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Journalism of Courage
In a charity concert, some of the world’s top pop stars came together to raise money for Ukrainian refugees. However, in the end, it was violinist Nicola Benedetti’s performance, which was merged with a pre-recorded performance by a virtual orchestra, which moved all online.
Pop superstars such as Ed Sheeran, Camila Cabello and Emeli Sande and Snow Patrol were among the artists at the Concert For Ukraine held in Birmingham on Tuesday. The unique concert organised by ITV, Livewire Pictures and the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), supported by Classic FM, managed to raise a whopping £12.2 million for the humanitarian crisis, BBC News reported.
While Sheeran and Cabello performed hit songs, including ‘Bam Bam’ that was performed live for the first time, Cabello presented the audience with a soulful cover of Coldplay’s ‘Fix You’. However, it was a special video showing a montage of 94 violinists from 29 countries performing the traditional Ukrainian folk song ‘Verbovaya Doschechka’ that created a buzz online.
The breathtaking performance began with Illia Bondarenko, who played his instruments while hiding in a bomb shelter in Kyiv. Then it zoomed out to show other violinists from his country who manage to cross the border, before further opening out to show other musicians from across the globe.
The poignant performance culminated into a solo segment played by Benedetti, who was accompanied by actors Tamsin Greig and Eddie Marsan. As the Scottish virtuoso played, the two actors delivered harrowing accounts of Ukrainians whose life was in a topsy-turvy owing to the Russian invasion. With some staying back in the country to defend it, others had to completely uproot their lives and leave families behind.
That segment left many teary-eyed online, with people claiming it provided the much-needed perspective.
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The event also saw Ukrainian singer and winner of the 2016 Eurovision competition, Jamala, performing for her homeland as she sang her Eurovision-winning track 1944. The singer received one of the loudest cheers of the night as she held up the Ukrainian flag throughout her performance.
The concert was personal for her as well, as she herself had to run away with her children at the start of the war. “It was really hard, but I am here,” she told ITV prior to the show.
Despite their struggles, people have turned to music amid the crisis, where musicians have taken social media by storm using their art as an act of defiance. Amid all the chaos, music has offered some solace to people.
