Special Ukrainian Episode for The Song of My Life

Finland’s Yellow Film & TV has produced a special Ukrainian episode of The Song of My Life free of charge to show its support for the country.

Filmed in September in Tampere at the Mediapolis Factory Hall where Ukrainian refugees from the region were invited to attend, the episode features performances by Ukrainian artists KOLA and LAUD.

Other performers include Diandra, Kasmir, Irina, Arja Saijonmaa and JP Leppäluoto from the Finnish version of the show. They were joined by the Finnish boys’ choir Pirkanpojat and TAMK Choral Company. The songs were accompanied by the program’s own band, led by Kalle Torniainen.

Guests of the special episode include Ukrainian Eurovision host Timur Miroshnychenko, singer and UN envoy Taras Topolia, singer and TV host Nadia Dorofeeva and super athlete couple Mykhailo Romanchuk and Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk. Kateryna Osadcha, one of Ukraine’s leading TV presenters, hosted the episode and was joined by The Song of My Life’s original host, Katja Ståhl.

The Song of My Life: Ukraine was produced entirely pro bono by Yellow Film & TV in collaboration with Yle, FILM.UA Group and 1+1 Media. The special episode will premiere on Ukrainian TV channel 1+1 and will be broadcast in Finland by Yleisradio. Yellow Film & TV will also offer the episode free of charge to all EBU channels around Europe.

“We want this to be a template for other popular shows across Europe to follow suit,” said Olli Haikka, CEO of Yellow Film & TV. “We want to have Ukrainian talent join famous faces on national TV shows to help remind us of their struggle and that they have the support of not only governments and the military but every industry, including the entertainment industry.”