Eurovision Choir 2019 was the second
Eurovision Choir
Eurovision Choir (formerly Eurovision Choir of the Year) is choir, choral competition organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the and modeled after the latter's World Choir Games. Participation is open to member broadcasters of ...
competition for
choral
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
singers, organised by the
European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who ar ...
(EBU) and Interkultur. It was held on 3 August 2019, at the
Partille Arena
Partille Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena that was inaugurated in September 2016. The arena holds 5,500 people during concerts and 4,000 during sporting events. The arena also holds a gym, bowling alley, restaurant and conference rooms.
Even ...
, in
Partille Municipality
Partille Municipality (''Partille kommun'') is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in Partille, which constitutes a part of the contiguously built-up Gothenburg urban area.
The municipality is by are ...
,
Metropolitan Gothenburg
Sweden has three metropolitan areas consisting of the areas surrounding the three largest cities, Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. The statistics have been retrieved from Statistics Sweden and the statistics released on 10 November 2014. The offic ...
, Sweden.
The event, presented by
Petroc Trelawny
James Edward Petroc Trelawny (born 27 May 1971) is a British classical music radio and television broadcaster. Since 1998 he has been a presenter on BBC Radio 3.
Career
James Edward Petroc Trelawny was born in Worcester and grew up in the Mene ...
and Ella Petersson, was produced by Swedish host broadcaster
Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Sweden, Swedish national public broadcasting, public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksdag (national ...
(SVT) together with an international team of EBU members, the European Choir Games and the City of Gothenburg.
Ten countries participated, including debutants , , and the hosts while , and decided to withdraw. Three of the ten choirs advanced to the second round: , and , all of which took part in the inaugural edition in 2017. Vocal Line of Denmark won the contest, with Latvia and Slovenia placing second and third respectively.
Location
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and the fifth-largest in the
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...
.
Venue
After initial reports in February 2018, it was confirmed on 8 July 2018 that the second edition of the Eurovision Choir would be held in the Swedish city of Gothenburg. The proposed venue was the 14,000-seat
Scandinavium
Scandinavium () is an indoor arena located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Construction on Scandinavium began in 1969 after decades of setbacks, and was inaugurated on 18 May 1971.
Scandinavium has been selected as a championship arena at least fifty t ...
arena.
However, on 18 December 2018, it was confirmed that
Partille Arena
Partille Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena that was inaugurated in September 2016. The arena holds 5,500 people during concerts and 4,000 during sporting events. The arena also holds a gym, bowling alley, restaurant and conference rooms.
Even ...
would host the competition.
Format
Competing countries who are members of the
European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who ar ...
(EBU) are eligible to participate in Eurovision Choir. Ten countries participated at the second edition of the contest. Each competing country was represented by a professional choir, and in the first round each performed a
choral
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
piece lasting no more than four minutes in length. Each piece may include singular or several musical works or of a free genre; but must contain national or regional influence from the participating country. Three choirs are invited to perform a second, 3 minute set after which the winner is announced.
The winning choir were presented with a trophy and awarded with a trip to attend the 11th edition of the
World Choir Games held in
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
in July 2020.
Performances
The show opened with a performance by twenty one choirs from across
Västra Götaland County
Västra Götaland County ( sv, Västra Götalands län) is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden.
The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties and it comprises 49 municipalities (''kommuner''). Its population of 1 ...
, and all ten participating choirs performed "
Mamma Mia" by
ABBA
ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...
during the flag parade.
For the two intervals, the mass choir performed "
Without You" by
Avicii
Tim Bergling (; 8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii (, ), was a Swedish DJ, remixer and music producer. At the age of 16, Bergling began posting his remixes on electronic music forums, which led to his first rec ...
with Madelene Johansson after the first round, followed by 2017 winners Carmen Manet performing alongside
Bohuslän Big Band
The Bohuslän Big Band is a modern jazz ensemble from Sweden which started as a military band in the 19th century. They play original music as well as compositions by Lars Jansson, Maria Schneider, Frank Zappa and others.
The Bohuslän Big Band c ...
after the second. At the end of the show all the choirs performed two further ABBA songs, "
Dancing Queen
"Dancing Queen" is a Europop and disco song by the Swedish group ABBA, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''Arrival'' (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson. Andersson and Ulvaeus al ...
" and "
Thank You for the Music
"Thank You for the Music" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was originally featured on the group's fifth studio album, '' The Album'' (1977), and was released as a double-A sided single with "Eagle" in May 1978 in limited territories ...
" both with Johansson.
Presenters
On 5 April 2019, it was announced that British classical music radio and television broadcaster,
Petroc Trelawny
James Edward Petroc Trelawny (born 27 May 1971) is a British classical music radio and television broadcaster. Since 1998 he has been a presenter on BBC Radio 3.
Career
James Edward Petroc Trelawny was born in Worcester and grew up in the Mene ...
and Swedish culture presenter would host the 2019 competition.
Trelawny’s career started at
BBC Radio Devon
BBC Radio Devon is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Devon.
It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios in the Mannamead area of Plymouth.
According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 1 ...
in 1989 as a reporter and, since 1998, he has been a presenter at
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...
. Trelawny hosted the
Eurovision Young Musicians 2018
The Eurovision Young Musicians 2018 was the nineteenth edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians contest. It was hosted by the United Kingdom, for the first time since the inaugural contest in . This edition was a co-production between the Europea ...
at the
Usher Hall
The Usher Hall is a concert hall in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has hosted concerts and events since its construction in 1914 and can hold approximately 2,200 people in its recently restored auditorium, which is well loved by performers due to its ...
in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
alongside
Josie D'Arby. Petersson is currently the presenter of ''Kulturstudion'' on
SVT2
SVT2 (SVT Två; commonly referred to as Tvåan), is one of the two main television channels broadcast by Sveriges Television in Sweden.
Launched in 1969 by Sveriges Radio, the channel was until the 1990s the most watched in Sweden for many yea ...
, and ' on
SVT1
SVT1 (SVT Ett; commonly referred to as Ettan) is the primary television station of the Swedish public service broadcaster Sveriges Television in Sweden.
History
Television in Sweden officially launched on 4 September 1956 with the launch of '' ...
.
Participating countries
The official list of participants was published on 18 December 2018 and included nine countries. , , , and participated again after making their debuts at the inaugural edition in 2017. , , host country and took part for the first time, while , and withdrew from the competition.
On 20 March 2019, it was announced that
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
would ultimately participate for a second time, raising the number of participants to ten. Romania and France were originally announced as debut participants but were later removed from the official list published by the EBU.
First round
Second round
Three choirs advanced to the second round and performed a second, 3 minute set, after which the winner was announced.
Conductors
The conductors for each country were as follows:
* – Nicolas Dorian
* – Jens Johansen
* – Tono Wissing
* –
Jānis Ozols
Jānis Ozols (born 1 November 1980 in Riga, Latvia) is a Latvian choral conductor, television personality, gastronomy blogger and former member of vocal group Cosmos.
Currently the artistic director and conductor of youth choir "MASKA", as ...
* – Gro Espedal
* –
Joy Dunlop
Joy Dunlop is a Scottish broadcaster, singer, step dancer and educator from the village of Connel in Argyll, who now lives in Glasgow, Scotland. Singing predominantly in Scottish Gaelic, she performs folk music, song and dance in a contemporary ...
* – Jasna Žitnik
* – Rasmus Krigström
* – Antoine Krattinger
* – Islwyn Evans
International broadcasts and voting
Commentators
Most of the participating countries sent commentators to Gothenburg or commentated from their own country, in order to add insight to the participants.
Professional jury
The winner of the contest was decided upon the votes from a professional jury, which was made up of the following:
* – singer and composer, founding member of
a cappella
''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
ensemble
Ensemble may refer to:
Art
* Architectural ensemble
* ''Ensemble'' (album), Kendji Girac 2015 album
* Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary
* Ensemble cast (drama, comedy)
* Ensemble (musical theatre), also known as the chorus
* ''En ...
,
The Real Group
The Real Group is an a cappella group from Sweden. Members are Emma Nilsdotter, Lisa Östergren, Anders Edenroth, Anton Forsberg and Jānis Strazdiņš. The group's members compose and arrange most of their songs. They sing in English and Swedis ...
*
John Rutter
John Milford Rutter (born 24 September 1945) is an English composer, conductor, editor, arranger, and record producer, mainly of choral music.
Biography
Born on 24 September 1945 in London, the son of an industrial chemist and his wife, Rutte ...
– composer and conductor, was also a judge in
*
Deke Sharon
Deke Sharon (born December 12, 1967) is an American singer, arranger, composer, director, producer and teacher of a cappella music, and is one of the leaders and promoters of the contemporary a cappella community. He has been referred to as "th ...
– singer, director, producer, composer and arranger
The jury was asked to score on the technical skill and accuracy of the choir, the quality of their sound, their musicianship and interpretation and the communication of the piece they performed.
Other countries
* – On 16 November 2018, Estonian broadcaster
Eesti Rahvusringhääling
Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) – ''Estonian Public Broadcasting'' – is a publicly funded and owned radio and television organisation created in Estonia on 1 June 2007 to take over the functions of the formerly separate Eesti Raadio ...
(ERR) confirmed that they would withdraw from the contest.
* – French broadcaster
France Télévisions
France Télévisions (; stylized since 2018 as ) is the French national public television broadcaster. It is a state-owned company formed from the integration of the public television channels France 2 (formerly Antenne 2) and France 3 (former ...
was originally announced as a debut participant but later withdrew from the competition due to logistical problems with the selected choir.
* – Despite their participation being initially confirmed, on 18 December 2018 the final list of countries did not include Romania.
It was later revealed that the Romanian broadcaster
Televiziunea Română
Televiziunea Română (), more commonly referred to as TVR , is the short name for Societatea Română de Televiziune ("Romanian Television Society"; SRTV), the Romanian public television. It operates six channels: TVR1, TVR2, TVR3, TVR Info, T ...
(TVR) had declined an invitation to participate.
* –
RTVE
The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española, S.A. (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española or RTVE, is the state-owned public corporation that assumed in 2007 the indirect management of the Spanish public radio and television service know ...
confirmed to news outlet ESCplus España that they would not broadcast the contest in any way, but that they were considering a 2021 debut depending on the time they have to prepare the entry and the interest.
The following countries participated in 2017, however did not appear in the final list of participants.
*
*
See also
*
Eurovision Song Contest 2019
The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, following the country's victory at the 2018 contest with the song " Toy" by Netta. Organised by the European Broad ...
*
Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the seventeenth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by Telewizja Polska (TVP) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It was held on 24 November 2019, at the Gliwice Ar ...
References
External links
*
{{Eurovision Choir
Eurovision Choir of the Year
2019 in Sweden
2010s in Gothenburg
Events in Gothenburg