Okean Elzy
Okean Elzy is the most well-known and decorated Ukrainian rock band. Okean Elzy has been named the best rock and live band in the CIS on numerous occasions by fans and music critics. The band expresses itself vividly through in-depth lyrics, a distinct musical style, and an impressive on-stage drive and energy.
Further afield, Okean Elzy has one of the highest popularity ratings not only in Ukraine, but also in Russia and other countries, which is quite remarkable for a Ukrainian group, given that all of the lyrics are written in Ukrainian. Their solo concerts are always powerful, with the genuine live sound as the centrepiece. Okean Elzy breaks down linguistic barriers and conquers listeners regardless of geography with its musical drive, combination of Ukrainian poetry, Slavic melodies, and powerful European sound. Their previous largest-scale concert tour, in 2006, was a huge success, with audiences in North America, Western Europe, and Russia. Okean Elzy went on another worldwide tour in support of his album “Dolce Vita” in 2010.
Vakarchuk was appointed UN Goodwill Ambassador in September 2005. In addition, in September, Okean Elzy launched a joint campaign against human trafficking with the IOM and the MTV Europe Foundation. Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, the United Nations’ 2006 Goodwill Ambassador, met with students at Ukrainian and Polish universities. Vakarchuk is involved in a literacy campaign. The project’s goal is to get young people interested in books and to help fight illiteracy.
Okean Elzy visited Kosovo in November 2006, where musicians performed for peacemakers from Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the United States, and other countries, as well as an international contingent of peacemakers.
Okean Elzy actively supported the Ukrainian national team and cheered the fans with their songs during the 2006 Football World Cup in Germany. The band’s final song, Veseli, brate, chasy nastaly… (“Oh, brother, merry times came…”), made a huge impact in Ukraine. The song and video were released as a single, with all proceeds going to an AIDS treatment centre for children. OE’s life revolves around charitable activities.
OE went on tour in April 2006, stopping in Chicago, New York City, and Toronto, where thousands of people sang along to their songs. Mira, Okean Elzy’s new album, was released on April 25, 2007. (“Measure”). Following that, the band embarked on a massive nationwide tour. Throughout the month, they performed in 27 Ukrainian cities. All of the concerts took place in major cities, primarily in stadiums and sporting arenas. More than 120,000 people attended the concerts, setting a record for the group. The combined attendance for the two Kiev concerts was around 24,000 people. Only Okean Elzy “for the second time” (after the GLORIA tour) has gathered so many people in one place in such a short period of time in Ukrainian history.
In support of their latest album Dolce Vita, Okean Elzy embarked on their Dolce Vita Tour in 2010, which included over one hundred concerts in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Europe, and North America.
Okean Elzy performed in front of 70,000 fans at NSC Olimpiyskiy in Kyiv on June 21, 2014, to commemorate their 20th anniversary. This was the largest concert in Ukrainian history.
Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, the band has stopped performing in Russia, making them one of the few Ukrainian bands to do so.In 2016, the most famous Ukrainian rock band Okean Elzy hits the road for a 2- year-long World tour to support its ninth studio album ‘Without limits’.
On August 24, 2018, the band drew approximately 100,000 fans to its concert at NSC Olimpiyskiy in honour of Ukraine’s independence day.During the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Okean Elzy’s lead singer Vakarchuk joined the territorial defence battalion of Lviv Oblast on March 7, 2022.
