Eurovision winners, Kalush Orchestra, will be performing at this year’s Glastonbury Festival.
The band’s song ‘Stefania’ saw them earn the winning spot at the singing contest in Turin last month and will now be taking to Shangri-La’s Stage on Friday.
They will bring their brand of “Ukrainian folk music, rap and hip hop” to the music bill for this year’s star-studded line-up, which also includes Pyramid Stage headliners Billie Eilish, Sir Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar.
Formed in 2019, Kalush Orchestra consists of founder and rapper Oleh Psiuk, multi-instrumentalist Ihor Didenchuk, and dancer Vlad Kurochka.
The band’s frontman Psiuk said: “We are so excited to be playing at Glastonbury Festival alongside some of the biggest names in music from around the world.
“This is the perfect place for our first ever British performance and we hope it will be the start of many in the UK.
“We are very grateful for all the support we receive from the people of Britain, both for us and our country, and we are preparing a very special Ukrainian surprise for the fans at Glastonbury.
“What is it? You’ll soon see. See you there.”
Since their victory, the band have been spending time in Ukraine and abroad in Germany to promote the release of the music video for Stefania, and the band also auctioned off the glass microphone trophy they won at Eurovision to raise money for the Ukrainian army.
Just weeks before Eurovision, Kalush Orchestra were fighting as part of the Ukrainian resistance against Russian forces.
They beat Britain’s Sam Ryder, who came second, and last week it was revealed that the BBC is in talks with the European Broadcasting Union about hosting Eurovision after the body ruled it could not go ahead in war-torn Ukraine next year as befits the tradition of the winning country hosting.
Chris “Tofu” Macmeikan, director of Lost Horizon, Shangri-La, Continental Drifts and Global Local, said: “It is a privilege to welcome the Kalush Orchestra to Shangri-La, and we’re honoured to have the chance to show our solidarity with Ukraine.
“On the Truth Stage we have always championed Roma and eastern European music, remixed for the 21st century, so they are the perfect fit, it’s going to be such a special moment for Glastonbury 2022.”
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