Article content
Tickets for a London benefit concert to help the victims of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine have sold out.
Article content
“We were not expecting this,” said Luba Waplak, who is on the London Ukrainian Centre’s benefit committee. “It’s been overwhelmingly pleasant to see them sell out.”
Organizers expected to sell about 200 tickets, Waplak says. Instead, they sold more than 350.
It’s another sign of the “vast” outpouring for the people of the embattled country as they fight Russia’s military, Waplak said.
“We have experienced an enormous amount of support from the community,” she said, both from those with connections to Ukraine and the non-Ukrainian community in London.
The benefit is set to take place Saturday afternoon at the centre, which is on Adelaide Street and has become a focus for the relief effort in the Forest City.
On the bill are a Ukrainian dance group, an accordion player, opera singers, a Ukrainian folk-rock band from Toronto, and other acts. “It’s going to be a very energetic, emotional concert,” Waplak said.
Article content
From ticket sales alone, organizers have raised more than $7,000, Waplak said. In addition, a silent auction will be held, with goods from local businesses and organizations up for sale. There also will be prizes, as well as traditional Ukrainian food and drink.
Saturday’s total will be added to the $200,000 already been raised through the centre. “And that’s just in financial donations, monetary donations,” Waplak said, and does not count the value of items that have been donated, such as medical supplies. The centre’s effort helps those on the ground in Ukraine, as well as refugee families which will be coming to London, Waplak said.
The war enters its 65th day Saturday. According to United Nations tracking this week, more than 5.4 million people have been forced from their homes so far, with almost three million of those refugees seeking shelter in Poland.
The war began Feb. 24 at the behest of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who also ordered an invasion of Urkaine’s eastern provinces in 2014.
Waplak has family in western Ukraine who are helping with the relief efforts inside the country, working with children mostly and helping them get their schooling while the war rages. She says she gets messages from her family, but “it’s hard to read the emotion behind” the words.
“I cannot begin to imagine” how they are suffering, she said.
Twitter.com/DanatLFPress
'Overwhelming': Tickets for Ukraine benefit concert in London sell out fast - The London Free Press
Read More
No comments:
Post a Comment