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Florence + the Machine release new video filmed in Kyiv and send message to ‘brave’ dancers sheltering in Ukraine

‘I wish I could put my arms around you,’ says singer Florence Welch

Ellie Harrison
Monday 07 March 2022 17:34 GMT
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Ukrainians fleeing Kyiv hide under destroyed bridge from Russian airstrikes

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Florence + the Machine have released the music video for their track “Heaven is Here”, which was filmed in Kyiv four months ago.

Sharing a clip of the video on Instagram on Monday (7 March), the band’s singer Florence Welch wrote: “Filmed in KYIV 20 NOV 2021… Two of the dancers in this video are currently sheltering. To my brave and beautiful sisters Maryne and Anastasiia. I love you.”

She added: “I wish I could put my arms around you. Strength.”

The music video – shot in a room that appears to be high up in a multi-storey building, with a window looking out onto Kyiv – was directed by Autumn de Wilde, the filmmaker behind the 2020 period drama Emma.

The group made their return to music last month with the new single “King”, which marked their first release since last year’s song for the Cruella soundtrack, “Call Me Cruella”.

Welch said of the track: “‘Heaven Is Here’ was the first song I wrote in lockdown after an extended period of not being able to get to the studio.

“I wanted to make something monstrous. And this clamour of joy, fury and grief was the first thing that came out.”

The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.

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