- December 22, 2025
- 2:03 pm
- Israel
Duration of the concert: 1 hour 30 minutes Performance is in Ukrainian
February in Israel promises to be especially warm — and not because of the weather. In the middle of the month, a person whose music has accompanied the most important moments of Ukrainian history for many years — both joyful and tragic — will arrive here. Sviatoslav Vakarchuk, the frontman of the legendary Ukrainian rock band “Okean Elzy,” is bringing a chamber charity tour to Tel Aviv and Haifa, which will also visit America, Canada, and Europe.
Each such evening is not just a concert, but a space of living memory and community, where people from different cities of Israel gather to feel Ukraine nearby, hear familiar melodies, and support a country where the war has been ongoing for almost 4 years.
Two cities — two evenings that will become points of strength
The tour includes two performances:
- February 15, 2026 — Tel Aviv, Beit HaHayal
- February 17, 2026 — Haifa, Auditorium
Tickets – https://nikk.kassa.co.il/announce/Vakarchuk
Both concerts are designed to be chamber — without large screens, complex stages, and the usual rock energy that “Okean Elzy” fans are accustomed to. Here, the aesthetic is different: soft light, guitar, piano, lyrics that sound like a personal address to each listener.
Vakarchuk chose this format for a reason. He says that in this “small” form, music most honestly reflects what is happening with Ukraine, its people, its defenders, and those who were forced to leave.
The voice of the nation that sounded even where there was no light
Sviatoslav Vakarchuk is called different things — a cultural symbol, the voice of a generation, a person who knows how to be close. But for Ukrainians, his role is much deeper: he is the voice of a country that lives with war and continues to fight for its future.
Since 2022, he has given almost 300 performances on the front line — in shelters, dugouts, at train stations, in liberated cities where explosions had just ceased. People who survived the occupation say that his appearance became a moment that restored faith that Ukraine would endure.
And it is this experience that became the basis of the new chamber tour. There are no loud effects here — only voice, instrument, and stories that cannot be told on a big stage.
What the artist himself says
Vakarchuk’s words are not an advertising preparation, but a confession backed by real war experience:
«You know what an Okean Elzy concert is like — it’s drive, powerful energy, big movement.
But this solo project is completely different. It’s about the connection between people. About help. It’s personal — warm, calm, truly sincere.
I started these performances in 2022 when the war covered the whole country. Since then, I have sung almost three hundred times on the front line — in shelters, dugouts, at train stations, and in newly liberated cities. Where much is destroyed… but people remain unbreakable.
I sang Ukrainian songs, classics, and Okean Elzy compositions to our defenders.
Now I invite you — I will sing to you just as I sang to them.
I will tell their stories — of courage, love, pain, and hope.
And together we will do something truly important — gather support that Ukraine needs now».
This quote is the key to understanding what exactly awaits the audience in Israel: not an entertainment show, but a meeting with a person who lived through the war with his people.
Performance format: two acts, two states
The chamber concert is divided into two parts, each carrying its own emotional meaning.
I. Guitar — music of the front
In the first part, he comes on stage with only an acoustic guitar. This is a reference to those very performances on the front line, where he came without security, without a stage, just to be close to the soldiers.
Such a presentation creates a special atmosphere — as if the audience finds themselves in the same space where music was played for those who defend Ukraine every day.
People say that at this moment, something almost physical is felt in the hall — tension, gratitude, all the unspoken words.
II. Piano — the place where his music was born
In the second part, a piano appears on stage. Most of Vakarchuk’s songs were written at the instrument — and this part of the concert sounds like a return to the origins.
This is a more intimate, soft, thoughtful part. Here, the music reveals the lyrics — often familiar for decades — in a completely new way.
Even those songs that have long become hits sound in this format as if they were written yesterday, under the wail of sirens.
What will be heard: from “Taka yak ty” to “Cheremshyna”
The setlist of the concerts is formed according to the mood of the specific evening, but traditionally includes:
- legendary hits of “Okean Elzy” —
“Taka yak ty”, “Same ta”, “Misto Mariyi”, “Obiymy”, “Bez boyu”, “Na nebi” - solo compositions
- Ukrainian folk songs
- world classics, which he performs with special emotional precision
Audiences in Europe and the USA note that in acoustics, the songs gain new depth — you hear not only the melody but also every pause, breath, internal dynamics, which is often lost on a big rock stage.
Why these concerts are so important for Ukrainians in Israel
The Ukrainian community in Israel has been growing since 2022. Thousands of people were forced to leave their homes, many experienced shelling, evacuations, the loss of loved ones.
For them, such evenings are an opportunity to feel not like a fragmented community, but as part of a united people.
Here they sing standing, here they hold flags, here they cry and smile at the same time.
Vakarchuk’s music helps return to that state when you feel connected to home, even being thousands of kilometers away.
Charitable goal: music that works to help Ukraine
This tour is not just a commercial project. Part of the proceeds goes to humanitarian initiatives, support for the military, and volunteer programs.
Every ticket purchased is an investment in the future of Ukraine, in those who now live under shelling, in those on the front line, in those waiting for their return home.
For the diaspora, this is an opportunity not just to be spectators, but real participants in a common cause.
What the audience will feel
- the chamber atmosphere of a small hall
- an honest dialogue through songs and stories
- a new interpretation of hits that everyone knows
- Ukrainian classics that unite people of different generations
- the feeling that you are in a place where music is heard not only with ears but also with the heart
Such evenings are remembered for a long time. And judging by the audience’s reaction, each concert turns into a small island of Ukraine — where it’s warm, where you can hear the breath of the hall, where no one is indifferent.
Tickets: The tour includes two performances
- February 15, 2026 — Tel Aviv, Beit HaHayal
- February 17, 2026 — Haifa, Auditorium
Tickets – https://nikk.kassa.co.il/announce/Vakarchuk
NANews News of Israel Nikk.Agency
