11 million for the Eurovision Song Contest. Jerry Heil reacted to the scandal and cited Kalush Orchestra as an example

The fact that 11 million hryvnias were spent on the National Selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 outraged many viewers. The wave of hate also affected the winners of the contest, Jerry Heil and alyona alyona. The former explained to Ukrainians that the money was not spent specifically on her and the rapper's performance and that the participants had nothing to do with the show's budget.

At the same time, Jerry Heil is convinced that Ukraine should invest in cultural diplomacy, because it is this diplomacy that ultimately allows even larger sums to be returned to the country, in particular for the needs of the Armed Forces. The singer spoke about the 11 million scandal in a commentary to the media.

"Cultural diplomacy is the gentlest and most subtle of all the forces that can exist. It is called soft power. It has played a decisive role in many historical events. I can give you an example of apartheid in South Africa, when there was a harsh regime when they divided people into races, the regime changed because there were cultural representatives from Africa in America. Miriam Makeba, who fell in love with the audience in the United States and began to put pressure on her government in America, which began to put pressure on the government in South Africa. And this led to a change of regime, the release of Mandela, and a change in the standard of living there," Jerry Heil said.

In addition, the star mentioned her colleagues from the Kalush Orchestra, who represented Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2022 and won. They not only drew the world's attention to the war by performing at such a powerful international platform but also managed to convert their victory into concrete help for the defenders at the front.

"I can also give you an example of how our guys' participation last year brought investments here, how Kalush sold their cup and then their Panama for a million dollars," recalled the winner of this year's National Selection.

Finally, Jerry Heil emphasized: "I want to explain that 11 million was not spent on Alyona and me but on the whole show. And we had nothing to do with it."

As a reminder, Kalush Orchestra sold the crystal microphone for $900 thousand to the Ukrainian cryptocurrency exchange WhiteBIT. In total, the auction has raised over 11 million hryvnias since its launch. In addition to the trophy, the pink panama hat of Oleh Psiuk was also auctioned off.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote that alyona alyona & Jerry Heil and Suspilne Broadcasting signed an agreement to participate in the 68th Eurovision Song Contest 2024. This is the last stage after which it is safe to say that the duo of famous artists with the song Teresa & Maria will represent Ukraine in the Swedish city of Malmö.

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