The Slovenian avant-garde music group Laibach, will be the first from abroad to appear in Kiev after the Russian invasion. The British newspaper “The Guardian” writes that the title refers to the victory of Ukraine, namely the Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra with the song Stefania, in the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest.

With Ukraine unable to host this year’s Eurovision Song Contest due to the war, the song contest will be hosted in the United Kingdom, as English singer Sam Ryder took second place with the song Space Man.

“While the rest of Europe prepares to celebrate the idea of ​​freedom and solidarity on May 9 in Liverpool, Laibach are taking Eurovision back to Ukraine, where it belongs,” the Slovenian band said in a press release.

Ukraine is “where the only true and real vision of Europe is taking place right now,” notes the band, adding that proceeds from the concert will go to charity.

The Laibachs tell the Guardian that they disagree with the attitude that “while guns speak, art is silent” and note that some of the most important works of art and music were created during the war.

The publication notes that the band performed two concerts in Sarajevo in 1995, when the city was besieged by Bosnian Serb forces during the Bosnia-Herzegovina war.

“We must not allow the cynicism of war or the cynicism of capital’s strategic interests to turn our lives into a state of emergency,” the band notes.

Although U2’s Bono and The Edge made a brief appearance at a Kyiv metro station in May 2022, Laibach may be the first touring band to hold a regular venue gig, the newspaper reported.