Concert for Ukraine raised £12.2 million for the DEC humanitarian appeal in Ukraine.
The two-hour televised fundraiser – which aired on ITV and STV – took place at Resorts World Arena Birmingham on Tuesday night (29.03.22), and featured performances from the likes of Ed Sheeran, Camila Cabello, Becky Hill, Snow Patrol, and Manic Street Preachers.
Ukrainian singer Jalama, who won the 2016 ‘Eurovision Song Contest’, gave a rousing rendition of her hit ‘1944’, with each performer choosing a song for its meaning and message.
Snow Patrol opened the show with ‘Run’, while Tom Odell performed ‘Another Love’, which has become a symbol of resilience and hope for Ukrainians amid the war.
Becky wowed with her hair-raising rendition of The Source Candi Staton’s ‘You Got The Love’.
Camila put her own spin on Coldplay’s ‘Fix You’, before being joined on stage by Ed for their duet of ‘Bam Bam’.
The latter had earlier performed ‘Perfect’ and ‘Bad Habits’.
The Manics poignantly opted to perform ‘If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next’, the 1998 song inspired by the Spanish civil war, which took its name from a Republican propaganda poster with the title of the song as a warning.
Anne-Marie, Emeli Sande, Gregory Porter, and Paloma Faith also took to the stage.
The evening also saw global megastar Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas – who couldn’t attend – share a message of support from the US.
The newly-made Oscar winner said: “Hi everyone, we are so sorry we can’t be there tonight but we still wanted to offer all of our love and support to everyone performing and most importantly to express the support and solidarity with the millions of people who’ve been forced to flee their homes and leave everything behind.”
Finneas added: “The charities delivering humanitarian aid are doing a vital job so we want to say thank you to them and thanks to you for giving whatever you can.”
The star-studded benefit ended on a positive note, with Nile Rodgers and Chic getting everyone up on their feet for the unifying ‘Everybody Dance’ and ‘We Are Family’.
JLS’ Marvin Humes, Spice Girl Emma Bunton and Roman Kemp hosted proceedings.
Donations can still be made to the DEC’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal at dec.org.uk or by calling 0370 60 60 900.