490 Choirs Already Registered for the Games

FRANKFURT, GERMANY, March 06, 2014 (Press-News.org) The interest of choirs to participate in the upcoming World Choir Games in Riga, Latvia is higher than ever before. After working on all submissions the intermediate state of registrations after the first registration deadline was clear.

490 choirs from a total of 60 nations have registered to date. "This is a great result," said Jelena Dannhauer, project director for INTERKULTUR. "It shows us that choirs are planning their participation very early and that the World Choir Games have become an established biennial festival in their choral calendar." Never before such a high number of choirs registered for the Games so early before the event actually takes place.

The World Choir Games (formerly named the Choir Olympics) is the largest international choir competition in the world. Organized for amateur choirs from all over the world, regardless of their country of origin, race, genre of music or artistic ambitions, its motto is "Singing together brings nations together". The idea of the World Choir Games originated from the effort to bring people together through singing in peaceful competition, showing that unity of nations through the arts can be effectively and illustratively demonstrated and challenged. Since its start in the year 2000 it has been held every two years on different continents and attracted roughly 20.000 participants every time.

The World Choir Games 2014 will be organized in Latvia, a region of Europe where singing became a huge and peaceful power. In Latvia singing is not only a symbol of the national independence - everyone sings here and holds the songs of their nation deep in their soul. Therefore it is expected that these World Choir Games will enter new dimensions in the event's history.

More information about the World Choir Games 2014 and registration information can be found on www.singriga.lv.

INTERKULTUR is the world's leading initiator and organizer of international choral competitions. In over twenty years since the organization was established, more than 7.000 choirs and roughly 300.000 male and female singers from 100 nations have taken part in the World Choir Games and INTERKULTUR's regional choir competitions. Since 1988 more than 140 competitions and festivals have been held. The famous World Choir Games, former known as "Choir Olympics", are held every two years on different continents. After Shaoxing in China (2010), the 7th World Choir Games 2012 were held in Cincinnati, USA. Cities like Budapest, Vienna and Rome have been hosting various competitions for many years, attended by hundreds of choirs. In the year 2014, the European Capital of Culture 2014, Riga, Latvia will host the 8th World Choir Games.