“Hello Liverpool!” came the enthusiastic greeting from Vlad Yaremchuk, one of the organisers of a dance event livestreaming to the UK from behind the decks in the free-spirited Kyiv club HVLV. “I really hope you enjoy and keep supporting Ukraine. We feel it here and it means a lot to us.”
“God save the King!” exclaimed a partygoer in a multicoloured fleece on the dancefloor. Young women twirled around each other beside a stoic man dressed in camouflage, all streamed on to large screens at two venues on the opposite ends of Europe.
The dance event, Rave UKraine, was held simultaneously in Hangar 34 in Liverpool and HVLV in Kyiv on Sunday as part of a programme of events around Saturday’s Eurovision song contest final. The annual competition is taking place in the UK this year on behalf of war-stricken Ukraine, with a number of solidarity galas running alongside it.
At the grand opening ceremony in Liverpool, Ukraine’s entry, the electro-pop duo TVORCHI, wore jackets emblazoned with the names of babies born prematurely due to Russia’s invasion. Kalush Orchestra, who seized the top spot last year after a show of support from Europe, will headline the official Eurovision Village festival this week, and other Ukrainian bands are expected to play.
The hosting of this year’s Eurovision adds to the love affair that has bloomed between the UK and Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. UK-supplied weapons and troop-training have played a vital role in the war, and Boris Johnson is so revered for his support that a Kyiv cafe named a cake after him last summer.
Over the weekend, Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, attended the king’s coronation in London, and the defence ministry released a video that thanked “our British friends for your friendship”, set to London Calling by the Clash.
Yaremchuk, a big fan of UK electronic music, is one of the organisers of Rave UKraine, which was held at 5pm Ukraine time and 3pm UK time due to the military curfew in Kyiv. Speaking at the sidelines of the event in the capital, as young ravers oscillated to a rolling techno beat, he said it was a “celebration of Ukraine’s existence”.
“Before the war, people didn’t see us as our own space, but as part of Russia,” he said. “Since the full-scale invasion, we’ve been having an insane golden period for Ukrainian culture. We make way more music now, all in Ukrainian instead of Russian. Our voice has grown loud.”
With conflict isolating the country, displays of unity and solidarity from overseas like Eurovision let Ukrainians know the world still sees them. “Liverpool is now a Little Kyiv,” said Yaremchuk.
He was unable to travel to the UK due to changes to the paperwork needed for men to leave the country under martial law. He works for the fundraising initiative Music Saves UA, which has raised money through, among other things, the release of a charity album of tracks provided by mostly UK music producers.
Rave UKraine expected about 800 ravers across the two countries, with the proceeds from ticket sales going to help people in cities such as Kherson. Yaremchuk wants to persuade UK artists to brave a trip to Kyiv for his next project.
While the capital is booming as the weather warms up, Kyiv is still suffering from Russia’s war and attacks have increased in recent weeks. Early on Monday, five people were injured by falling debris in the capital as air defences took down a number of Iranian-made Shahed drones, the booms ringing out through the night sky. Ukraine said it downed 35 across the country.
Music provides an outlet and escape. Hours after Rave UKraine, one of the DJs who performed, Valeriy Neyman, known as Raavel, departed for a military drone unit mission in frontline Bakhmut. He will “drop” his latest track once there.
“We do everything for our future. Not only fighting – the cultural front is very important,” said Neyman. “It’s very important for us to show the Russians that we don’t care about rockets and drones – we can party and make music anyway.”
“I have a grenade, and if the Russians try to capture me, I will use it on myself for sure. I hope it will not happen, because I have a lot to focus on my future,” he adds, in a sobering reminder of the purpose of the event amid the throng of laughter and sweaty euphoria.