Ukraine's LELÉKA reveals an Australian connection in her Eurovision 2026 performance
- Craig Land
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
Ukrainian artist LELÉKA and her angelic song Ridnym will grace the Eurovision stage later this week as part of semi-final two - and joining her will be an instrument with a secret Australian history!
In an exclusive interview with our friends at JOY Eurovision, Australia's best-loved LGBTQIA+ radio station, LELÉKA spoke about the bandura, the Ukrainian string instrument which is played as part of the backing of her song.
With a sound similar to a harp or a lute, the bandura is a staple of traditional Ukrainian music and a symbol of Ukrainian culture and national pride after being repressed during the Soviet era in Ukrainian history.
The bandura used in LELÉKA's performance is a Kharkiv-style bandura, which is distinguished by its unique construction that allows for melody lines to be played with the left hand.
Highly sought after in Ukraine now, Kharkiv-style banduras had largely disappeared - but, as LELÉKA told JOY, were preserved by the Ukrainian diaspora in Australia:
On the Eurovision stage we will not have this classical concert bandura but a Kharkiv type - very rare type of bandura which was saved because of the Australian-Ukrainian diaspora.
It was almost destroyed and a lot of these players and this kind of bandura was destroyed but Ukrainian immigration in Australia saved this kind of bandura - so I'm very thankful for that.
Ukrainians have lived in Australia since the 19th century, but the main waves of Ukrainian immigration to Australia came in the aftermath of World War II and in the wake of Ukrainian independence in the 1990s.
Sydney and Melbourne are home to thriving Ukrainian communities - and as we can see, these communities have continued Ukrainian traditions and maintained ongoing connections to Ukrainian culture, including (as with the bandura) elements which had almost disappeared in Ukraine itself!
LELÉKA and her bandura will perform on Thursday 14 May 2026 (Friday 15 May 2026 in Australia), where she will be hoping to qualify for Saturday's grand final.
For continued updates on all the Eurovision Song Contest news follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Bluesky Threads and TikTok. All links at: https://linktr.ee/aussievisionnet
Comments