Around 500 people gathered in Holstebro on Monday to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day, closing a Danish Ukrainian folk festival with a concert by the veteran Ukrainian band Skryabin.
DR reports that Danes and Ukrainians celebrated together in the Lystanlægget park in Holstebro on Monday, August 24. Visitors arrived with flags for communal singing and folk dancing, and many of them were Ukrainians.
The day was organized by the group Ukraine Rocks in cooperation with Ukraine Centret and Kulturperlen in Holstebro. According to Thomas Poulsen of Ukraine Rocks, the aim was to support Ukrainians and show that Danes and Ukrainians are good friends. He described Skryabin as a name on the scale of Gasolin’ or Shu-bi-dua in Denmark.
Oplev Holstebro lists the event as a Danish Ukrainian folk festival at Friluftsscenen in Lystanlægget, running from 17:00 to 21:00. Admission was free, with food and drinks for sale on site. The same listing names Holstebro Kommune, the Færch Foundation and Asylcenter Holstebro Sygehus as supporters, with technical support from Europaz.
Local performers and fundraising
KultuNaut describes a program that also featured a bandura ensemble, pupils from Holstebro Music School, dancers from Holstebro Ballet School and local folk dancers, alongside an exhibition of paintings. According to the same listing, sales of food and drink raised money for humanitarian aid to Ukraine and for local volunteer and sports organizations.
Skryabin is fronted by Yurko Yurchenko, and the band’s official concert schedule lists the Holstebro show on August 24, 2026, at Friluftsscenen. The band has performed since the late 1980s, and the organizers say it has thousands of concerts and millions of streams behind it.
Tina Shurma, who came to Denmark from Ukraine four years ago, said the celebration meant a great deal to her, and that singing Ukrainian songs and dancing Ukrainian dances moved her. She was one of many Ukrainians living in Denmark who attended, per DR.
Another attendee, Bo Paarup-Laursen, said he came to show solidarity and supports Ukraine with goods and money. The retired member of the Danish Air Force said he has no problem with support that includes weapons, because Ukraine needs them. He added that such efforts also benefit Denmark itself.
Ukraine Rocks has been behind up to 50 support concerts in Denmark and Ukraine since 2022, according to DR. Poulsen said he hopes a music festival of this kind builds bridges between Danes and Ukrainians through shared joy, hope and friendship. Similar events marking the national day were held in several places in Denmark on Monday.
Ukraine’s Independence Day falls on August 24 each year. As noted by NDR in 2025, the date commemorates the declaration of independence adopted by the Ukrainian parliament on August 24, 1991. Oplev Holstebro states that the Holstebro festival was held specifically to mark that national day.
