Entry of the flags © Roger Schmidt

Thank you for the music!

The sounds of musical bring the Grand Prix of Nations Gothenburg 2019 & 4th European Choir Games to a close

European Choir Games 2019

The Grand Prix of of Nations & 4th European Choir Games shaped its Swedish host city of Gothenburg in a unique way: Whether in restaurants, cafés, parks, streets, opera, university, hotel, public transport – the sound of choir music from four continents floated through the town for 8 whole days. Singers from choral groups from all over the world not only performed in a big TV show and competed in categories of various choral genres, but also presented themselves in Friendship Concerts and brought their music into the streets and onto the squares of Gothenburg.

171 choirs and 6300 participants from 47 nations created nights that never die. Especially during the Awards Ceremonies national boundaries, ideologies, religions and restrictions of any kind dissolved and the singers were united by their love of choral music. China, Russia, USA, Gibraltar, Great Britain, France, Germany, Israel, Botswana, Suriname, Sweden, China and many more countries sang together from their heart and thus created memories for a lifetime not only for themselves but for all those who were part of the event.

“The choirs have made a huge impression on Gothenburg this week with their beautiful singing and colorful performances. Gothenburg is proud to have hosted three major international events during the same week; European Choir Games, Gothenburg Culture Festival and Way Out West, with the city as their arena,” says Peter Grönberg CEO at Göteborg & Co.

Nevertheless, the choirs also celebrated their successes of their exhausting preparations: For the Open Competition 41 Golden, 33 Silver and 1 Bronze Diplomas were awarded altogether. All in all, Russia proved to be the most successful singing nation of the European Choir Games with totally 6 Gold Medals, China even won 19 Gold Medals in the Grand Prix of Nations, followed by Russa with 19 and the host country Sweden with 15 Medals.

INTERKULTUR President Günter Titsch offers a positive summary of the event: „The Grand Prix of Nations Gothenburg 2019 & 4th European Choir were fantastic. We heard fantastic choral music from Swedish and international choirs, enjoyed great concerts and shared the joy of the winning choirs about their achievements. So far we have heard a lot of positive feedback from the international singers. I’m happy that they all take their memories home in their countries, tell about the beauty and hospitality of Gothenburg and share the experience of people getting united through the language of music.”

In the Closing event on August 10 in the Partille Arena the city of Gothenburg and the host country Sweden said good-bye to their international guests. Famous groups like the vocal ensemble Solala, Swedish singer Annika Herlitz and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra – supported by a 500-voices Festival Stage Choir consisiting of 20 national and international choirs – presented their music.

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

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