Ukraine's legendary rock band Okean Elzy together with frontman and political activist Svyatoslav Vakarchuk took to one of the largest stages in the nation when they performed in front of 70,000 raging fans at Kyiv’s Olympic Stadium on June 21
“Okean! Okean!” echoed
around the cavernous stadium before the band arrived – one hour late! – for
their “20 years together” show. Most fans were wrapped in Ukrainian
flags, wearing Ukrainian embroidered shirts or holding blue and yellow balloons
to signify their national pride.
The Kyiv show kicks off the anniversary tour.
The band is not just a local
phenomenon, but has grown a legion of fans throughout the former Soviet Union for its lyrical
style, original arrangements and high level of professionalism, not to mention
the personal charisma of Vakarchuk.
Okean Elzy was founded in 1994 in Lviv and soon became a
symbol of the democratic changes emerging in the country. Their songs became
anthems during the 2004 Orange Revolution as well as the more recent
EuroMaidan Revolution, a democratic uprising that succeeded in toppling the corrupt presidency of Viktor Yanukovych.
One of the band’s most memorable performances took place on the
EuroMaidan stage in December, attended by at least 50,000 people. In March, following Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and the beginning of the Kremlin-backed separatist war in eastern Ukraine, Vakarchuk
toured universities in eastern oblasts, where he talked with students and tried to
explain what was happening in the country.
“I know this is not the time for entertainment,” Vakarchuk said from
the stage at Olympic Stadium, “but I believe our show is rather a
reunion.”
The band made a moving tribute to the fallen heroes of the war with
its ballad “Na Linii Vogniu” (On the frontline), during which the crowd transformed
the stadium into a beautiful sea of light.
During the three-hour long concert the band performed with its original line-up,
including Pavlo Gudimov, Dmytro Shurov and Yuriy Khustochka. The musicians played almost all of Okean Elzy’s famous songs. And there was hardly a tune the crowd did not sing along with.
Vakarchuk addressed the crowd many times, during which he recalled the band’s
20 year history, joked about the band’s name and thanked fans for staying with
Okean Elzy through thick and thin.
“You cannot imagine how wonderful it is to see all your flags from the
stage. Their huge number warms my heart,” he said ahead of playing the revolutionary
hit Stina (The Wall) and raising his own national flag.
A pleasant but what seemed to be a bit too long show ended close to 1 a.m. with
the band’s famous lyrical song Vidpusty (Let me go) and air kisses sent by
Vakarchuk from the stage.
Kyiv Post staff writer Daryna
Shevchenko can be reached at [email protected]
