The Ukrainian winners of the Eurovision Song Contest have sold their trophy to raise almost $1M for the war effort.
Kalush Orchestra, which won the annual contest earlier this month during an emotional evening in Italy, raised $900,000 to be spent on the PD-2 unmanned aerial system including three aircraft and a ground control station.
The auction took place on Facebook yesterday and was led by Ukrainian TV presenter Serhiy Prytula, with the winning bid attributed to Whitebit, a Czech Republic-based cryptocurrency exchange.
The move is the first time a Eurovision trophy has been sold.
Kalush Orchestra’s win for entry Stefania was watched by millions around the world and, if possible, next year’s contest will take place in Ukraine, although it may default to the UK, who came second.
The war in Ukraine has entered its fourth month and has claimed thousands of lives.
Last week, Deadline broke the news that the final TV show to be filmed in Ukraine before the war commenced is nearing completion in a bomb shelter, with Propagate shopping Porn, I Love You in the U.S.
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