Hungarian state cancels support for charity concert for Ukraine in Budapest
June 13. 2022. – 11:20 AM
updated
Ukrainian president Volodimir Zelensky’s former actor colleagues will be among the artists appearing at the charity concert which is to be held later this week, on 16 June at Bakáts tér in Budapest. The event was supposed to have taken place at the prestigious Várkert Bazár, but after weeks of organizing, the Hungarian state canceled its support of the event, which is why the 9th district of Budapest stepped in as host.
The charity event entitled “Life will win” will begin at 7 pm on 16 June and it will feature some of Ukraine’s most famous actors, singers and artists – all of whom have millions of followers on social media. The goal is to provide an opportunity for Hungarians and Ukrainians to express their solidarity with the victims of the war, as well as to express support for Ukraine’s fight for independence together.
The members of the popular Kvartal 95 Studio – the actors from the TV series entitled “Servant of the people” which made Zelensky popular and which is currently being shown on a Hungarian TV station as well, will also be among the performers. The main character in the series is a ditzy high school history teacher, who is still living with his parents and unexpectedly gets elected as Ukraine’s president. While he tries to fight the ever-present corruption, and is constantly battling it out with the local oligarchs, his political goal is to have Ukraine join the EU. At the same time, the big dogs are already working on his demise.
When the war broke out, the actors of Kvartal 95 Studio and all the other artists coming to Budapest stayed in Kyiv and did what they could to support their country. Some were organizing humanitarian aid, others delivered donations to the frontlines, and some held concerts in the stations of the underground to keep up people’s spirits. This is the first time they are leaving the country since the war began 3 months ago, and they are doing it so they can take part in the joint European effort to support their country.
The tour will take them to several European cities. 12 000 people attended the concert in Poland last Friday. Within the next few weeks there will also be events in Vienna, Bucharest, Berlin, Florence, Madrid and Cascais.
The most important goal of the charity concert series is to unite Europeans and Ukrainians, and to collect donations in support of Ukraine’s fight for its democratic future. Among those on stage at the “Life will win” concerts will be such well-known Ukrainian artists as Vopli Vidoplyasova, Pianoboy, Zlata Ognevich, Wellboy, and the Quartal 95 Studio performing the well-known songs from “Evening Quarter”.
At the request of the mayor of the 9th district, the donations collected at the Budapest concert will be used for humanitarian and medical purposes. The municipality of Ferencváros stepped in to help the organizers of the event, after the Hungarian state withdrew its support and the organizers were looking at canceling the concert.
Telex has been sending questions to the Prime Minister’s press office since last Thursday to find out why the government canceled the organizing of the event, but so far we have not received an answer. When we do, we will inform our readers.
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The translation of this article was made possible by our cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation.