Sports arena: a place for choirs!

Choir Party in Graz

Singing choirs are welcome at the UPC - Arena in Graz! This is the result of a meeting of representatives of the World Choir Championships (July, 10 -17) and American Football World Cup (July, 8 - 16) on April 8, 2011 at the main square in Graz. Representatives of INTERKULTUR, the city of Graz and guests of the cooperation partner of Wien, The Austrian American Football Association (AFBÖ), came together and gave the public launch of their cooperation at an information event. Singers of the choir of the Episcopal School of Graz gave a foretaste of the great Choir Party in July 2011.

“Anja O. & Co” performed the piece "City of my heart" in addition to two pop songs for representatives of culture and sports. "City of my heart" has been composed by Franz Herzog on the occasion of the 5th World Choir Games in 2008. Herzog is one of the Artistic directors of the World Choir Championships for Youth and Young Adults. The promotion event was a first hand meeting about the "July of the World Championships” in the Styrian capital.

The city council of Graz, local Councilor Gerald de Montmorency and city Councilor Detlef Eisel-Eiselsberg (Youth & Sports), were all ears. Representatives of AFBÖ were Michael Eschlboeck (President AFBÖ), Fouad Lilabadi (AFBÖ, General Secretary). Franz Herzog and Constanze Grininger (both INTERKULTUR) were also impressed. Also the new chairman of the Styrian Choral Society, Alfred Hudin, came to listen.
"This was the first successful moment that you could catch from the combination of sports and choir, and neither will it be the last!", said the project director in Graz, Constanze Grininger.

After this successful start both, the representatives of the American Football World Championship and the representatives of the World Choir Championships, agreed that choral music and football will come together in perfect harmony and that this performance needs to be followed by many others - from July, 9 to 12 in the UPC Arena!

Then viewers and the teams from Austria, France, Japan and Canada, will experience how choirs are creating a good atmosphere. They will be a brilliant addition to the typical cheerleaders.

The 1st World Choir Championships for Youth and Young Adults and the 2nd Grand Prix of Choral Music will provide special moments of singing in the streets and concert halls of Graz from July 10 - 17, 2011. Graz, former Capital of Culture and UNESCO City of Design, hosted the 5th World Choir Games in 2008, the largest choir competition in the INTERKULTUR event series. The American Football World Championship invites  not only choirs to watch the matches from July, 8 to 16.

Information and upcoming details can also be found on our event website.