Parliament increases state budget for culture by nearly 50% in 2026
The Verkhovna Rada approved a state budget allocation of 16.1 billion hryvnias for culture, nearly one and a half times higher than last year’s amount. Of this, 4 billion hryvnias are designated for a new program called "1000 hours of Ukrainian content," and another 4 billion hryvnias are allocated for a telemarathon in 2026, significantly up from last year’s 1.5 billion hryvnias. Additionally, the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory will receive an extra 26 million hryvnias, 13.4 times more than their 2025 funding of 69.9 million hryvnias.
This substantial increase in cultural funding highlights the growing importance of the cultural sector for the state. The "1000 hours of Ukrainian content" program aims to strengthen national identity and support the development of Ukrainian media space. The 4 billion hryvnia allocation for the telemarathon further emphasizes the significance of media coverage of the country’s events.
It is expected that this enhanced support will give a boost to the cultural sector, making Ukrainian content more accessible and competitive both domestically and internationally.
