Preston to host charity concert for Ukraine in the run-up to Christmas

The event - at the Crossgate Church, near the city centre - was the brainchild of a member of Preston’s Ukrainian community who says she has been “heartbroken” by the stories of loss and hardship that are continuing to emerge from her homeland, nine months after the Russian invasion.

Tetyana Modrzejewska, who has lived in the city with her husband since 2014, has joined forces with other longstanding expats from the country who have chosen to make Lancashire their home down the years - and those who have been driven here to seek sanctuary just since the outbreak of the conflict.

Together, they have devised “From Ukraine to UK” - an evening of entertainment with a distinctly Ukrainian flavour, which will be held at Crossgate’s Landmark building, on St. Mary's Street North, on 9th December.

The gig is being supported by Lancashire County Council, which has administered the Homes for Ukraine scheme in the region since the nationwide drive to provide Ukrainian refugees with a place to stay launched in the wake of Russia's attack in February. The authority told the Post that 1,205 people have so far arrived in Lancashire under the initiative.

However, Tetyana said it was the tales that she was being told by friends and family who had remained in the country which had moved her to arrange the concert.

“My godson’s wife is volunteering in their local hospital - she posts requests all the time, asking for help. And it’s for simple things like clothing, bed sheets and pads - even food.

“These basic things that they need are in such great demand.

“My brother had to move from the family apartment in Kiev, because they had no gas to cook on. It’s crazy - this is the twenty-first century,” Tetyana said.

In stark contrast, the charity event will offer a range of Ukrainian delicacies to be enjoyed alongside dance troupes and music from, amongst others, a Ukrainian folk choir, players of traditional folk instruments and the Preston Concert Band.

A photo exhibition chronicling the war - but not including any sensitive content - will also be on display.

The evening will close with Christmas carols, which, Tetyana hopes, will strike a joyful and hopeful note at the end of a year in which both have been short supply for Ukrainians - whether they have been living amidst the horrors of the war at home or have found themselves in foreign lands having left behind everything they knew in search of safety.

Tetyana was delighted that her elderly mother and sister-in-law both managed to make the trip to Preston to see her last month. But practicalities - and the pull of home - meant that neither applied to stay and both are now back in Ukraine.

Being of fighting age, her brother has been unable to leave at all - although he, like so many others, is trying to stay positive in the face of a forthcoming festive period in which families will be scattered and fearful, in a way that none of them could have foreseen this time last year.

“My brother was saying he had never had candlelit meals with his wife before they started losing power,” Tetyana smiles. But a brave face cannot suppress brutal reality for long.

“There is a Ukrainian lady who has come to Preston and has left two sons on the frontline," Tetyana adds. "One is 34, with two little kids, and the other is 30 and not yet married.

“They are young people - it’s all so heartbreaking.”

HOW TO BOOK FOR THE CONCERT

Entry is by donation, which can be made in cash on the door, or via Paypal using

[email protected]

Doors open at 6pm on Friday 9th December - for the photo exhibition, sale of hand-made souvenirs and hot drinks and cakes - before the event proper begins at 7pm.

‘CONCERT WILL BE A SHOW OF SUPPORT AND THANKS’

Lancashire County Council’s cabinet member for community and cultural services, Peter Buckley, said that the authority was happy to be supporting an event which would “allow our Ukrainian guests to say 'thank you' to the people of Lancashire for opening up their homes to them”.

"As well as being an opportunity for Ukrainians to show their appreciation, it's also a great chance for residents to show their support and get a real flavour of Ukraine's culture.

"It promises to be a really enjoyable evening and I would encourage people to come down and celebrate this special occasion together," County Cllr Buckley added.