The World Choir Games
Riga/Latvia July 2014. 27,000 singers in 460 choirs answer the call to participate in the World Choir Games (WCG). They represent 74 participating nations. The inhabitants of the Latvian capital, the whole country, the worldwide choir community, numerous visitors and volunteers transform the performances of the amateur choirs in 29 competition categories into a world festival of universal choral music. Including a grand opening and closing ceremony.
The seventh edition of the world’s largest choral competition, founded by INTERKULTUR President Günter Titsch on the model of the ancient Olympic Games, is representative of an unprecedented success story. The competitions take place every two years. They range from Linz/Austria in 2000, Busan/Republic of Korea, Bremen/Germany, Graz/Austria, Xiamen and Shaoxing/China, Cincinnati/USA, Sochi/Russia to Tshwane/South Africa in 2018.
In 2020, the World Choir Games baton moves to Antwerp and Ghent in Belgium’s Flanders region. However, due to Corona, the event has to be postponed by one year and adapted to the given circumstances. Thanks to the specially created Virtual Village, choirs can participate in the competitions who are prevented from traveling by the pandemic. On the future agenda of the World Choir Games: the South Korean city of Gangneung in 2023, Auckland/New Zealand in 2024, both in July.
The World Choir Games confirm the vital appeal of Titsch’s idea of keeping alive and attractive a universal platform for singers in the spirit of peace and understanding. They regularly inspire people who want to experience and exchange ideas in immediate encounters, regardless of ethnicity, religion or conviction. They enable impressions and bonds for life. The World Choir Games, says the American composer and Honorary Artistic President of INTERKULTUR, Morten Lauridsen, summarizing the value of the World Choir Games, are a great cause for humanity, more than any other art and culture.