Culture news

Kyiv, December 28, 2011. A famous Ukrainian folk singer Oleg Skrypka performed a renewed version of the winter holiday classic Carol of the Bells originally composed by Ukrainian Mykola Leontovych. This new rendition of the world renowned tune became a soundtrack for the freshly released Ukrainian animation film Shchedryk.
 

13 to 18 December in Kiev will be start INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL of GUITAR MUSIC "KYIV-2011"

Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Kevin Rudd announced that his country would donate one million euros for the Chornobyl Shelter Fund. Minister Rudd made his statement at the OSCE Ministerial Council Meeting in Vilnius on December 6, 2011.

Zoloti Vorota (Golden Gate) station of Kyiv’s subway occupies 11th position on the list of the most impressive subway stops in the world, according to BootsnAll. The renowned community of travelers chose 15 subway stations in the world with the most outstanding application of art, architecture, culture, history, and technology.

For the twelfth year in a row, the Ukrainian festival Chervona Ruta has opened the stage for the new talents performing Ukrainian music of different genres. The number of this year’s participants has set the record, bringing together 850 young musicians and performers. New to this year’s festival is the collaboration of performers from all regions of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Rugby League Federation (UFRL) is celebrating five years of the sport in the country.

A painting by a Ukrainian artist set a new record at the Phillips de Pury & Co auction that took place in London on October 13, 2011. The art piece “Horse.Night” by Anatoliy Kryvolap was sold for USD 124,4 thousand which is the highest a painting by a contemporary Ukrainian artist ever grossed at an art auction.

October 8 will be held the opening ceremony of one of Europe's largest sports complexes - NSK "Olympic".  

October 1 at the Center for Culture and history, “Park Kievska Rus” (p. Kopach, Obukhov, District, Kyiv region) will be a song festival" Slavic soul ".

A unique musical illuminated floating fountain opened in the Western Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia on September 4, 2011. The fountain is the world’s only floating fountain mounted in the natural body of water and by its technical parameters can only be compared to one such water facility in the world – the Dubai Fountain.

Ukrainian Olha Saladuha became gold medalist in the 13th World Championships in Athletics, held in Daegu, South Korea. Saladuha won the finals in the triple jump competition among females and became the world champion.

Dynamo (Kyiv), Metalist (Kharkiv), and Vorskla (Poltava) won Thursday’s second legs of UEFA Europa League play-offs. Vorskla became the first Ukrainian team to make it to the group stage in the season of 2011-2012. 

A Polish artist Jaroslaw Koziara created two giant images of fish on the grass on each side of the Polish-Ukrainian border. The tail of the first image lies on the territory of Poland with its head on the Ukrainian territory. The second fish is positioned facing the opposite direction. The artist intends to send the message of unity of the two countries – nature and art know no borders.

The official opening of a flower exhibition in Kyiv will take place at 10.00 on Saturday, Aug. 20. The exhibition will run at Spivoche Pole in the Pechersk Landscape Park until Sept. 4.

Lviv – considered by many as one of the largest cultural centers in Ukraine – is renowned for its coffee, chocolate and beer. An American intern at the Worldwide News Ukraine Meghan Dano decided to test this statement. She visited the city and got to know the history as well as traditions and customs of this mecca of art lovers.

A lithograph by Rembrandt, valued at $250,000, has been stolen from a hotel in Southern California in what sheriff's investigators say was a well-planned heist.

After a small turnout the previous night, a bigger crowd turned up for Thursday's edition of the Summer Festival of Orchestral Music. 

The Symphony Orchestra of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine opened the night of Aug. 11 with an unscripted surprise, Mozart's Overture to the opera The Magic Flute. The conductor chose a rapid tempo that electrified the night's debut.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Statue of Liberty will close for a year at the end of October as it undergoes a $27.25 million renovation that will make the interior safer and more accessible, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced Wednesday. 

Valentyna Ivakhnenko, 18, won the International Tennis Federation tournament held in Moscow on August 1-7, 2011. Her victory became a significant achievement for Ivakhnenko securing her a spot in the TOP 300 tennis players in the world according to the WTA rating.  

Crimea viniculturists filled a giant 5 feet tall glass with almost 15 gallons of champagne setting a world record. The Ukrainian sparkling wine makers beat the former record holders’ – the Canadians’ who were able to fill in the champagne glass half the size. The record was registered by the representatives of the Guinness World Records. 

The international expert committee in artistic blacksmithing issued a decision to honor the city of Ivano-Frankivs’k with an Alfred Habermann award – a prestigious international award in the fieldof blacksmithing art. Ivano-Frankivs’k becomes the first city within the territory of the former Soviet Union to receive the award. The Western Ukrainian city has a long history of the blacksmith craft and is famous for its blacksmith festivals and exhibitions. 

This stunt appears to be a combination of fund raising, an internet reality television show and a Guinness World Record attempt, according to stories online. The female lion, Katya, is due to deliver a cub during that time.

Over the weekend F1 H2O World Championship for power boating was held in Ukraine for the first time. The event lasted for the three sunny days at the Kyiv Sea and gathered about 60 000 visitors. The teams from China, Italy, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, and the U.S. tested Ukrainian waters for the first time in the history of power boating sport.

LONDON (AP) — The British government is urging London residents to "travel differently" during next year's Olympics to avoid traffic chaos. 

An additional three million trips are expected to be made on London's public transport system on Aug. 3, 2012, the first day of athletics competition and one of the busiest travel days of the games.

Windsor Castle's Round Tower is to open to the public for the first time in almost four decades.

Visitors to the 800-year-old Berkshire landmark will be able to walk up its 200 steps to take in views of the town and the London skyline.