Eurovision Choir

Eurovision Choir (formerly Eurovision Choir of the Year) is a choral competition organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the Interkultur. It is modeled after the latter's World Choir Games. Participation is open to non-professional choirs selected by member broadcasters of the EBU.

For the most recent contest, see Eurovision Choir 2019. For the upcoming contest, see Eurovision Choir 2023.

Eurovision Choir
Also known asEurovision Choir of the Year
GenreChoral competition
Based onWorld Choir Games
Country of originList of countries
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes2 contests
Production
Production locationEBU member states
Running time120 minutes
Production companies
Release
Picture format1080i (HDTV)
Original release22 July 2017 (2017-07-22)
Related

The inaugural competition took place in 2017 in Riga, Latvia and was won by Slovenia. The second edition took place in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2019 and was won by Denmark. Planning for a third edition was canceled in June 2021 by Interkultur; a host broadcaster for the event had not been selected before the announcement, nor had any countries announced their participation.[1]

In October 2022, it was announced by the EBU that Eurovision Choir would return in 2023, hosted by Latvijas Televīzija for the second time in the contest's history.[2][3]

Origins
Former generic logo (used in 2017).

The concept of Eurovision Choir was first discussed in 2014 as a contest organised by the Latvian national broadcaster LTV and the network Arte, following the positive reception of "Born in Riga", a concert organised by LTV. LTV approached multiple broadcasters including the EBU and Interkultur regarding the organisation of a new contest.[4] The event was officially confirmed on 30 November 2016 depending on a reasonable amount of interest from active members of the European Broadcasting Union.[5] On 21 July 2017, it was announced that the Eurovision Choir of the Year would be a biennial contest unless viewing figures were higher than expected.[6]

The inaugural contest was hosted by the Latvian broadcaster Latvijas Televīzija (LTV) and took place on 22 July 2017, coinciding with the closing ceremony of the European Choir Games 2017.[7]

Format

Participating EBU-member broadcasters select a non-professional choir or a cappella ensemble to represent their home country to compete for the title of the Eurovision Choir of the Year, with prizes including a recording contract for the winning choir. Each choir performs an unaccompanied set of approximately six minutes in any genre and is adjudicated by a panel of choral music professionals who decide the winner. In 2019, three finalists were chosen to present a second set by which the final ranking was decided.

Participation
Further information: List of countries in Eurovision Choir

Listed are all the countries that have ever taken part in the competition alongside the year in which they made their debut:

Year Country making its debut entry
2017
2019
2023

Hosting

Unlike other Eurovision contests, where the host country is or is chosen by the previous year's winning country, Eurovision Choir has been held as a component of Interkultur's Grand Prix of Nations & European Choir Games, with the contest being held in the country hosting said events.[8] Most of the expense of the contest is covered by commercial sponsors and contributions from the other participating nations. The table below shows a list of cities and venues that have hosted Eurovision Choir, one or more times. Future venues are shown in italics.

Contests Country City Venue Years
1 Latvia Riga Arena Riga
Sweden Gothenburg Partille Arena 2019

Winning entries
Year Date Host city Participants Winner Song(s) Choir
2017 22 July Latvia Riga[9] 9  Slovenia "Ta na Solbici"
"Adrca"
"Aj, zelena je vsa gora"		 Carmen Manet
2019 3 August Sweden Gothenburg[10] 10  Denmark "Viola" Vocal Line
2023 TBA Latvia TBA 4 (to date) TBA

References
  1. ten Veen, Renske (28 June 2021). "Interkultur confirms Eurovision Choir 2021 is cancelled, no plans for a future edition". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  2. "EBU on Twitter: "Eurovision Co-Productions 2023"". European Broadcasting Union. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  3. "Eurovision Choir Planning to Return in 2023". Eurovoix. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  4. Granger, Anthony (19 July 2017). "Concept for Eurovision Choir of the Year Was First Discussed in 2014". Eurovoix. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  5. Trustram, Matthew. "Choir of the Year 2017". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  6. Granger, Anthony (21 July 2017). "Eurovision Choir of the Year Scheduled to be a Biennial Contest". Eurovoix. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  7. Granger, Anthony (8 August 2016). "EBU to launch "Choir of the Year" contest". Eurovoix. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  8. "Eurovision Choir Gothenburg 2019: Interkultur". Interkultur. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  9. Goodman, Dave (28 February 2017). "EBU launches Eurovision Choir of the Year". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  10. Granger, Anthony (8 July 2018). "Eurovision Choir of the Year 2019 to Be Held in Gothenburg". Eurovoix. Retrieved 8 July 2018.

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