Two weeks after winning Eurovision, the Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra announced the auction of the trophy it had won.
All profits will be donated to the Ukrainian army.
The group's rapper, Oleh Psiuk, explained his approach, in a video posted on the group's official account: "We won the Eurovision Song Contest, and now we want to help Ukraine win the war", said he declared.
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According to the group, the trophy has already raised 900,000 dollars (nearly 839,000 euros).
The Ukrainian artists, quoted by RTBF, announced that the Ukrainian cryptocurrency platform Whitebit had bought the trophy.
This sum would make it possible to buy three drones, specifies the Newsweek.
Other lots were also auctioned to support the Ukrainian army.
Among them, the pink bob worn by Oleh Psiuk during his performance in the competition, NFTs, or even access to a meeting and dinner with the Ukrainian group.
This is the first time in the history of Eurovision that the trophy is on sale.
Repeated support for the kyiv army
The members of Kalush Orchestra thus repeated their support for the kyiv army.
Last March, rapper Oleh Psiuk said he joined a group of twenty volunteers who came to the aid of victims of the conflict, distributing food and medicine to them.
During his victory at Eurovision, the young artist had confided "not being able to rejoice" because of his "concern for [his] loved ones".
“The war separated me from my girlfriend.
It is 300 km from me.
We can't find each other, because it's very dangerous.
She is in a bunker and I am there, and the sirens which warn of air raids sound constantly, ”he explained.
Read alsoEurovision 2022: public vote, next edition … a very political victory for Ukraine, and questions
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had welcomed his country's victory at Eurovision by making the link with the Russian invasion, with this sentence written on his Facebook page: "Our courage impresses the world, our music conquers the Europa”.