Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, the lead vocalist of Okean Elzy, a popular rock band from Ukraine, joined Coldplay at their latest concert in the Belgian capital.
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Vakarchuk, who joined the Ukrainian military after the Russian invasion in February, is now embarking on a Help for Ukraine world tour with his band that aims to collect funds for the country’s war effort. Vakarchuk joined Coldplay on stage on August 9 and together they performed Okean Elzy’s song Obiymy (Embrace), which has become an anti-war anthem.
Before starting the song, Vakarchuk, also known as Slava, thanked Coldplay for inviting him. “These are hard times for my country. We are at war. I want you to know that we are fighting not only for Ukraine. We are fighting for world peace, freedom, and democracy,” he said. As the crowd burst into applause, Vakarchuk said, “We will win this war together and afterwards we will build a new, free, and peaceful world”.
The honour was all ours, Slava. Thank you for letting us play on this beautiful song 💙💛@okeanelzy https://t.co/2iHBoJsZkD
— Coldplay (@coldplay) August 10, 2022
British and Ukrainian rock stars @coldplay and @s_vakarchuk singing a Ukrainian song together - Obiymy (Embrace).
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 10, 2022
There will come a day
When the war will end, - goes the song.
Grateful for support! pic.twitter.com/LEHlePYWd6
