YUNA (Yearly Ukrainian National Awards) is an annual Ukrainian music award ceremony, established on 27 October 2011 by Pavlo Shilko and Mohammad Zahoor.[2] Nominees and winners are determined by a professional jury, and the accounting firm Deloitte regulates the final vote tally.[3]
History
The first YUNA ceremony, which took place on 8 February 2012 at Palace "Ukraine" in Kyiv, honored the best in Ukrainian music spanning the twenty years since the country's independence in 1991 and was later named "YUNA: The Best of 20 Years". The event didn't have a host; rather, awards were presented by different celebrities.[4]
The event has been held every year since, and its hosts have included celebrities such as singer Potap[5] and television presenter Anatoly Anatolich.
In 2020, a youth version of the award, called YUNA Junior 2020, was held.[6]
In 2022, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the award ceremony was held online. The event's host, television presenter Volodymyr Ostapchuk, and producer Pavlo Shilko announced that winners would not receive their trophies that year. Instead, they would be auctioned off, with proceeds being donated to the Ukrainian military.[7]
The 2023 edition of the event only had one award category: Song of Indomitable Ukraine.[8]