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Sweden

The King and Queen of Sweden attend charitable concert for Ukraine

King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden

King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden have attended a support concert for Ukraine at the Concert Hall in Stockholm.

At the concert, on March 27th 2022, the Ukrainian string ensemble “The Kyiv Soloists” performed. The ensemble was on a European tour when their home country Ukraine was invaded by Russia. In a joint effort with a large number of concert institutions, including the Stockholm Concert Hall, a support tour was created with the soloists. Kyiv Soloists preformed together with the Swedish artist Benny Andersson on piano, the Eric Ericson’s Chamber Choir and Adolf Fredrik’s Music Classes.

Kyiv Soloists consists of renowned musicians from all over Ukraine. For the work of presenting Ukrainian culture internationally, the ensemble has been awarded the title of Ambassador for Ukrainian Culture in the World by the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At the concert, the ensemble performed, among other things, Ukrainian classical music, folk music and an arrangement of the Swedish patriotic song “Värmeland du sköna”. All ticket revenues went in full to the Swedish Radio Aid’s efforts in Ukraine. The concert will also be broadcast on SVT1 on Saturday 2 April at 18:30.

The Swedish king has previously strongly condemned the Russian attack on Ukraine. King Carl Gustaf did this in full military uniform during a visit to a regiment in Karlsborg on March 7th 2022. The speech was made as he presided over the handover of a new standard to the Life Regiment’s Hussars K3 in Karlsborg.

The King said: “Europe is in an extremely difficult situation. More difficult than in a very long time. Russia has invaded Ukraine. This is contrary to international law and puts fundamental freedoms and rights out of play. The humanitarian catastrophe is a fact. People are fleeing their homes and their country. Families are divided. Innocent people die”.

About author

Senior Europe Correspondent Oskar Aanmoen has a master in military and political history of the Nordic countries. He has written six books on historical subjects and more than 1.500 articles for Royal Central. He has also interview both Serbian and Norwegian royals. Aanmoen is based in Oslo, Norway.