In Kyiv, they bid farewell to Vitalii Bilonozhko: Filaret and Ukrainian Armed Forces attended, while Loboda and Rotaru presented flowers

On January 12, People's Artist of Ukraine Vitalii Bilonozhko was honored at the National Philharmonic in Kyiv. Three days ago, Ukraine lost the famous singer, founder and organizer of the Melody of Two Hearts International Family Creativity Festival, whose heart stopped beating in hospital.

His family, fans and the military came to say goodbye to the legendary performer. OBOZ.UA correspondents were at the scene and told how the ceremony took place.

The artist will be buried at the Baikove cemetery.

5 minutes before the start, people wished to say goodbye and journalists began to gather near the Philharmonic. Some of them were holding flowers.

Former MP and film producer Mykola Kniazhytskyi came to say goodbye to the legendary singer.

Svitlana Bilonozhko, the singer's wife, was already waiting inside to accept condolences. The coffin was decorated with white roses, and photos of the singer were placed around, including many archival photos of his wife.

The hall was filled with the artist's songs and videos from his concerts.

Wreaths with ribbons "From the Rotaru Family" and "From the Loboda Family" stood near the coffin. Most likely, the singer's colleagues Sofia Rotaru and Svitlana Loboda could not say goodbye in person but sent flowers. The Armed Forces of Ukraine also came, including Lieutenant General Anatolii Makarenko, who was a friend of the deceased.

Former Patriarch Filaret of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) and honorary patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) came to honor Bilonozhko. He sang the artist's funeral service and prayed.

Actors Volodymyr Talashko, Pavlo Zibrov, composer Oleksandr Zlotnyk, actor Petro Maha, singers Alla Kudlai and Aurika Rotaru, Nadiia Shestak and actor Dmytro Linartovych also came to the Philharmonic.

Some of the guests made speeches. At the coffin, in addition to Bilonozhko's wife, his son and grandchildren also paid their respects: Svitlana and Vitalii.

Ivo Bobul, Nadiia Shestak, Vlad Darvin, Taras Petrynenko and his wife came almost at the end of the ceremony.

Around 2:30 p.m., the ceremony ended, and the coffin with the singer was carried out to thunderous applause.

In an interview with OBOZ.UA, People's Artist of Ukraine Pavlo Zibrov and his wife Maryna talked about their colleague and friend Vitalii Bilonozhko. They admitted why the singer refused to go on stage in recent years and rarely left his home.

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