[Source: Interkultur] The World Choir Games, also known as the Olympics of Choral Music, will be held exceptionally in October/November. "Extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary measures. Corona will not get our choirs down! The Games will go on!": the Flemish government and INTERKULTUR decided to postpone the World Choir Games for a second time.

Minister Jambon explains: "Many people have sacrificed a lot and made efforts to get through pandemic last year. Also our thousands of choir singers in Flanders and all their enthusiastic fellow singers from all over the world. We have already had to postpone a fantastic event - the World Choir Games - once. Now, however, the summer period is also coming too soon. Choirs want to be able to rehearse, practice and work together towards the event for a few months, but that is not yet possible. Also, the numbers are still uncertain, even for many foreign choirs."

However, INTERKULTUR and the Flemish government have come together in the determination to give a perspective to the international singers also in these extraordinary times. With the decision to let the World Choir Games exceptionally take place in autumn, the Flemish government and INTERKULTUR react to the overall positive dynamics around the World Choir Games.

The decision to postpone is a decision about giving perspective, according to Minister-President and Minister of Culture Jan Jambon: "We are delighted that all partners have agreed to a feasible date, so that in 2021 we can still bring this top event to Flanders. It is a bright spot for many passionate singers at home and abroad who have been deprived of their stage for so long. I have felt an enormous urge to make this event happen, even in these special times.”

The health, welfare and safety of the participating choirs, the supporters who travel with them and the many fans and visitors in Flanders are and remain top priority. And although the scale of the event will obviously have to be adjusted, and some parts of the program will have to be reviewed again, all parties involved are welcoming this development as a turning point after a particularly difficult period. It will be a special – rather emotional – moment for everybody that will leave many deeply moved.

INTERKULTUR President Günter Titsch: “After months of restrictions, overcoming the crisis now seems within reach. I am very pleased that together with our partners in Flanders and especially through the personal support of Minister-President Jambon, we have found a good way to let the 11th World Choir Games 2021 take place with the greatest possible security for all participants. This fall we will show to everyone: The international choral world is back and will finally sing on a world stage again!”

The World Choir Games will have an innovative virtual component in addition to the live event. It was also the corona crisis that led to the move to the virtual. Koor&Stem drew up a digital concept for the development of a 'Virtual Village' for the World Choir Games. This tool enables all the choirs that are unable to participate in the 11th edition, to still actively participate in the Games. It involves not only streaming of the main events, workshops and concerts, but also international meetings and even competitions!

The Flemish Government, INTERKULTUR and Koor&Stem are ready to work together with the cities of Antwerp and Ghent to make the 11th edition of the World Choir Games from October 30 to November 7, 2021 an unforgettable event! They are convinced that all sponsors and partners will help compose this musical story. Together, they aim for nothing less than the best edition ever in the history of the World Choir Games.

All the details regarding the autumn edition of the World Choir Games 2021 are now available at www.wcg2021.com.

It was "the miracle of Sochi", back then at the World Choir Games 2016. Afghanistan’s Noor-e Omid choir competed in the world's largest international choir competition, the so-called Olympics of Choral Music.

During the Taliban regime, religious extremists had censored singing and music in society. It was only after 2001 that Afghanistan’s music scene slowly began to re-emerge and by 2016, the miracle happened: Afghanistan had its first ever polyphonic choir, and it was the country’s first choir to take part in the World Choir Games.

The story left a lasting impression on everyone involved, including the then Artistic Director of the World Choir Games, Prof. Dr. Ralf Eisenbeiß. “In their country, people have not known music for generations, but now these young people somehow heard about the ‘Choir Olympics’, learned sheet music, rehearsed a programme, and fulfilled a lifelong dream by participating in the Games.”

Yet this story is just one of the many "miracles" that happen year after year at INTERKULTUR’s international choral events like the World or European Choir Games. Wherever people of different faiths and cultures come together, a great deal of understanding and tolerance is needed. At INTERKULTUR events, this spirit of acceptance arises naturally – after all, singing together calls for harmony.

And so choirs from countries that are opponents on a political level, such as Iran and Israel, meet in the choir competitions and festivals regularly and peacefully. And different religions connect in a very direct way, as happened at the World Choir Games 2010 in Shaoxing, China, when a German gospel choir visited a Buddhist temple and sang a Christian gospel – to the great joy of everybody on site.

At the European Choir Games 2013 in Graz, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Christian singers appeared together on one stage as one large festival choir and performed Giuseppe Verdi's Messa da Requiem together.

Such large concerts with hundreds of singers from different countries, cultures and religions have long tradition at the World Choir Games. No one sums up the immense impact better than a singer from Australia who, after taking part in the large festival choir concert of the World Choir Games 2016, said: “Well, this was fantastic, I've never been to such a happening before. It shows what you can do, if you invest in culture and if you invest in youth. Much better than buying weapons and guns: invest in culture and music!”

The debate about singing in public in Afghanistan continues today, with a social media campaign recently overturning a ban on teenage girls singing in public.

On the world stage, singers can discover the great diversity and enthusiasm with which people express their different cultures and religions through song. Find out how you can turn your city into such a special stage that brings people from all cultures and religions together here: https://worldofchoirs.com/wcg/

This article was written by Henriette Brockmann of INTERKULTUR. 

[Source: Interkultur] The 12th World Choir Games 2022 in Gangneung, Republic of Korea, are making us dream of a bright future: Singing and celebrating at a wonderful destination surrounded by beautiful coast and mountains with a treat of real Olympic air through the Olympic Park and ICE Arena, which tell us about the time of Winter Olympics in 2018.

In order to help you making this dream reality we have recently published a new loyalty package which grants you additional discounts for registrations until May 5, 2021: the more World Choir Games participations you had since 2012, the greater benefits you’ll receive. But that’s not all: On top of this we will give you a free city sightseeing tour, a voucher for your scores and even professional pictures from your choir on stage.

You didn’t join a World Choir Games with your choir yet? No problem, also new choirs will receive a little discount, if they register for the World Choir Games 2022 until May 5.

And no worries, we don’t need the full registration documents until that date. All you have to send to us is the

• Full Registration forms , except repertoire (this can be submitted later with sheet music)*
• Registration fee
• Photo of your choir*
• Short biography of your choir
• Recording of your choir in mp3 format

(*the number of participants and final travel dates in the registration form as well as your official choir photo can of course be updated at a later stage)

What are you waiting for? Check out all the details at www.wcg2022.com! You will find the specific information in the section “Registration” after you have chosen your country from the list.

Registration for the World Choir Games 2020 closed on December 2, with a record 542 choirs from 69 countries and regions registering. This is more than ever before in the 20-year history of the event.

Every two years since 2000, INTERKULTUR has invited the world to the Olympic Games of choral music: the World Choir Games. Each time hosts like Austria, Korea, Germany, China, the USA, Latvia, Russia, and South Africa have brought a new and unique atmosphere to this largest international choir competition in the world. In 2020 Flanders in Belgium will be the next welcoming host for 21,000 singers from all over the world.

Expectations are high for these 11th World Choir Games. The host country Belgium is sending 133 choirs to the event, which will showcase Belgian choral traditions to their international guests. Other countries with an outstanding number of participating choirs are China (82), Russia (52), South Africa (39), and the USA (29). All these countries have previously hosted the World Choir Games.

“It’s our special pleasure that so many choirs from former host countries of the World Choir Games decided to follow the event to Flanders next year,” said INTERKULTUR President Günter Titsch.

“It shows us that we’re on the right track: Once infected by World Choir Games fever you can’t resist of participating over and over again. The World Choir Games 2020 will be the largest event so far, and I’m really looking forward to seeing people from all over the world bringing their music and voices to Flanders.”

Ticket sales for the Opening Ceremony of the World Choir Games 2020 also opened on December 5. The event takes place in the Sportpaleis in Antwerp on 5 July, marking the festive opening of the World Choir Games 2020 with a fascinating music show on stage. Participating choirs already have a seat reserved; all others can purchase their tickets here.

[Source: www.interkultur.com)

Singing unites nations. A very international audience will make this experience first-hand at the Opening event of the Host City conference and exhibition in Glasgow on November 25th, where the Scottish Gaelic choir ALBA will perform as an ambassador of the World Choir Games – the world’s largest international choir competition.

Earlier this year ALBA and its conductor Joy Dunlop represented Scotland at the TV choral talent show “Eurovision Choir 2019,” an international choir competition inspired by the Eurovision Song Contest and the World Choir Games. The show took place in Gothenburg and marked the Opening of INTERKULTUR’s European Choir Games 2019, which aired live to 10 European countries at prime time. For its performance at “Eurovision Choir” ALBA was awarded the International Award at the Scottish Gaelic Awards on November 19 as the group that “best promotes Gaelic outside Scotland”.

The enthusiastic group of singers drawn from all over the country, who make up the ALBA choir sing in Scots Gaelic, the indigenous language once spoken all over Scotland, will provide a lively program showcasing Gaelic language and tradition as a prelude to the Host City Conference in Glasgow.

INTERKULTUR will be part of the well-known Host City Conference in order to promote the idea of the Choir Games, to inspire people of all ages, cultures, and ethnical backgrounds to experience the power of music as a universal language – turning the respective host cities into one huge festival stage full of voices and international atmosphere.

About INTERKULTUR

INTERKULTUR is the world's leading initiator and organizer of international choral competitions. In over 30 years since the organization was established, more than 10.000 choirs and roughly 435.000 male and female singers from 107 nations have taken part in the World Choir Games and INTERKULTUR's regional choir competitions. Since 1988 a total of 230 competitions and festivals have been held, cities like Barcelona, Vienna and Hoi An have been hosting various competitions for years. The famous World Choir Games are held every two years on different continents. The 11^th World Choir Games 2020 take place in Flanders, Belgium with Antwerp and Ghent as host cities.

About Host City

Host City conference and exhibition brings together cities and sports, business and cultural events for two full days of unrivalled insight, networking, workshops and business on 26-27 November at the Technology & Innovation Centre in Glasgow.

This is where representatives of host destinations, federations and other rights holders, organisers, event suppliers and services from all over the world meet to discover opportunities and discuss the challenges of major event hosting.

www.hostcity.com

Choir Games shape their host cities in a unique way. Whether in restaurants, cafés, parks, streets, opera, university, hotel, and public transport – the sound of choir music from four continents floats through the town for one or two wonderful festival weeks.

Singers from choral groups from all over the world not only have the chance to perform in a big TV show and compete in musical categories of various choral genres, but also present themselves in Friendship Concerts and bring their music into the streets and onto the squares of their host city.

Roughly 10,000 choirs from 107 different countries and regions have participated in the various INTERKULTUR choir events and created nights that never die. Especially during the Awards Ceremonies, national boundaries, ideologies, religions and restrictions of any kind dissolve and the singers are united by their love of choral music. China, Russia, USA, Vietnam, Israel, Iran, Gibraltar, Great Britain, France, Germany, Botswana, Suriname, Sweden, and many more countries have shared one stage, sung together from their hearts and created memories for a lifetime – not only for themselves but for all those who are part of the occasion.

The Choir Games usually gain a high media attention before, during and after the event; international media coverage reaches up to 1 billion people all over the world. As an example, in November 2019 the 11^th World Choir Games 2020 has already gained a media reach of 400 million people – 10 months before event actually starts!

INTERKULTUR President Günter Titsch further stresses the high legacy effect of the Choir Games: “The Choir Games create a fantastic atmosphere, wherever they happen. Visitors and inhabitants listen to fantastic choral music from international choirs, enjoy great concerts and share the big joy of the winning choirs about their achievements – memories that will last a lifetime! Local choirs get inspired by the international choirs and have the opportunity to work with choral experts from all over the world and thus make big progress in their musical development in just a few days.

“The international guests take their memories home to their countries, tell about the beauty and hospitality of the respective host city and share the experience of people getting united through the language of music.”

In a huge closing event, the hosting cities and countries traditionally give a wonderful, personal farewell to their international guests. Famous national music stars present a big stage show – supported by a 500-voices Festival Stage Choir consisting of 20 national and international choirs. A superlative musical experience for everyone!

The next Choir Games invite singers from all over the world to Flanders, Belgium, where the 11^th World Choir Games 2020 promise to be another inspiring and unifying experience for the international choral world.

Dr. Christoph Wirtz, Secretary-General of INTERKULTUR is speaking at Host City 2019. You can also find out more at their exhibition stand at Host City 2019.

[Source: The Sports Consultancy] INTERKULTUR, the world's leading organiser of international choir competitions and festivals, is delighted to announce that it has received an unprecedented 33 expressions of interest from potential host cities in 19 countries following the launch earlier this year of its first ever formal host city bidding process for the 2022 World Choir Games. As a result, INTERKULTUR has announced today that it is extremely likely they will use this process to simultaneously award the 2024 host.

Having chosen to partner with London based event-tendering specialists, The Sports Consultancy, INTERKULTUR has demonstrated the benefit of running a highly targeted and structured bidding process which clearly articulates the benefits and is based on a core value proposition.

Applicants are now required to complete a bid file to be submitted by 25th October 2019; following which an evaluation will confirm the cities that will go through to the Candidate phase.  INTERKULTUR will visit all Candidates in January 2020, and the host(s) will be announced in March 2020. A handover for the 2022 host will then take place at the 2020 World Choir Games in Flanders, Belgium.

The World Choir Games, launched in 2000 and hosted biennially, is the pinnacle of international competition for amateur choral singers and attracts over 25,000 vocalists from more than 70 countries around the world.

Commenting on the bidding process, Günter Titsch, President INTERKULTUR said: “It is hugely satisfying to see the strong global appeal our event is generating reflected in the number of cities around the world interested in hosting future editions.  We are thankful to the work of The Sports Consultancy whose professional approach is clearly having a meaningful impact.”

Sian Jenkins, Senior Consultant, The Sports Consultancy, added: “We are delighted with the response we have achieved so far. We see real value in this unique event, and we are excited to work closely with the cities who have expressed an interest as they develop their bids. It is of utmost importance to us that we deliver a structured and professional process and feedback to date has indicated our interested cities value this approach highly.”