Ukrainian band sells Eurovision trophy to fund war against Russia
Kyiv, May 30 (EFE).- Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra, which won this year’s edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, have sold their trophy for $900,000 to raise funds for drones to power their country in defending the Russian invasion.
The group announced on its Facebook page that it had sold the iconic glass microphone in an online auction.
“You guys are amazing! We appreciate each and every one of you who donated to this auction and a special thanks to the team WhiteBIT who purchased the trophy for $900,000 and are now the rightful owners of our trophy,” the band said in a post late Sunday.
WhiteBIT appears on Facebook as an information technology company.
The money obtained from the auction will be used to buy three PD-2 type drones to fight the Russians who invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to Ukrainian state agency Ukrinform.
Eurovision is an annual contest in which representatives of 50 countries, whose television stations are members of the European Broadcasting Union, participate.
This year’s edition of the competition, which has an estimated audience of some 200 million viewers worldwide, was held on May 14 in the Italian city of Turin. EFE rml-int/pd/ssk
