‘Like a casino’: Ukraine’s Vyrii Festival on risks and rewards of expanded second edition
The 'ethno-electronic' festival tells IQ about launching from scratch during wartime and how its distinctive theme has buoyed the event to seek further growth
News By Ciaran Donnelly | 25 August 2026
Ukraine’s Vyrii Festival is targeting an expansion led by international acts for its 2027 edition, following the conclusion of a second edition earlier this month that welcomed 12,000 people and put the event ahead of organisers’ financial projections.
The festival, which debuted in 2025, describes itself as “Ukraine’s first ethno-electronic festival”, and combines revivalist folkloric art, costume, and theatre elements with electronic music at the Expocentre of Ukraine in Kyiv. In conversation with IQ, festival founder Alyona Gudkova tells IQ about…
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