A group from Naples won the UKRO-2026 festival

The 8th UKRO Ukrainian Culture Festival took place in Bergamo 🇺🇦 This year, 16 teams from various cities across Italy — from north to south — took part in the competition. The winner was determined by the scores of a professional jury and a public vote.

The jury comprised well-known figures from Ukrainian culture: Honoured Artist of Ukraine Dmytro Khoma, actress Olena Kadobna, Ukrainian beatbox champion Oleksandr Melnyk, author of books on Ukrainian embroidery traditions Vira Chipurko, Olena Hromyk, director of a dance troupe from Milan, and Lesya Korolyk-Boiko, a cultural and community figure. The winner’s cup was awarded to the troupe from Naples — the Dateci Le Ali (‘Give Us Wings’) association!

“The best festival since 2018. The participants’ performances were absolutely brilliant… but the performance by the team from Naples was something incredible; the emotions were overwhelming. Their victory is 100 per cent deserved,” – these are the comments left by spectators on the festival’s Facebook page.

According to the festival rules, the winners are entitled to host the next competition in their city. So we have some wonderful news: UKRO 2027 will take place in Naples!

This is a historic event, as it is the first time in the history of UKRO that the cup has been won by a group from southern Italy. 

 Ukrainian culture is uniting Italy — from Bergamo to Naples!