Ukrainian football fans, still jubilant in the success of reaching the final sixteen of the World Cup in Germany, are being rallied by the presence of their Eurovision Song Contest winner of 2004, Ruslana, who continues her tour of Germany amidst the ongoing football championship.
Having already played venues in Cologne, Leipzig and Berlin amongst other places, Ruslana seems to be having a positive impact on the fortunes of the Ukrainian national team. On Thursday, the boys romped home to a 1-0 victory after she performed on stage in Berlin, in a show partly televised on German channel ARD. Straight after her set,she was rushed directly to the VIP area of the stadium to support the team as they carried Ukrainian football dreams onto the next stage of the competition.
Political duties
In an interesting twist, both Ruslana and Ukrainian coach Oleg Blokhin have something in common; they both have duties back home as MPs in the national parliament. The UK media were quick to draw comparisons with famous footballer's wife Victoria Beckham, also in Germany to support her team, but somewhat less likely to make the move from singing into politics!
It has been a busy time for Ruslana of late, with the premiere of her new movie Wild energy scheduled for today on Ukrainian TV. Her presence is a welcome support to the Ukrainian team and fans alike, and she performs a final German concert in Nuremberg this evening. Ruslana's tourwill continue to Belarus and Turkey next month.
