Eurovision: Liverpool’s buskers lend their spots to Ukrainian musicians

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine buskers have been robbed of their spots, so their music has had to go underground.

But it’s not just their music that has been taken, it is also their livelihoods. So this Eurovision, Ketchum UK has created a campaign for buskers from Liverpool to give up their usual spots along the Merseyrail network to Ukrainian musicians, giving them the chance to perform for audiences and keep the conversation alive about this unjust war.

Travellers going through the four biggest stations; Liverpool Central, Lime Street, Moorfields and James Street will be able to enjoy authentic Ukrainian busking music.

Each busking spot has a speaker streaming the artists music and a QR code for passers-by to scan to find out more about the musicians' story, videos about them and to donate to the cause.

All proceeds raised will go directly to Supplies for Ukraine C.I.C., who are working to provide essential, lifesaving equipment to civilians and volunteers on the front lines in Ukraine.

There is an accompanying outdoor poster campaign across the Merseyrail network and all tracks are streamed as a playlist on Spotify.

The Ukrainian buskers include:

Oleksandr Honcharenko

Oleksandr was in the choir that sang the anthem of Ukraine for the first time. This led him to become a traditional Ukrainian musician and inspired him to build two Ukrainian national instruments, the Lyra and the Bandura, which he plays on the streets of Kyiv.

Ivan Zamiga

Ivan is a 40 year old wheelchair user who fell in love with street music after a trip with a friend to the sea with no money but two guitars. In 2016, he decided to leave his job in the IT field and pursue his ultimate dream by completely switching to busking.

Viktoria Zabiaka

Viktoria, who is 28 years old, has been making music since the age of five. She plays a very rare Ukrainian national instrument called the Okarina. Last year, she performed multiple times internationally to raise awareness of Ukrainian culture. The war has influenced her work, and she now plays every performance like it's the last.

Khrystyna Mamon

Khrystyna is 18 years old, she has been playing the Bandura – an authentic Ukrainian instrument - for 12 years. She is a proud street performer who is keen to get the sounds of the Bandura out for the rest of the world to hear.

Ivan Zamiga

Ivan is a 40 year old wheelchair user who fell in love with street music after a trip with a friend to the sea with no money but two guitars. In 2016, he decided to leave his job in the IT field and pursue his ultimate dream by completely switching to busking.