Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia of Sweden attended a concert dedicated to Ukraine at the Avicii Arena on Saturday evening.
The event was called “Hela Sverige skramlar” (“All of Sweden Shouts” in English) and was a concert centred around human rights, democracy and, most importantly, the humanitarian crisis brought on by the conflict.
The Princely Couple attended the event with the Ukrainian Ambassador to Sweden, Andriy Plachotnjuk, and his wife Viktoriia, as well as members of the six selected organisations that received funds from the event.
All revenue from all tickets sold for the concert was split between six selected organisations, and the show was fully broadcast on SVT, Sweden’s national television.
In a post on their Instagram account, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia especially thanked Ukrainian artist Masha Sur, “whose performance went straight to the heart,” wrote the couple.
According to the singer’s Instagram page, the evening raised more than 6.3 million euros for Ukraine – an amazing sum that will go towards helping Ukrainians.
On 24 February, Russia invaded its neighbour, and since then, a record number of people have fled the country and entered Europe looking for safety and peace.
The UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) estimates that more than ten million people have been forced to abandon their homes and are currently displaced either within Ukraine or to neighbouring countries, with a record four million people entering Poland alone.
Although many European countries have offered to welcome refugees, many Ukrainians feel like remaining in areas close to the border between Poland and Ukraine gives them the best chance of helping people already on the inside, as well as giving them a sense of hope that they will be able to return home soon.
