9–11, 2012 at the Ataköy Athletics Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. It was the first of four IAAF World Athletics Series events in 2012, which includes the World Race Walking Cup, the World Junior Championships and the World Half Marathon Championships.
WMersin road cycling race was held on 23-25 March 2012 in Mersin city, Turkey, as the second lap of the national road race.
WTurkey competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from 29 August to 9 September 2012.
WThe 2012 Tour of Turkey was the 48th edition of the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey cycling stage race. It was held from 22 April–29 April 2012, and was rated as a 2.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. Bulgarian Ivailo Gabrovski originally won the race after dominating the third stage, but was later found to have used EPO and was disqualified. It was officially announced in October 2012 that the winner of the Tour of Turkey is Alexsandr Dyachenko of Astana.
WTurkey competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This nation has competed at every Summer Olympic Games in the modern era since its debut in 1908. Turkey, however, did not attend the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles at the period of Great Depression, and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of its support for the United States boycott. The Turkish Olympic Committee sent the nation's largest delegation to the Games. A total of 114 athletes, 48 men and 66 women, competed in 16 sports. For the first time in its Olympic history, Turkey was represented by more female than male athletes. Women's basketball and women's volleyball were the only team-based sports in which Turkey had its representation in these Olympic games. There was only a single competitor in archery, badminton, and artistic gymnastics.
WTurkey competed at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria from January 13 to January 22, 2012.
WThe 2012 WTA Tour Championships was a tennis tournament played at Istanbul, Turkey from October 23 to October 28, 2012. It was the 42nd edition of the singles event and the 37th edition of the doubles competition. The tournament was held at the Sinan Erdem Dome and was contested by eight singles players and four doubles teams. It was the larger of two season ending championships on the 2012 WTA Tour.