The seaside city of Xiamen will be alive with the sound of
choral music in July when the fourth World Choir Games are held in
the southeastern city of Fujian Province.
Previously known as the "Choir Olympics," the competition is the
largest and highest standard of all choral music contests, said Xu
Hui, a Xiamen official in charge of promoting the event.
The Xiamen competition will feature 400 choirs and 25,000
singers from 60 nations and regions, "an unprecedented number for
any arts festival in our city's history," according to Xu.
Xiamen beat Venice, Sydney and Prague in winning the rights to
host this event. The city has a rich and long music tradition and
is the birthplace of many of China's top musicians from the
classical music genre.
In recent years, the city has played host to a slew of national
and international music events, including the International
Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians.
Xiamen is using the competition as an opportunity to promote the
city's tourism and cultural legacy, said Xu Hui. The city has won
several major awards for its beautiful environment and overall
quality of life.
"We also intend to use music to build a bridge of friendship,"
said Xu, "and spread the voice of peace to people all over the
world."
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(China Daily February 24, 2006)
