Eurovision winner Kalush Orchestra performs during a telethon in support of Ukraine in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate on May 29. (Annegret Hilse/Reuters)
Kalush Orchestra, the Ukrainian band that won the Eurovision Song Contest this month, joined other artists at a telethon in Berlin on Sunday to raise funds for medical equipment for Ukraine.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz addressed crowds gathered simultaneously in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, via video link.
“Hello, Kyiv. Hello, Ukraine. We stand with you. Our hearts and thoughts are with you today, like every day since Russia attacked your country,” Scholz said. He said Germany and its partners are committed to ensuring Ukraine’s economy “does not collapse,” noting that his country’s decision to provide weapons to Kyiv broke with Berlin’s long-standing convention of not sending weapons into war zones.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer appears on screen during the telethon. (Annegret Hilse/Reuters)
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer also appeared on screen during the telethon, which took place on the Day of Kyiv, a holiday in the Ukrainian capital that is typically celebrated on the last Sunday of May.
“Kyiv is the heart of Ukraine and the capital of freedom, which has never been and cannot be conquered,” the event’s organizers said in a statement.
The fundraiser, part of the United24 global initiative, will send donations to Ukraine’s Ministry of Health.
Kalush Orchestra also announced Sunday that it had auctioned its Eurovision trophy for nearly $1 million to help fund Ukraine’s fight against Russia. The band’s victory this month, which gives Ukraine the right to host the hugely popular spectacle in 2023, was secured by audience votes and cheered by world leaders, in a sign of strong public support for Ukraine as the war with Russia approached its three-month mark.
Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security noted the auction’s outcome on its Telegram channel Sunday and said the money would go toward drones for the Ukrainian army.
People wave Ukrainian flags in Berlin during the telethon. (Annegret Hilse/Reuters)