By James Brewer
February 24, 2025, will long be remembered as a significant date in the chronicles of the United Kingdom’s support for Ukraine – and in the history of the London Palladium. For an entire evening, the imposing theatre which since opening in 1910 has hosted hundreds of star entertainers, transformed itself into a cultural stronghold for the hard-pressed east European republic.
Under the title We Are Ukrainians. Three years of Resilience, the occasion was part of a global concert tour expressing gratitude to international partners supporting Ukraine’s resistance.
Organised by the Peace Committee of Ukraine, a provider of humanitarian assistance, the London event was a tribute to the response of the UK and marked the third anniversary of the start of Russia’s full-scale assault on Ukraine.
Up-tempo choruses, moving arias and energetic dance routines (which felt anything but routine) for two and three-quarter hours by the acclaimed Hryhoriy Veryovka National Honoured Academic Ukrainian Folk Choir, won round after round of thunderous applause.
Within a full house – the Palladium has 2,286 seats across stalls, royal circle and upper circle – there was plentiful representation from Ukrainian families temporarily or permanently living in the UK, professionals engaged in commerce, trade, specialist services, diplomacy and the arts, alongside many supporters from the UK.
War heroes, soldiers returned from captivity, and personalities such as the Ukrainian singer Svyatoslav Vakarchuk were among the choice crowd.
The audience experienced the living history of Ukraine through traditional music and dance as part of a modern, never long-winded, multimedia show. The fast-paced tribute to the heritage of the besieged nation showed why the Veryovka ensemble is respected as the leading choir in Ukraine.
Screen-projected sequences ranged from idyllic countryside with the rippling fields of grain so vital to the economy of Ukraine and of importing countries, to pictures of courageous soldiers and citizens seeking to maintain the fabric of family life as tanks rolled by shattered buildings.
Magnificent settings and costumes complemented the often lively and cheerful sound of instruments traditionally played by toiling peasants and shepherds in more tranquil eras. It was easy to imagine village communities amid fertile pastures and gentle hills, rapt in serenades from the tsymbaly, a version of the dulcimer, and the fife-like sopilka.
A solemn moment of reflection on the past three difficult years came early in the programme, as London Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of the Holy Family thanked all who had upheld the cause of Ukraine. Members of the audience were invited to observe a short silence and pray in honour of those who had suffered.
The emotional dynamics evinced by stark reminders of the war were soon brought sharply into focus.
One of the most moving few minutes of the evening – greeted with a standing ovation – came from the youngest person to enter on stage. Oleksandra Pascal, who was severely injured in a missile attack in May 2022, showed with what verve she is pursuing her dream of becoming a world Paralympic champion. Born in 2016, Oleksandra, or Sasha for short, gave a remarkable performance of rhythmic gymnastics. It was a stunning, poetic display of acrobatics and agility, including whirlwind somersaults.
Oleksandra lost her left leg after a Russian strike trapped her in the rubble of her home in Zatoka, a resort town on the Black Sea. She spent 15 days in a coma. Three months after being fitted with a prosthetic limb she was back to practising her great love, gymnastics. She received the Courage in War award from the Children-Heroes campaign, took part in the Vienna Ball in Kyiv, and won a gym championship in the port city of Chornomorsk.
The young Maiia Samoilenko read extracts from the diary she kept in Mariupol as the city was devastated by enemy bombing between February and May 2022 at a cost of many lives. Standing beside her, another young girl, Adele Jenkins-Olkhovskaya, read an English translation of Maiia’s pages.
Earlier, three prominent British Conservative politicians took to the stage to laud the steadfastness of Ukraine’s population, government and armed forces, and its ties with the UK. Ben Wallace was Secretary of State for Defence from 2019 to 2023; Sir Iain Duncan Smith, is a former Conservative Party leader; and Lord Charles Banner, a life peer, has focused on the importance of sanctions, urging re-purposing for Ukraine of Russian funds; he has personal as well as political commitment, for his wife and her family are from Donetsk. Lord Banner, a KC, was described in Legal 500 as an all-round superstar of the Bar.
Expressing his admiration for the Ukrainian defenders, Sir Iain referred to a heroic performance at the London Palladium of a different nature. During the Blitz, on May 11, 1941, a German incendiary device fell through the roof of the theatre without exploding. Two members of a bomb disposal team were called to neutralise the bomb which had become trapped in the rafters above the stage. After a tricky search in the dark, Sub-lieutenant Graham Maurice Wright and Able Seaman William Bevan located the device and safely removed it. Wright, a 29-year-old who had recently married, was awarded the George Medal, but sadly died at sea three months later; Bevan, who had already been awarded the medal for an earlier dangerous assignment, received a bar to his medal, and survived the war.
Organiser of the We are Ukrainians tour is Julia Gershun, president of the Peace Committee of Ukraine and a leader in raising funds through the Superhumans Centre for prosthetics operations and other support for soldiers and civilians who have lost limbs during the war. The centre carries out psychological, rehabilitation, reconstructive surgical and evacuation services, and cultural diplomacy. It is treating 3,000 patients a year in six regions. Among other landmarks in her career, Julia Gershun was voted Mrs Universe 2018 in a competition open to women with a family and career and involvement in a “significant cause.” She grew up in Dnipro, Ukraine’s fourth largest city.
Also representing the Superhumans Centre was the military veteran, Ruslana Danilkina. Twenty-one-year-old Ruslana, a resident of Odesa, lost her leg while serving in communications at the front.
Jamala, a top Ukrainian singer, composer and actor, reprised her song 1944 with which she won the Eurovision 2016 contest in Stockholm in front of 204m viewers. “When strangers are coming…/ They come to your house, /They kill you all/ and say, / we’re not guilty/ not guilty…” Jamala graduated from the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy in Kyiv, majoring in opera singing before switching to contemporary styles, and her interpretation of 1944 and one other song at the Palladium manifested her passions for soul and jazz.
Hosts on stage throughout were the much-loved actors and close friends, Dame Maureen Lipman and Rula Lenska, who has an aristocratic Polish background. In homage to Ukraine and its flag, Dame Maureen and Ms Lenska wore respectively yellow and blue-themed outfits and said that the evening had been one in which people were “united in music and memory.”
Dame Maureen related her pride in her Polish ancestry through her maternal great-grandfather. She visited Poland with Rula Lenska for the ITV show DNA Journey, discovering that her ancestor was a cobbler from Kazimierz (a centre of Jewish life in Kraków since at least the 1300s), the same town where her friend’s family owned a castle and estate.
Founded in 1943 by the composer and conductor Hryhoriy Veryovka, the distinguished music corps is the only orchestra to perform the National Anthem of Ukraine at official state events, including presidential inaugurations and the annual opening of Parliament. It is described as Ukraine’s main cultural ambassador to the world, having toured to more than 60 countries and performed at United Nations headquarters in New York and in the presence of Pope John Paul II in the Vatican.
Prominent attendees at the Palladium show included Pritan Ambroase, film director, producer, media entrepreneur, and human rights activist whose 2024 documentary Can I go home now? has children telling of their experiences in the Ukraine war zone; and Sir John Scarlett, former head of MI6 (2004–2009), with Lady Gwenda Scarlett.
Supporters of the Superhumans Centre include Sir Richard Branson, who in a statement said: “We must do everything we can to help Ukraine and to support organisations like Superhumans to ensure that this war ends in victory.” Howard Buffett, chairman and chief executive of the Howard G Buffett Foundation, one of the largest private charitable foundations in the US, which has helped fund the Centre, added: “The bitter truth is that Ukraine will need advanced medical facilities to help veterans and civilians affected by this war now and in the future.”
Sponsors of the London event included Serhiy Haydaychuk, president of the largest Ukrainian business club, CEO Club Ukraine.
The next concerts on the tour are planned for France and Canada, with dates to be confirmed.
As one participant put it, the We Are Ukrainians concert was a big step in further raising awareness, inspiring solidarity, and securing financial support for people affected by the war, shining especially a spotlight on the Superhumans Centre and its advanced medical care for wounded Ukrainians.
A spokesperson for Ukrainian Art House in London added: “It was essential for us to introduce the British public to authentic Ukrainian folklore and traditional folk arts.”.
Photos:
The Veryovka choir in full voice.
The big night at the London Palladium.
Singer Jamala and the Choir.
Julia Gershun of the Peace Committee of Ukraine.
The Veryovka choir with the dance troupe.
Lord Charles Banner calls for action on Russian funds held in UK
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, fervent supporter of Ukraine.
Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski, head of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy in London
Bishop Nowakowski addresses the audience, with Dame Maureen Lipman and Rula Lenska looking on. Photo credit: Anna Nekrasova. Instagram @nekrasova.photos.
In exquisite costume, women render traditional melodies.
A kaleidoscope of dance talent.
Virtuosi in harmony.
