Kyiv Residents Fight to Save Iconic Kinopanorama Cinema from Sale

Public Outcry Over the Future of Kyiv's Kinopanorama

According to Главком: Residents of Kyiv are raising their voices against the planned sale of the Kinopanorama cinema, a long-standing cultural landmark in the capital. A petition has been filed on the official website of the Kyiv City Council, initiated by Nataliia Sobolieva. The document calls for urgent action to prevent the loss of this cherished venue, warning that the sale threatens to erase an important cultural space from the city's landscape.

The Kinopanorama building has been listed for sale at $10 million. The seller proposes repurposing the site into a hotel, restaurant, or entertainment complex. As of now, the listing is no longer publicly available. Notably, the cinema remains in excellent condition, yet Kyiv has already lost many of its iconic movie theaters over the past decades-including Ukraina, Orbita, Zoryany, and dozens of neighborhood cinemas. According to Sobolieva, a city aspiring to become a European capital cannot afford to keep shrinking its cultural infrastructure.

“Each loss like this is irreversible,” says Nataliia Sobolieva.

Petition and Community-Led Initiatives

As of publication, the petition has garnered 149 signatures. It proposes the following measures:

• Launch negotiations to acquire the Kinopanorama building into communal ownership for the people of Kyiv;
• Guarantee the preservation of the site's cultural purpose, regardless of any change in ownership;
• Establish a multi-agency task force involving the Kyiv City Council, the Ministry of Culture, the State Film Agency of Ukraine, the National Union of Cinematographers of Ukraine, veteran organizations, and representatives from the cultural community.

Sobolieva further emphasized that saving Kinopanorama would be more than an act of cultural heritage protection-it would symbolize that 'Ukraine, even in its most difficult times, can preserve its history, support its people, and invest in its own future.' A core element of the petition is developing a revival plan for Kinopanorama as a modern national cultural center, with dedicated programs for veterans, active military personnel, and their families.

The situation surrounding the sale of Kinopanorama highlights the critical need to protect cultural assets in Kyiv, especially as the city undergoes rapid transformation. Losing such vital cultural hubs could weaken the capital's cultural identity and diminish its appeal as a tourist destination. Grassroots efforts to defend cultural heritage reflect the community's strong desire to safeguard history and nurture the city's cultural life.

As the community rallies to protect the Kinopanorama, similar concerns have arisen regarding urban development in Kyiv, particularly in sensitive areas. Recent protests have emerged against the construction of a 25-story tower within a UNESCO buffer zone, raising questions about the preservation of cultural and historical integrity in the city. For more on this ongoing struggle for Kyiv's architectural heritage, read about the residents' demands to halt the construction here.