BRAMA, December 3, 2002, 11:00 am ET
Press Release
Kyiv on the Hudson:
Klitschko brothers join Mayor of Kyiv for New York awards ceremony
The city of Kyiv was once the largest center of European civilization and
Eastern Christianity.
Since the demise of the USSR eleven years ago, the city has been
resurrected from a ruined Soviet city to become the thriving capital of
independent Ukraine.
Mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko has led Kyiv's transformation. A successful
building engineer, Mr. Omelchenko has given Ukrainians something to cheer
about. Visitors are beginning to discover Eastern Europe's best-kept
secret: an ancient, green and gold-domed Byzantine city with all of the
twenty-first century amenities.
In recognition of the man who has led Kyiv's renaissance, the Ukrainian
Institute of America will honor Mr. Omelchenko with the 2002 "Man of the
Year" award.
Previous award recipients include international financier George Soros,
and Oscar award winner Jack Palance.
The gala awards ceremony will take place on the night of Monday, December
9 at the Baroque Room at the Plaza Hotel in New York.
Top Ukrainian athletes, performers and businessmen will join Mr.
Omelchenko in a three-day visit to New York City.
Accompanying Mr. Omelchenko are the heavyweight boxing champions Vitali
and Wladimir Klitschko, Space Shuttle "Columbia" cosmonaut Leonid
Kadeniuk, and twelve-year-old musical prodigy Kostyantyn Tovstukha, a
winner of the International Horowitz Piano competition, and others.
On December 10, Mr. Omelchenko and his friends will open a multimedia
exhibition that details the changes Kyiv has experienced over the
centuries. The exhibit will be housed at the Ukrainian Institute of
America, 2 East 79th Street, New York until January 31, 2003.
Note: Kyiv and Kiev
Americans tend to spell the name of Ukraine's capital using the Russian
language "Kiev." As part of ongoing efforts to shed its Soviet past, the
Ukrainian government has made "Kyiv" the official English language
spelling for the country's capital. The word "Kyiv" corresponds to the
Ukrainian pronunciation of the city's name.
ukrainianinstitute.org
|