Ukraband Donates Eurovision Winning Trophy Auction Proceeds to Military

On the 14th (local time), the Ukrainian band team 'Kalush Orchestra,' who won the Eurovision final held in Turin, Italy, is taking a commemorative photo holding the championship trophy. Turin, Italy = Photo by EPA·Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Ukrainian band that won this year’s Eurovision, Europe’s largest pop music festival, donated the proceeds from selling their winning trophy to the Ukrainian military. The funds are reported to be used for purchasing drones for the Ukrainian armed forces.

According to Bloomberg on the 30th (local time), Kalush Orchestra, the Ukrainian team that won Eurovision 2022, auctioned their winning trophy on Facebook and sold it for $900,000 (approximately 1.1 billion KRW), donating the money to the Ukrainian military. The donation is expected to be used to purchase three drones for the Ukrainian forces.

Separately from the trophy sale, the pink hat worn by Oleksandr Pshyuk, the leader of Kalush Orchestra, during the competition was also sold through a raffle. The hat was sold for $374,000, and the proceeds were also donated to the Ukrainian military.

Meanwhile, Kalush Orchestra is a group that won the Eurovision final held on the 14th in Turin, Italy, with the song “Stefania,” which combines Ukrainian traditional folk music with rap and hip-hop. Their participation attracted international attention as the Ukrainian government had imposed martial law banning men from leaving the country, but made a special exception for their competition entry.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.