It was back in September 2008 when Queen and Paul Rodgers opened their European tour to 350,000 people in Freedom Square in Kharkov. The Kharkov sleeve notes on the subsequent DVD and CD explain a lot of the background to this memorable and unique concert. The concert was completely sponsored by Victor Pinchuk, the husband of Elena Franchuk in order that it could raise awareness of the AIDS problem in Ukraine and provide monies for her own charity the Elena Franchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation.
The concert was broadcast live across Ukraine on television and seen at home by over 10 million people. The monies raised from the concert were used to assist in the reconstruction of a very special orphanage that Elena Franchuk had established, namely the Zelenuy Gay in Kharkov.
Queen and Paul subsequently decided that the concert should be released on DVD and CD and this took place on June 22nd 2009. They gave all the proceeds from the sale of the DVD and CD in Ukraine to the Elena Franchuk ANTIAIDS Foundation and the Mercury Phoenix Trust will be continuing to work with the Foundation in helping to fight AIDS in Ukraine.
Over the last few years Ukraine has continuously been the country with the highest rate of HIV prevalence in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. According to recent national estimates the HIV prevalence rate is 1.63%1 among the adult population (age 15-49) which corresponds with a figure of 440,000 HIV-infected. Official data of new registered cases shows an annual increase in new cases of 10% compared to previous years. Every day 52 people are diagnosed with HIV, 8 people dies of AIDS in Ukraine.
The country also has reported the highest HIV prevalence in Europe (0.52%) among pregnant women, and a continuous increase of AIDS-related mortality (from 4.6 per 100,000 in 2005 to 5.4 per 100,000 in 2007) proof that efforts made to date were not enough.