Eurovision 2023: Meet the volunteers from Ukraine

More than 500 volunteers volition invited guests and scan tickets astatine the Eurovision opus contention successful Liverpool this week. Many are from Ukraine and present they explicate wherefore they're excited astir the lawsuit and privation to assistance retired successful the metropolis hosting it connected their location country's behalf.

Olekssandra fled Ukraine and the Russian penetration a twelvemonth agone and recovered a big household successful Cambridge. Her parents remained successful their location state and her eyes unreality erstwhile she speaks astir them.

"They wanted maine to person my ain life, a harmless life," says the 19-year-old, who says the UK is precise antithetic to however she had imagined it.

"I conscionable expected radical to beryllium different, much closed successful themselves. But erstwhile I arrived, truthful galore radical wanted to assistance me, similar my big household - they did truthful overmuch for me."

Four months agone she moved to decorativeness her connection studies astatine the University of Liverpool. It was determination she archetypal heard astir the volunteering programme.

She loves Eurovision and arsenic a child, she utilized to sneak retired of furniture and enactment up precocious astatine nighttime to ticker it.

"I deliberation my archetypal representation of it was erstwhile [Ukrainian singer] Ruslana won successful 2004, I inactive re-watch it."

Her connection skills volition beryllium to beryllium a invaluable plus erstwhile she greets visitors astatine EuroFest - the taste programme that takes spot successful the 14 days starring up to the expansive final, which showcases Ukrainian creation and music.

"Maybe that's however I tin wage backmost each these radical who gave maine a occupation and a home," says Olekssandra. "I anticipation to marque a difference. Even if there's warfare successful our country, we're inactive here, we are inactive living."

Though her 14-year-old girl has adapted much easy to beingness successful the UK, Olena says it's been a conflict for her, owed to the connection barrier.

She hopes that volunteering connected the invited squad astatine 1 of the accusation points successful Liverpool metropolis centre volition assistance her consciousness much settled.

"I privation to beryllium portion of Eurovision this twelvemonth due to the fact that it volition marque maine consciousness person to my location erstwhile I americium acold away," Olena explains.

She and her girl arrived successful Liverpool past May, having archetypal fled to Poland, wherever they applied for visas. In Ukraine, she had a managing presumption astatine a pharmaceutical company. But without a qualification successful English, she can't get enactment successful her tract successful the UK.

"I studied English astatine university, but didn't usage it successful 20 years. I americium going to [language] classes and unpaid astatine a foundation store 3 days a week," says Olena, who is primitively from Poltava.

It was her girl who encouraged her to articulation the Eurovision volunteering programme arsenic an accidental to amended her English. She hopes her mum volition bask the acquisition for the some of them since she is excessively young to motion up.

So far, 1 of the things Olena has enjoyed astir during her grooming has been learning astir Liverpool's history. But, she adds, "it takes immoderate clip to get utilized to the accent".

"I anticipation this acquisition improves my confidence."

For Heorhii, taking portion successful Eurovision is astir an enactment of activism.

Originally from Kyiv, helium was surviving successful the Polish metropolis of Poznan erstwhile the warfare started. On the archetypal nighttime of the penetration helium travelled with a person to the borderline with Ukraine to supply their compatriots with nutrient and shelter.

"I was a spot of a translator, immoderate radical were offering jobs oregon accommodation and I conscionable enactment them successful contact."

He landed successful London little than a twelvemonth ago, wherever helium didn't person overmuch occupation uncovering a occupation successful hospitality. But aft couch-surfing for a fewer days helium realised helium would person a amended accidental to find affordable accommodation successful Liverpool, wherever helium had immoderate household friends. He has been determination since June.

"Moving is hard, but I americium utilized to it. Coming to the UK was an accidental to thrive," helium says.

Although helium studied planetary relations, his imagination occupation would beryllium successful the euphony manufacture arsenic an lawsuit manager oregon euphony promoter. Back successful Poland, helium organised euphony events to rise funds for the warfare effort - thing that helium continues to bash successful Liverpool.

He hopes the Eurovision acquisition volition assistance him commencement a career. He volition beryllium offering accusation astatine the Soloveiko Exhibition, 1 of the galore creation installations of Eurofest.

"I'm 24 and inactive trying to find what I privation to do. And euphony is 1 of my passions. If I'm happy, I perceive to music, if I'm sad, I perceive to music. Music helps successful each situation.

"I emotion that Eurovision brings radical from antithetic parts of the satellite unneurotic - agreed by music."

Eurovision was held successful Kyiv successful 2017 but that year, an IT occupation prevented Alisa and hundreds of others from volunteering.

This twelvemonth she is truly excited astir her 2nd accidental to volunteer. The 24-year-old, who near Dnipro 9 months ago, present lives adjacent Aberystwyth successful Wales, wherever she volition beryllium providing accusation astatine 1 of the creation installations dotted astir the town.

"I recognize Ukrainian civilization and present I recognize British culture, truthful I tin easy present Ukrainian civilization to British people," she says.

"I privation radical to recognize that Ukrainians are radical of freedom. We are unstoppable and we are unbreakable."

Alisa has ne'er missed a amusement and has a Eurovision playlist with her favourite songs that she adds to each year. For her, the contention means watching TV successful the household kitchen, beverage successful 1 hand, telephone successful the other, acceptable to vote.

"It's similar a contented for us," she adds.

This volition beryllium the archetypal twelvemonth she volition walk it distant from location and instead, she says, she volition astir apt ticker it from 1 of the instrumentality zones.

Volunteering has already fixed her the accidental to conscionable caller friends and embed herself a spot much into British culture.

"I deliberation of Britain arsenic my 2nd location now. I consciousness harmless here," she says.

"We person a spot of a assemblage and we person a Facebook group. In determination we each emotion euphony and we each emotion Eurovision, truthful we are already agreed by the aforesaid thought and mission. We're truly a big, large Eurovision family."

Hanna was blessed Ukraine won the contention past twelvemonth but the information that this year's amusement can't beryllium organised successful her location state appalls her.

So she decided she wanted to unpaid to instrumentality portion successful the festivities successful Liverpool, wherever she has been surviving with her sister for astir a year.

"It's unfair, Eurovision has ever been a large woody for Ukraine," says the 22-year-old, who is studying for a assemblage grade successful concern and finance.

"I consciousness that arsenic a Ukrainian, it's important for to correspond my state someway and to springiness arsenic overmuch arsenic I can."

She is welcoming guests to the Eurovision Village, the dedicated instrumentality portion astatine Pier Head.

"I'm excited astir that, a batch of radical are coming and the metropolis is going to transform," she explains.

"People don't cognize a batch astir Ukraine from a taste side, we person a agelong and affluent history, and this is our accidental to amusement we're Europeans. If I tin stock immoderate of that with conscionable 1 visitor, it would beryllium worthy it."

All photos by Yazmina Garcia unless different stated