Eurovision winners auction off trophy to support Ukraine's army

KYIV • Ukraine's victory at the Eurovision Song Contest last month brought pride, joy and artistic prestige to the country amid the devastation of war.

Now, it will also help supply drones to the Ukrainian army.

Kalush Orchestra, the Ukrainian band that won Eurovision after sweeping the phone-in popular vote, put up for auction their trophy and the pink bucket hat worn by their lead singer during the contest.

The items netted more than US$1.2 million (S$1.6 million), said the band's spokesman in a statement on Monday.

In a Telegram message, lead singer Oleh Psiuk said: "We believe that this is only the first victory before our biggest victory over the Russian aggressor."

The money is going to the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation, an organisation founded by a Ukrainian television presenter, and will be used to buy three drones that the army can use for surveillance, said Ms Maria Pysarenko, a spokesman for the foundation.

The trophy, a handmade glass microphone, was auctioned in crypto currency, she added.

WhiteBIT, a crypto-currency exchange platform originally from Ukraine, secured the trophy on Sunday for US$900,000 after competing bids in the last minutes of the auction from businessmen from Kalush and a charity fund from Washington.

WhiteBIT spokesman Margarita Populan said: "It's a big amount, but we understand that the aim is much bigger."

She added that her company had worked to provide and coordinate support for Ukraine since the beginning of the war.

The winner of the bucket hat was chosen at random in a separate raffle, where each ticket cost 200 Ukrainian hryvnia (S$9). More than 30,000 people participated, raising more than US$300,000.

Mr Volodymyr Onyshchuk, a Ukrainian information technology engineer living in the Czech Republic who is a regular donor to Prytula's charity, won the prize.

He said in a telephone interview that he had bought several tickets because he thought it was "a cool situation".

He added that he planned to take a "picture for Facebook" with the hat before donating it to a museum in Kyiv or Kalush.

After winning Eurovision, Kalush Orchestra urged their fans to show support by donating to help the Ukrainian army.

"Every euro you donate will help save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers," wrote the band in an Instagram post promoting the auction.

NYTIMES