**More than a year later than planned, the World Choir Games (WCG) will start with a grand opening ceremony in Hall 5 of Antwerp Expo. There are 308 choirs participating, both Flemish and international, with a total of some 6,000 singers. Although, due to the corona crisis, the event must largely take place online.**
The World Choir Games are the biggest choir event in the world. The music festival is organised in a different country each time. The last time was in South Africa in 2018 and next year it will be in South Korea. The 2020 edition in Flanders in host cities Antwerp and Ghent has been postponed several times due to the corona pandemic, but can finally start today.
The WCG in 2020 was to be the biggest ever with more than 500 choirs taking part. More than 20,000 singers were to give their best, 200,000 visitors were expected, but then the corona crisis broke out. The event was postponed several times, and even though it may finally take place, much of the competition will still take place online.
In total, 308 choirs will participate, representing some 6,000 singers, but only one third, 108 choirs -90 Belgian and 18 international- will perform live, representing some 2,000 singers. There are 14 different competition categories, ranging from male choirs, female choirs, youth choirs, to the categories of sacred music, profane music and pop or rock. A total of 51 countries are involved in the WCG with either participating choirs, jury members or staff members.
It’s not just about the competition, says Koenraad De Meulder, Director of the WCG. “There is a lot more to it, such as gala concerts, friendship concerts and also a social programme,” says De Meulder. In this way, the international community settling here gets to know the culture of Flanders, our singing culture, culinary aspects and so on, and that is, of course, the intention.”
He also points out that participation can be really important for choirs. “Here they get to know choir cultures from all possible continents that all have their own identity and have their own way of performing…. That is definitely an enrichment.”
Patrick Windmolders, who is participating with his choir A-KOOR from Antwerp, also agrees. “It is a happening about vocal music, with a lot of influences. Here we get to know choirs from all over the world and that opens the door to other cultures. We can see how things are done in other continents, what repertoire they sing, how they perform. That is an incredible wealth to experience.”
**Game breaker corona**
The fact that far fewer choirs are participating than planned in 2020 is mainly due to the corona pandemic: choir life was at a standstill for a long time, rehearsals were impossible, and that caused many choirs to drop out.
Windmolders of A-KOOR also confirms that the preparations required a great deal of creativity: “We rehearsed online and a lot outdoors, made recordings and created a “virtual choir” to keep in touch with the choir members. But as soon as it was possible again, we flew in with a choir weekend and had ourselves coached in order to get back to the level we were at before Corona.”
**Singing, an important element of Flemish culture**
That choirs are alive and kicking is proven by the figures: in total there are some 1,500 choirs in Flanders in which about 35,000 people are active. The vast majority are amateur choirs and therefore they often remain under the radar. With the WCG, choral organisation Koor & Stem wants to put choral music in the spotlight.
The World Choir Games will take place from 30 October to 7 November in Ghent and Antwerp. All information about the various concerts can be found on the WCG website. You can also follow the event on the classical music channel Klara in various programmes and on their website.
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**More than a year later than planned, the World Choir Games (WCG) will start with a grand opening ceremony in Hall 5 of Antwerp Expo. There are 308 choirs participating, both Flemish and international, with a total of some 6,000 singers. Although, due to the corona crisis, the event must largely take place online.**
The World Choir Games are the biggest choir event in the world. The music festival is organised in a different country each time. The last time was in South Africa in 2018 and next year it will be in South Korea. The 2020 edition in Flanders in host cities Antwerp and Ghent has been postponed several times due to the corona pandemic, but can finally start today.
The WCG in 2020 was to be the biggest ever with more than 500 choirs taking part. More than 20,000 singers were to give their best, 200,000 visitors were expected, but then the corona crisis broke out. The event was postponed several times, and even though it may finally take place, much of the competition will still take place online.
In total, 308 choirs will participate, representing some 6,000 singers, but only one third, 108 choirs -90 Belgian and 18 international- will perform live, representing some 2,000 singers. There are 14 different competition categories, ranging from male choirs, female choirs, youth choirs, to the categories of sacred music, profane music and pop or rock. A total of 51 countries are involved in the WCG with either participating choirs, jury members or staff members.
It’s not just about the competition, says Koenraad De Meulder, Director of the WCG. “There is a lot more to it, such as gala concerts, friendship concerts and also a social programme,” says De Meulder. In this way, the international community settling here gets to know the culture of Flanders, our singing culture, culinary aspects and so on, and that is, of course, the intention.”
He also points out that participation can be really important for choirs. “Here they get to know choir cultures from all possible continents that all have their own identity and have their own way of performing…. That is definitely an enrichment.”
Patrick Windmolders, who is participating with his choir A-KOOR from Antwerp, also agrees. “It is a happening about vocal music, with a lot of influences. Here we get to know choirs from all over the world and that opens the door to other cultures. We can see how things are done in other continents, what repertoire they sing, how they perform. That is an incredible wealth to experience.”
**Game breaker corona**
The fact that far fewer choirs are participating than planned in 2020 is mainly due to the corona pandemic: choir life was at a standstill for a long time, rehearsals were impossible, and that caused many choirs to drop out.
Windmolders of A-KOOR also confirms that the preparations required a great deal of creativity: “We rehearsed online and a lot outdoors, made recordings and created a “virtual choir” to keep in touch with the choir members. But as soon as it was possible again, we flew in with a choir weekend and had ourselves coached in order to get back to the level we were at before Corona.”
**Singing, an important element of Flemish culture**
That choirs are alive and kicking is proven by the figures: in total there are some 1,500 choirs in Flanders in which about 35,000 people are active. The vast majority are amateur choirs and therefore they often remain under the radar. With the WCG, choral organisation Koor & Stem wants to put choral music in the spotlight.
The World Choir Games will take place from 30 October to 7 November in Ghent and Antwerp. All information about the various concerts can be found on the WCG website. You can also follow the event on the classical music channel Klara in various programmes and on their website.
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