Soaring dreams of children united by flying kites in Liverpool and Ukraine at the same time

Tetyana Filevska, creative director of Eurofest partners the Ukrainian Institute, explains that children have to be able to dream.

Children from Liverpool have been sharing their soaring dreams with youngsters in Ukraine by flying kites at exactly the same time.

The poignant display was part of the city’s host programme as it hosts Eurovision on behalf of the war-torn country.

450 primary pupils gathered in Wirral, as an equal number of children gathered in four Ukrainian cities connected on the map in the shape of a kite.

Viktoriia Pokatilova, Ukraine’s Junior Academy of Sciences Project Manager, said, “Despite air raids and daily dangers, Ukrainian children do not stop making wishes and believing in their realisation."

Children from schools across Liverpool joined in the event at the same time as children from Ukraine Credit: ITV Granada

Called Land & Sky, Home & Dreams, the project empowered pupils to design their own flags with art showcasing their hopes for their future. 

Although all 900 youngsters are working together on this powerful shared artwork, there were subtle, impactful differences in the flying itself.

The Ukrainian children gathered in different locations across Kyiv, Lviv, Khmelnytskyi and Poltava in case they needed to find safety in an underground shelter.

The kite strings in Ukraine were also ten metres shorter than in Liverpool so that the kites did not enter the no-fly zone.

George Ellis from family-run business Go Fly Your Kite talks about the scale of the project.

The project is one of 24 commissions for the EuroFestival strand of Liverpool’s host city programme during Eurovision.

It is one of many thought-provoking co-productions between UK and Ukrainian organisations taking over the city.

Director of Culture Liverpool, Claire McColgan CBE, said, “At its essence this is such a simple idea, but when it’s delivered it will be incredibly powerful and the synchronicity with Ukraine will really resonate."

Eurovision Minister Stuart Andrew, said: "Ukrainians have shown incredible resilience and bravery in the face of Russia’s attack on their country.

"As schoolchildren in Liverpool unite with schoolchildren across Ukraine, this poignant display of kite-flying shows the UK's solidarity with the people of Ukraine and represents young people's soaring dreams and shared aspirations."

The children had lots of fun flying their designs in the wind. Credit: ITV Granada

The event at Tower Ground, New Brighton, featured pupils from Emmaus Church of England & Catholic Primary School, Croxteth; St Paul’s Catholic Primary School, West Derby; Matthew Arnold Primary School, Dingle; Childwall Church of England Primary School, Childwall; St Michael’s in the Hamlet Primary School; Woodlands Primary School, Formby; and Woolton Primary School, Woolton.

In Ukraine, the workshops were facilitated by the Junior Academy of Sciences.