A recent hostile strike damaged the building of the Palace of Children's and Youth Creativity in Metallurgists' Park. To some, it is just another building damaged by the war. Yet for thousands of Zaporizhzhia residents, it is far more than a centre for cultural education and development of future generations. It is a place where music filled the air, friends gathered, people waited for the perfect sunset after vibrant festivals, and sang their favourite songs alongside thousands of others.
Russia is destroying more than just infrastructure. It is trying to take away our memories, the places that give us strength, and our sense of community. Those were the moments when the whole city sang with one voice.
But memories cannot be destroyed by fire or shattered into fragments.
Today, Zaporizhzhia stands strong as steel, resilient and unyielding. A city of resilience, steadfastly fighting for life under enemy fire. But we know it in many other ways: as a city of festivals, welcoming events beneath peaceful, star-filled skies, a city of shared evenings, rousing songs echoing over the Dnipro, art without limits or borders, and reunions with old friends at the city's major music events. We believe that after Victory, these venues will once again be filled with voices.
For many years, Metinvest and Zaporizhstal have supported cultural events in Zaporizhzhia. Major festivals, city celebrations, concerts and art projects gave people far more than just a good time. They created memories that people long to revisit today.
Shall we remember those moments together? Each chapter opens with a line from a song that once rang out from the stage and today lives on in our memory.
“This is Zaporizhzhia, this is Ukraine, not some other country!”
For Zaporizhzhia, Metallurgist and Miner's Day was far more than a professional holiday. It was often referred to as a second City Day, and for good reason. After all, Zaporizhzhia is a city of steelworkers, where nearly every family includes someone from this proud profession, making it a day of celebration for the entire city.
Every summer, thousands of people gathered for the major free concert that Zaporizhstal presented to the city. Popular Ukrainian musicians and bands performed on stage, while visitors could also enjoy creative workshops, children's activity areas and photo zones. This was where friends arranged to meet, families spent time together, people sang their favourite songs, and simply enjoyed a summer evening.
One of the celebration's most memorable highlights was the drone light show that Zaporizhstal organised at the Rainbow venue in 2020. At the same time, 200 drones created luminous displays across the evening sky, inspiring wonder and admiration among thousands of spectators.
"Let's stay connected"
One of the most vibrant festivals supported by Metinvest was Khortytsia Freedom, a celebration of contemporary Ukrainian music that, on three occasions, brought together thousands of fans in Metallurgists' Park named after V.А. Satskyi.
Over the course of three years, the festival grew from a new city event into one of Ukraine’s largest music festivals. Over three days, multiple stages hosted dozens of Ukrainian bands and performers, including ONUKA, KAZKA, PianoBoy, DakhaBrakha, SKAI, Vopli Vidopliassova, alyona alyona, Odyn v Kanoe, GO_A, and many more.
But the biggest names were not what mattered most. Khortytsia Freedom brought to Zaporizhzhia the atmosphere of a major music festival, where people sang along to their favourite songs, discovered new Ukrainian music, met up with friends, travelled from other cities to visit old ones, or simply experienced Zaporizhzhia for the first time. Together, they shared those unforgettable evenings when it seemed as though the entire city was moving to the same rhythm.
“When I am in the grip of despair, you become my wings…”
Zaporizhzhia Jazzy brought a different mood to the city, filling it with contemporary and jazz music, live orchestras, creative spaces, family walks and a special atmosphere.
Since 2017, Zaporizhzhia Jazzy has brought an unforgettable atmosphere of open-air music to Zaporizhzhia. Two stages, performances by leading Ukrainian singers, a food court, a children’s zone, photo spots, and panoramic views of the Dnipro drew thousands of visitors year after year.
Over the years, the festival's headline performers included Jamala, TNMK, Pianoboy and many other well-known artists. The festival was organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism of Zaporizhzhia City Council, with Zaporizhstal serving as its General Partner.
“Dancing the penguin dance, very cheerful...”
Zound Festival became one of the biggest music events of the summer in southern Ukraine in 2019. Over the course of two days and two nights, world-renowned electronic music stars took to the stage, including ATB, Booka Shade, Sander van Doorn, Omnia, Oliver Huntemann and many others.
In 2021, the festival returned to the newly revamped Kozatske Kolo venue on Khortytsia Island, where it attracted around 10,000 visitors. The stage featured performances by Liapis 98, Bahroma, Epolets, and other popular performers.
Thanks to Metinvest’s support, the festival introduced Zaporizhzhia to a new format of large-scale open-air concerts, becoming a place where music brought thousands of people together and created lasting shared memories.
“Life is beautiful when it is full of colour...”
There were other celebrations, too, where the main attraction was not the big stage, but the atmosphere itself.
“Beach Boom”, held with the support of Metinvest in 2019, became a true celebration of summer on the banks of the Dnipro. It brought together music, sport, outdoor activities, and family entertainment, creating the atmosphere of a carefree urban weekend.
Guests could enjoy interactive zones, competitions, performances by creative groups and vibrant concerts featuring star headliners. The festival is remembered as a day when thousands of people came together to enjoy the summer, great music and the city's unique atmosphere.
“May spring come wherever we stand to the very end. And war will not break us.”
Zaporizhzhia knew how to surprise people with more than just music.
In 2024, the city hosted GogolFest, one of Ukraine’s largest cultural projects, with Metinvest serving as a partner. For the first time in Zaporizhzhia, and for the first time since the start of the full-scale invasion. Theatre productions, concerts, exhibitions, performances, and urban projects, the festival revealed a new side of Zaporizhzhia, both to its visitors and to the city’s own residents.
For a few days, the city was transformed into a vast creative space, where contemporary culture brought together industrial heritage, architecture, and people.
One of GogolFest’s most significant outcomes for Zaporizhzhia was the creation of the memorial installation “Tree of Memory” . It became a symbol of strength, unity and gratitude to those who gave their lives in the war against Russia for Ukraine's freedom.
Today, this place has long since grown beyond the boundaries of an art project. This is where the people of Zaporizhzhia honour the memory of fallen defenders. This is where they come with flowers. This is where silence speaks louder than words. Thus, art born from the festival became part of the city’s living memory.
“At home, freedom breathes in the sky...”
Even during the full-scale war, culture did not disappear. It simply changed its form.
Since 2023, Zaporizhstal has been implementing the Each of Us Is a Hero art project. Artist Sashko Korban creates murals dedicated to the history of Zaporizhzhia, its prominent figures, and its working people.
The first installation, unveiled in 2023, was a mural dedicated to Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytskyi. In 2024, another mural was unveiled, bringing together images of Zaporizhstal steelworkers and prominent historical figures of Zaporizhzhia region, highlighting the unbreakable link between the past and the present.
Because today, art is also a way of preserving memory. And although the concert stages have fallen silent for a time, the music has not disappeared. It continues to resonate through the colours, imagery, and messages of Sashko Korban’s murals, reminding us that culture cannot be put on hold.
“Our time will come... And everything will be fine”
Over the years, Metinvest and Zaporizhstal helped drive the development of Zaporizhzhia’s industry. With the support of the company and the plant, new chapters in the city's vibrant cultural life were written: festivals, concerts, art projects and city celebrations brought people together, creating memories that now live on in photographs, familiar melodies and our hearts.
We believe that the city's open-air spaces will once again bring together thousands of Zaporizhzhia residents and visitors, free from air raid alerts, united by a shared atmosphere of warmth and belonging, enchanted by the beauty of Zaporizhzhia's southern sunrises, and moved to sing their favourite songs in unison with friends and newfound companions.
Because a stage can be destroyed. A building can be damaged. But it is impossible to destroy the songs we sang together. Nor can anyone take away the memory of those evenings when music brought thousands of people together.
Because the city remembers. And that means they will surely be heard again.