photo: Roger Schmidt
Grand Prix of Nations Gothenburg 2019 & 4th European Choir Games come to a successful end
Gothenburg welcomed 171 choirs and a total of 6,300 participants from 47 nations to the Grand Prix of Nations and the 4th European Choir Games from August 3-10, 2019 in Sweden. The host qualities of the outgoing city could be clearly felt these days. It was a pleasure to see how warmly the world of singing was welcomed in Gothenburg.
For eight days choral music from four continents echoed through the streets of the city. Choirs could be heard singing in halls, churches and theatres. Competitions of various categories were on the program as well as cross-national friendship concerts and spontaneous singing in the streets and squares of the city. The “Eurovision Choir 2019” opened the European Choir Games this year and offered ten European amateur choirs the opportunity to present themselves on the big stage as part of a TV show, which was broadcasted live in all participating countries.
All choirs presented outstanding performances and celebrated numerous successes: 41 golden, 33 silver and 1 bronze diploma were awarded at the Open Competition. At the European Choir Games, Russia took the lead with a total of 6 medals, followed by Sweden and Portugal with 4 medals each. In the Grand Prix of Nations, China leads with 19 medals, followed by Russia (15) and the host country Sweden (11).
In the last few days, however, it has once again become clear how much the common passion of singing can unite people – regardless of origin, religion or restrictions of any kind. The focus was not on the idea of competition, but on the common love for music. China, Russia, USA, Belgium, France, Germany, Israel, Botswana, Indonesia, Sweden and many other countries sang from the bottom of their hearts and created common memories, not only for themselves but also for all those who were part of this grandiose event.
The next Choir Games invite singers from all over the world to Flanders, Belgium, where the 11th World Choir Games 2020 will be an inspiring and connecting experience for the choir community.
