Ukraine Closes Reeperbahn Festival 2026 With Two International Awards

Kyiv / Hamburg - 2026. Ukraine wrapped up its participation in Reeperbahn Festival 2026 with two international honors: singer-songwriter and producer GANNA won the ANCHOR Award, and the Ukrainian-German project Disturbed Ground took home the VIA Award for Best Experiment. The wins capped off a landmark year in which Ukraine served as the festival's first-ever Guest Country of Honour, with a visible presence across its music and conference programming.

GANNA Wins ANCHOR Award 2026

One of the festival's headline moments came when Ukrainian artist GANNA (Hanna Hryniva) took home the ANCHOR Award 2026 - Reeperbahn Festival's flagship international prize for emerging talent, presented each year to rising musicians at the festival in Hamburg.

The international jury praised her stage presence and the emotional depth of a performance that blends Ukrainian traditional music with electronic textures, jazz, and experimental vocals. The winner was announced on stage by Ukrainian artist Jerry Heil, who joined the ANCHOR jury this year on Music Export Ukraine's recommendation.

For Music Export Ukraine, the win is no fluke - it's the payoff of years of consistent international groundwork. GANNA has spent recent years building an international portfolio, performing across Europe as well as in Canada and Australia. In January 2026, she played Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) in the Netherlands as part of the ESNS Exchange programme - a European system that helps emerging artists secure their next festival bookings, with Music Export Ukraine as the Ukrainian partner. That same ecosystem led directly to her Reeperbahn booking, where she went on to win ANCHOR.

Her development has been backed over the years by music institutions in both countries - Music Export Ukraine on the Ukrainian side, and Initiative Musik / German Music Export on the German side. It's a clear example of how sustained work by export offices, festivals, and international partners can gradually turn individual opportunities into a lasting international career.

Disturbed Ground Takes "Best Experiment" at the VIA Awards

A second international award went to Disturbed Ground, a joint project between Kyiv club ∄ (K41) and Berlin's CTM Festival.

The project won VIA Awards 2026 in the Bestes Experiment ("Best Experiment") category. The VIA Awards are presented annually by VUT, the German association of independent music entrepreneurs, recognizing quality, originality, and innovation in the independent music scene.

Disturbed Ground brought together Ukrainian and international artists to create new audiovisual works exploring the environmental consequences of Russia's war against Ukraine. Contributors included undo despot, Zeynep Schilling, Khrystyna Kirik, Mark Bain, alen hast, and myk rudik of u2203, with the project curated by ∄, CTM Festival, Mariana Berezovska, Anastasiia Syradoieva, and alen hast, supported by the Goethe-Institut.

Two very different Ukrainian stories - the international rise of an individual artist, and a long-term Ukrainian-German artistic collaboration - earned professional recognition in the same festival week in Hamburg.

Ukraine Wasn't a Sidebar - It Was Woven Into the Whole Festival

For Music Export Ukraine, one of the most important outcomes of Reeperbahn Festival 2026 was that Ukraine's presence wasn't confined to a single showcase or standalone event.

Ukrainian artists GANNA, Maryna Krut, and Kazhanna performed on the festival's official stages. Ukrainian professionals took part in the international conference programme. Jerry Heil joined the ANCHOR jury. Ukrainian music companies and organizations worked the festival as part of the broader international professional community.

A standout moment was the panel discussion "Music Beyond the Stage: When Artists Take on New Roles," featuring journalist and servicewoman Alla Koshliak, musician and Kulturnyi Desant co-founder Sasha Chemerov, and Volodymyr Nedohoda, founder of the music-therapy initiative Victory Beats.

The conversation about how war is reshaping the roles of musicians, journalists, and cultural managers resonated widely with the international audience. One of its central messages was a call not just to support Ukrainian culture, but to build projects together with Ukrainians - inviting them into international programmes and forming lasting partnerships.

The discussion was organized in partnership with the Ukrainian Institute, with Ukrainian experts' participation made possible by the Ukrainian Institute in Germany through the NUMO mobility programme.

A Ukrainian Reception Brings Two Music Communities Together

Another central meeting point was the Meet Ukrainians Reception at Alte Liebe, organized by Music Export Ukraine.

The event drew Ukraine's Consul General in Hamburg, Vitalii Remelie, alongside Ukrainian artists and music professionals, international festivals, companies, cultural institutions, and partners.

The reception wasn't just a showcase of the Ukrainian music scene - it was, above all, a space for new professional connections, giving Ukrainian participants the chance to meet international colleagues directly and talk through future bookings, projects, and partnerships.

"This Is Exactly Why Music Export Offices Exist"

"For us, the result of this Reeperbahn Festival isn't just two great awards. What matters most is that Ukraine was present at practically every level of the festival: on stages, in professional discussions, on the jury, among delegates and international partnerships.

GANNA's story is especially telling. An international career isn't built in a single showcase. She spent years building her portfolio, playing in different countries, working with international partners, and drawing support from both the Ukrainian and German music ecosystems. ESNS opened the next set of opportunities, ESNS Exchange led to Reeperbahn - and there, she won ANCHOR. That's exactly how an international music ecosystem is supposed to work.

And the main thing we heard from our speakers at the festival, and want to repeat: partner with Ukrainians. We don't just want support - we want to build new projects, music, and international opportunities together. We're working with a country that's fighting for its future - and, at the same time, already shaping the future of European culture today."

— Alona Dmukhovska, Head of Music Export Ukraine

Ten Years of Partnership With Reeperbahn Festival

For Music Export Ukraine, Reeperbahn Festival remains one of its longest-running international partnerships. The relationship began in 2017, and in the years since, Ukrainian artists and music professionals have taken part regularly in the festival's delegations, showcases, and conference programme.

In 2026, that partnership reached a new milestone: Ukraine became the first-ever Guest Country of Honour in Reeperbahn Festival's history - and closed out festival week with two awards, ANCHOR for GANNA and the VIA Award for Best Experiment for Disturbed Ground.

For Music Export Ukraine, it's confirmation of a simple idea: international careers and partnerships don't happen overnight. They're built over years - through consistent presence, trust, professional relationships, and a willingness to work together.

 

About Reeperbahn Festival
Reeperbahn Festival is one of Europe's key music business platforms, bringing together artists and industry professionals from around the world. It draws roughly 4,000 industry professionals and 40,000 music fans each year, making it one of Europe's largest club festivals. For Ukraine, it's an opportunity to showcase local artists, connect with international partners, grow music export, and integrate the Ukrainian industry into the European market. Music Export Ukraine has built its partnership with Reeperbahn Festival since 2017, and since 2021 has, in select years, organized Ukrainian delegations and artist presentations in partnership with the Ukrainian Institute and with support from a number of international partners.