Thank You for the Beautiful Concert for Ukraine
We would like to thank everyone who attended the Concert for Ukraine on Sunday, as well as those who watched it online. Five thousand of you gathered in the Main Square, while another 95,000 watched the live broadcast. A total of 100,000 viewers sent a powerful message, both at home and abroad, that the people of Slovakia are not indifferent to what is happening in Ukraine.
18. March 2025
A huge thank you goes to the artists who performed without any fee. The Concert for Ukraine opened in spectacular fashion with Para, followed by the iconic band Slobodná Európa, which got the entire Main Square in Bratislava moving. A beautiful musical contrast was provided by Peter Lipa, who also paid tribute to Milan Lasica. Next came the band RozpoR, whose punk blast could surely be heard even beyond the Old Town. A particularly moving moment was the performance by Czech legend David Koller, who came to Bratislava with his full band and closed their set with the song “Anděl” by Karel Kryl. During their performance, Slovak poet Mirka Ábelová took the stage to recite two of her poems. The final part of the concert featured Ukrainian singer Mila Medvedovska alongside Katka Koščová, accompanied on piano by Daniel Špiner, with Peter Lipa joining them for a song. The concert for Ukraine was symbolically concluded by Mila Medvedovská and Daniel Špiner, whose rendition of the Ukrainian folk song “Kalina” was the most powerful moment of the entire night.
You can watch the whole Concert for Ukraine 2025 on the Pohoda festival youtube page
In addition to the musical programme, the Concert for Ukraine also featured several speeches. Dorota Vlnová and Andrea Kalinová shared the story of a Slovak ambulance delivered to the Ukrainian front last December. It served to save lives for just under two months before being struck by Russian fire. The wreck was brought back to Slovakia and was displayed next to the stage during the concert. Other speakers between performances included Pali Pekarčík, director of the film Svetloplachosť and initiator of the Deťom Ukrajiny (For the Children of Ukraine) campaign; Radim Dvořák, Acting Head of the European Commission Representation in Slovakia; and Fedor Blaščák from the Open Society Foundation, who also spoke about the current activities of the Czech Nadační fond pro Ukrajinu (Endowment Fund for Ukraine). We would also like to thank Martin Staňo, who hosted the Concert for Ukraine for the fourth time.
Para at the Concert for Ukraine 2025
Finally, we extend our gratitude to the Bratislava Cultural and Information Centre, which co-organised the event with us, to Bratislava Mayor Matúš Vallo, who took it under his patronage, and to our partners—the European Commission Representation in Slovakia, the Eset Foundation, the Open Society Foundation, and the Czech Endowment Fund for Ukraine, who provided financial support. We also thank our media partners—Rádio_FM, Aktuality.sk, and Startitup.sk—as well as all the affiliated platforms that broadcast the event online.
5 thousand people came to the Main Square in Bratislava for the concert
Czech legend David Koller came to support the concert for Ukraine
An ambulance from Slovakia destroyed by Russian fire on the Ukrainian front
The concert closed with a performance of Ukrainian singer Mila Medvedovska
You can watch the Concert for Ukraine at this link.
