Entertainment
Eurovision winners Kalush Orchestra auction off trophy for $900,000 to help Ukrainian army during Russian war-Louise Griffin-Entertainment – Metro
Frontman Oleh also auctioned his pink bucket hat.
Kalush Orchestra auctioned off the glass trophy they won at the Eurovision Song Contest (Picture: MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
Eurovision winners Kalush Orchestra have auctioned off the trophy they won at the Song Contest for $900,000 (£700,000) to help the Ukrainian army during the war with Russia.
Oleh Psiuk, Ihor Didenchu, Vlad Kurochka, Vitalii Duzhyk, Tymofii Muzychuk and Oleksandr Slobodianyk auctioned off the glass microphone they won with their performance of Stefania in Turin earlier this month.
They raised a further $370,000 (£293,000) by raffling off the pink bucket hat frontman Oleh wore during the performance.
The winning bid for the trophy was attributed to Whitebit, a cryptocurrency exchange, and came in the form of 500 Ethereum.
Addressing the huge amount of money raised, the band wrote on Facebook: ‘You guys are amazing!
‘We appreciate each and everyone of you who donated to this auction and a special thanks to the team Whitebit who purchased the trophy for $900,000 and are now the rightful owners of our trophy.’
They won with their song Stefania (Picture: MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
The band have been eager to help their home country amid the war with Russia (Picture: AP)
The money will go to a charitable fund which raises money for Ukrainian forces against the Russian army.
Ukrainian TV presenter Serhiy Prytula, who hosted the auction, said there were 31,088 entries into the hat raffle, and that the winner was in the Czech Republic.
Kalush Orchestra won the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest after a landslide in the public televote.
According to those present at Eurovision, at the end of their performance Kalush asked the audience to help Ukraine and Mariupol amid the ongoing Russian invasion.
The band had been granted special permission to leave Ukraine, where men aged 18 to 60 could be called up to fight and are not allowed to leave the country during the conflict.
The band recently returned home to Ukraine (Picture: Getty Images)
They were given a hero’s welcome (Picture: AP)
Speaking on a press conference live stream following their win, Oleh said: ‘I’m going back home as I run a volunteering organisation that helps refugees with food, accommodation, and medication.
‘I will keep doing that. We will host Eurovision in a newly rebuilt and happy Ukraine.’
Following their win, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky vowed that his country would host the competition next year.
More: Russia-Ukraine war
He said: ‘Ukraine will be hosting Eurovision next year. For the third time in its history, and I trust not for the last time.
‘We will do our best so that Ukraine’s Mariupol, a liberated, peaceful city that has been rebuilt will host guests and participants of Eurovision one day.’
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