Ed Sheeran welcomed his “2step” collaborators, Ukrainian band Antytila, to perform with him in Poland over the weekend.
The performance in Warsaw, Poland marked the official live debut of their collaborative “2step” remix, which protests Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“156,000 in Warsaw! One of our favourites from the whole tour,” Ed shared on Instagram, along with photos of the night. “Thank you @antytila_official for coming across the border to sing with me, and thank you Poland! What a time.”
The Ukrainian band, which had been fighting Russia’s forces in Kyiv, also celebrated the moment on their respective Instagram. “Finally we met and sang together 2Step. We haven’t performed for months,” they cheered. “This gig was really important for us and for Ukraine.”
The band also shouted out their neighboring country of Poland, telling them their “support for all these 6 months is incredible!”
Poland has taken in millions of Ukrainian refugees since the start of the invasion and remains a vocal ally of their neighbor country.
As for Ed’s connection with Antytila, the band previously offered to perform live with him from the front lines during March’s Concert for Ukraine. While the group was not allowed to join the concert, Ed invited them to make a remix of his song “2step.”
Antytila’s music video of his song “2step” — which dropped in May — painted a heartbreaking image of Russia’s ongoing invasion of the country. The group also contributed several new verses in their native language.
As previously reported, the music video for Ed’s “2step” was filmed in Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv prior to Russia’s invasion.
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.