Hans Zimmer calls Ukrainian orchestra members ‘real wonder women’ during London concert

‘Bloody hell, the world has changed in many ways,’ composer says during London concert

Hans Zimmer paid tribute to the Ukrainian members of his orchestra who fled their home country and joined him on stage at the O2 Arena last night (Tuesday 22 March).

The Oscar-nominated composer performed a three-hour concert at the London venue, playing music from his film scores for The Dark Knight, The Lion King, Inception, Pirates of the Caribbean, Gladiator, and the latest James Bond film, No Time to Die.

He was joined by members of the Ukrainian Odessa Opera Orchestra, who received a standing ovation from the audience as Zimmer took a moment to pay tribute to them and their colleagues who are still in Ukraine. Fellow musicians from around Europe are helping to fill the gaps in the ensemble during the tour.

“London, we meet again,” Zimmer said, addressing the audience. “885 days ago we were supposed to come over here and do this and a few things have happened in that time.

“Bloody hell, the world has changed in many ways. And one of the things that is so important about music and all the people up here is we had enough of the social distancing, we want to bring all of us together without getting sick.”

He continued: “But when Covid stopped us from coming 885 days ago we booked our orchestra from the Ukraine, from Odessa, and we only managed to get 10 people out.”

Hans Zimmer celebrated his Ukrainian orchestra members during a London show (Getty Images)

As he introduced the theme from his score for superhero film Wonder Woman, Zimmer said he wanted to avoid making the concert about politics.

“I don't want this to be a complete downer,” he said. “I want this to be what music is supposed to be, to bring us together, let us celebrate something.

“One of the things which I thought was remarkable about the people that we did bring out of the Ukraine, and the people that were left behind from the orchestra, was it was a lot of women and I know this is a really corny non-sequitur type of thing, but they taught me who the real wonder women are.

“So if you don't mind I would like to celebrate them with a little ditty called ‘Wonder Woman’.”

Zimmer is tipped to win another Oscar this Sunday (27 March) for his score for Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi blockbuster Dune. It would be his second Academy Award, following his 1994 win for The Lion King.

The tour continues in Europe until the end of April.

Additional reporting by Press Association

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