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Festival asks world 'not to forget about Ukraine'

Kelly Morgan
Reporter
Reporting fromMalmesbury, Wiltshire
Listen to the Ivana Kupala celebration on BBC Sounds

The summer solstice celebration of Ivana Kupala was held in Malmesbury this weekend.

Among the wreath making, flower crowns and traditional music, refugees and locals asked the world not to forget about the war in Ukraine.

Uliana Khotynska fled Ukraine two years ago and said most people are thinking about the "situation in Iran and Gaza" adding "it's really important to remind everybody about Ukraine".

For the third year running the group - Malmesbury Stands with Ukraine - organised the Ivana Kupala festival in the grounds of Malmesbury Abbey.

Olena Spasibo with long blonde hair wearing a flower crown she made.
Malmesbury's Ukrainian choir wearing traditional clothing and singing into microphones in front of the Abbey wall.
Olena Spasibo said the community uniting at this event helped her cope with the worry she has for her family in Ukraine including her 90-year-old grandmother
The Malmesbury Ukrainian choir sang the locally produced song, "Flowers of Ivana Kupala", for the first time with the message of hope and happiness

Among the traditional Ukrainian songs sang by the Malmesbury Ukrainian Choir was one new addition.

The song "Flowers of Ivana Kupala" was created after the melody came to local composer, Julian Kay, in a dream.

He said: "I dreamt of a Slavic-sounding tune and thought this could be useful."

Mr Kay gifted it to the Malmesbury Ukrainian choir's lead, Debbie Cambray-Smith, and local Ukrainian, Slava Rubinska, wrote the lyrics.

The song is about the Ivana Kupala flower crowns offering hope of happiness in this world.

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