Ukrainian refugees performed at the Peace Summit in Switzerland with “Ode to Joy”
Around 50 Ukrainian refugees from five different choirs from all over Switzerland came to the square in Lucerne, near the Bürgenstock mountain resort, where the Peace Summit is being held, to perform “Ode to Joy” by the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven. Some of the participants were dressed in national clothes. With such a gesture, our fellow citizens expressed their support for the start of negotiations on establishing peace in Ukraine.
The words “Ode to Joy” belong to the German poet Friedrich Schiller and promote the values of unity, hope and solidarity. “Ode to Joy” is also the anthem of the European Union, which Ukraine plans to join.
The choir, accompanied by a small orchestra, was surrounded by crowds of tourists and pro-Ukrainian demonstrators, some of whom later performed the national anthem of Ukraine with the singers.
“Ukrainians want to appeal to the world with the help of Beethoven’s great music and confirm the desire for peace and freedom for their long-suffering country on the way to Europe.” – noted the organizer of the choir performance, Daniela Mayer.
In the past, the tune “Ode to Joy” was used as a protest anthem to resist oppression. For example, it sounded during the protests in Tiananmen Square in China and in honor of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
We will remind that after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Switzerland granted asylum to more than 65 thousand Ukrainian refugees.
