Palace “Ukraine”
Coordinates: 50°25?20.31?N 30°31?16.7?E? / ?50.4223083°N 30.521306°E
National Palace of Arts “Ukraina” (Ukrainian: ???????????? ????? ???????? “???????”) or Palace “Ukraina” is one of the main venues for official events along with Palace of Sports in Kiev, Ukraine. The venue is a state company administered by the State Directory of Affairs.[1]
It was opened in 1970 as the biggest center of culture and arts. The building was designed by a group of architects P. Zhylytskyi, I. Vayner, under the directorship of the project’s author the distinguished architect of Ukrainian SSR Yevhenia Marychenko.[2] All of the architects were awarded Shevchenko National Prize (1971) for its design and construction. The building is trapezoidal, twenty eight meters tall and consists of over 300 rooms.
Although it was finally built on a former market square on Krasnoarmeyskaya street (present vul. Chervonoarmiyska), it was originally suggested to be built in the place of St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery.[3]
Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, Luciano Pavarotti and Sofia Rotaru are some of the artists that have performed there.[4] The main concert hall has a capacity of 3,714 people.[5]
Director of the building until 2010 was Mykola Mozghovy.[6]
Usually taking place in the Verkhovna Rada building, on 30 November 1999 the venue hosted presidential inauguration of the newly elected president of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma.[7]
The arena hosted the 11th Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2013.[8]