The gala concert for the winners of the XVII All-Ukrainian festival of modern songs and pop music "Chervona Ruta-2025" took place in Lviv from September 17 to 21.
This was announced by the press service of the festival.
This festival was the first to be held during the full-scale war and was conducted in partnership with the Resistance Movement of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, symbolizing the fusion of cultural resistance and the fight for independence.
During the five days of the "Chervona Ruta" festival, 710 participants from various regions of Ukraine competed in the final contests. The festival's director, Myroslav Melnyk, stated, "Our task was to identify the winners and laureates in six main genres of popular music, who then participated in the final gala concert".
He emphasized that "Chervona Ruta" is the only non-commercial festival in Ukraine where participants do not have to pay entry fees, and all events are free for viewers.
Participants performed both well-known Ukrainian songs and their original compositions. According to Melnyk, the main requirement was to perform three songs in Ukrainian, two of which must be new. Thus, approximately 500 new songs were presented during the finals.
One of the winners in the instrumental music category was the musical project "Zaporizhzhia Tulumbasy". Its founder and participant, Denys Vasyliev, noted that "Chervona Ruta" is a place where you can hear your music resonate in the hearts of many people.
This year, the first prize in dance music was awarded to the band "Khorta" from Zaporizhzhia. Member Yuriy Yurchenko shared his personal story connected to the festival.
This year, participants from abroad took part in the festival for the first time, with Kvitoslava Vorobey from the UK winning the second prize in the popular music category.
At the end of the gala concert, all participants took to the stage to sing the legendary "Chervona Ruta" together. The winners were awarded certificates for recording their own live concert in the project "Total: Live", which supports Ukrainians in temporarily occupied territories.
