Rainbow Chorus
The Rainbow Chorus is the largest community LGBTQ+ SATB choir in the south-east outside of London. Based in Brighton & Hove we have been celebrating diversity through music since 1997 and welcome people from all sections of our community. Strength in Harmony!
It all began in1997 when Pippin Boardman, our first MD and 8 fledgling members started the choir at the Brighton Lesbian & Gay Centre. Since then the chorus has grown tenfold, and performs at two concerts per year as well as local and national community events. A recent review of one of our concerts said: “An evening out with the Rainbow Chorus is more than just going to a concert, it’s an expression of belonging, solidarity and inclusion that defines the very notion of community that many aspire to in Brighton and Hove.” We are thrilled to be part of the winning team for Various Voices 2030 and can’t wait to welcome you all to Brighton in four years time!
Taking part in the Various Voices festival is incredibly important for the Rainbow Chorus as it aligns with or core beliefs in offering choirs a platform to be seen and heard in a public setting, promoting inclusion, equality, and human rights for LGBTQ+ people. Singing in front of lovely audiences boosts confidence and pride in one’s identity, and it’s a moment of joy and affirmation- especially for members who may not always feel safe or accepted in their daily lives.
Events
Sadness and anger
During the night of 12 to 13 June, around fifteen banners hung on lampposts in Brussels city centre were destroyed.
Put up yesterday, these banners were intended to promote the European LGBTQI+ choir festival ‘Various Voices’, which takes place from 24 to 28 June.
This was a clearly well-organised outbreak of violence, as the banners were hung at a considerable height.
The company responsible for putting them up tells us that this has never happened before, except in the case of Brussels Pride.
This is no coincidence. There is no doubt that this act of vandalism was homophobic in nature.
5 days of music, pride and solidarity!
Held every four years in a different European city, Various Voices will bring together 120 LGBTQI+ choirs and 4,000 singers from 18 countries in Brussels.
Founded in 1985 in Cologne, the festival has become a leading European event for the LGBTQI+ choral scene. The 2026 edition is organised by the non-profit organisation Various Voices Brussels 2026, which grew out of the Brussels choir Sing Out Brussels!
Over 350 concerts are scheduled over five days in prestigious venues: Bozar (Salle Henry Le Bœuf and Salle M), La Madeleine, the Cirque Royal and the ING Arena. Thanks to a partnership with the City of Brussels, several events will take place in public spaces, at the Town Hall and at the Vaux Hall in Brussels Park.
Through song, Various Voices promotes a more welcoming, supportive and inclusive world. This is the raison d’être of the participatory project Let Your Heart Be Heard. In partnership with Bozar, the festival is offering rehearsals open to everyone, with no prior experience required, to learn the festival anthem, which will be performed by a giant choir during the show on 27 June at the ING Arena. The musical direction is provided by Emily Allison.
A safer festival thanks to Plan Sacha
Plan Sacha is a Belgian organisation that combats gender-based, sexual and discriminatory violence. The project focuses primarily on training and supporting event organisers, such as festivals.
Various Voices Brussels 2026 is drawing on Plan Sacha’s expertise to raise awareness among everyone involved in the project about consent culture and the fight against discrimination.
In practical terms, in February 2026, the festival’s organising team received training at Plan Sacha’s premises. Through an approach combining theory and role-play, they developed the reflexes needed to prevent and take action against sexist or sexual violence, harassment and discriminatory practices. Following this training, we finalised the drafting of the festival charter (available on the ‘Practical infos’ page of this website) and approved protocols tailored to our event. These protocols will enable us to respond appropriately should an incident occur.
Here’s how to join the giant choir in preparation for the festival
From 24 to 28 June 2026, Brussels will be buzzing with the rhythm of Various Voices, the European LGBTQI+ choir festival. For five days, 120 choirs and nearly 4,000 singers from 18 countries will fill the city with song in iconic venues such as Bozar, Cirque Royal, La Madeleine and the ING Arena.
The programme includes concerts, meetings and a grand musical celebration that will showcase the diversity of voices from across Europe.
A giant choir for the grand finale
The highlight of the festival will be the show ‘Let Your Heart Be Heard’, organised on Saturday 27 June at the ING Arena. That evening, more than 4,000 voices will come together to form the largest choir ever seen in Brussels, alongside Belgian artists.
A unique moment of music and emotion.
You can be part of it
For this occasion, the organisers want to create the largest participatory choir ever seen in Brussels to perform the festival anthem, ‘Let Your Heart Be Heard’, an invitation to raise your voice in favour of a more open society.
To prepare for this, three rehearsals open to the public are being organised at Bozar:
Sunday 19 April – from 2pm to 5pm
Sunday 10 May – from 2pm to 5pm
Sunday 7 June – from 2pm to 5pm
The festival extends beyond its walls thanks to the City of Brussels
Our team’s ambition is to open up the festival to the city so that as many people as possible can discover the talent of the LGBTQI+ choirs we host.
We have established contacts with the City of Brussels, which has fully understood our objective. Together, we have been able to develop projects that will enable people living in Brussels or visiting the Belgian capital to encounter our choirs at various times of the week or day.
Firstly, the City has given its authorisation for the organisation of street concerts. These concerts, organised in public spaces at various iconic locations in the historic centre, will take place on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings. The programme is currently being finalised and will soon be available on our website.
The festival is open to the public!
The festival has been open to the public since 1 January. Even if you are not a member of a choir participating in the festival, you can purchase a Full Festival ticket giving you access to all events. A limited number of Full Festival tickets are currently available at the Regular price (€240). Once these tickets are sold out, sales will continue at the Late price (€290).
The Full Festival ticket gives access to all concerts scheduled during the festival (both daytime and evening). It also gives access to areas exclusively reserved for members of participating choirs and people who purchase the Full Festival ticket: the Festival Village (bar and meeting place with workshops organised in the morning and fun activities in the evening) and the evening events organised every night at C12, a nightclub located under the Central Station.
The Let Your Heart Be Heard project supported by public authorities
Let Your Heart Be Heard is the festival’s slogan. It is also the title of the anthem commissioned by the festival team, which will be performed collectively during the big show of the same name at the ING Arena on 27 June. Tickets for this show are already available.
Last September, the Sing Out Brussels! choir recorded the song in the studio and shot a video clip, with three objectives in mind:
- To actively involve the members of Sing Out Brussels! in the preparations for the festival
- To have a powerful communication tool for festival-goers, the general public and all our potential partners.
- To encourage festival-goers to learn this anthem in preparation for the festival.
The project was co-produced by the non-profit organisations Various Voices Brussels 2026 and Sing Out Brussels!, under the direction of Emily Allison and Simon Paco. The festival’s musical director, Emily Allison, supervised the commissioning and corrections of the arrangement by Philippe Maniez. She also recruited the musicians, conducted the choir and approved the final mix. The festival’s artistic director, Simon Paco, put together a small team of volunteers from within the choir to develop the script for the video, in collaboration with La Horde Productions, a Brussels-based audiovisual company run by queer people, and supervised the filming and editing of the video.
Watch our music video and sing with us!
Sing for LGBTQI+ rights!
In June 2026, Brussels will become the beating heart of the European LGBTQI+ choral world. During the Various Voices Brussels 2026 festival (24–28 June), the city will vibrate with music, colour and solidarity. And you can sing along with us!
An anthem for an inclusive society
The festival’s official song, Let Your Heart Be Heard, is now available on all music platforms, accompanied by a video clip. This powerful song invites everyone to make their voice – and their heart – heard for a society that is open to all, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation. From the heart of Europe, a message of love, solidarity and hope resounds.
A choir of 4,000 voices
The highlight of the festival will be the spectacular show Let Your Heart Be Heard on Saturday 27 June 2026 at the ING Arena (Heysel). More than 4,000 singers from 120 choirs and 19 countries will come together to form the largest choir ever heard in Brussels. Belgian artists will also be joining the line-up for an evening full of energy, pride and emotion.
A sustainable festival thanks to eco-coaching
Sustainability is one of the festival’s core values. An event such as Various Voices naturally has a significant environmental impact (travel by choir members, electricity consumption, paper used for promoting the event, food and drink, waste, etc.). But we believe that it is possible to reduce this impact through a few simple measures.
In order to be supported in this process, the festival team has requested financial support from the National Lottery as part of its ‘Eco-coaching’ initiative. The National Lottery has adopted an ambitious climate action plan to reduce its emissions and drastically reduce its ecological footprint. It also wants to encourage its partners to make their activities more sustainable. It will therefore finance an analysis of the festival’s carbon footprint with an action plan.
Let Your Heart Be Heard – Coming soon!
The Let Your Heart Be Heard festival anthem was written to express our shared hopes and dreams as an LGBTQI+ choir community. This powerful song, written by Simon Finn and arranged by Philippe Maniez, has been available for several months. All choirs and singers participating in the festival have already received the sheet music and recordings by email. Our goal is for everyone to learn it so that we can sing it together at the Let Your Heart Be Heard grand show, which will take place on Saturday, 27 June 2026 at the ING Arena. We want to include in this adventure all those in Brussels or elsewhere in Belgium who also want to sing, or simply attend this grand show, which will feature several artists and choirs. The venue can accommodate up to 7,000 people.
But how do you get nearly 4,000 choristers to learn a completely unknown song? How do you get the general public to join us? By letting them hear and see it!
Discounted travel with Eurostar
Did you know that for distances under 700 km, trains are faster than planes and emit over half the CO2? Various Voices Brussels 2026 has partnered with Eurostar.
This means you can benefit from the ‘Conference’ fare. Eurostar offers discounts of up to 15% on ticket prices. This fare is available from all festival access points (Germany, France, United Kingdom, Netherlands). The ‘Conference’ fare is valid 7 days before and 7 days after the official start and end dates of the festival (24 and 28 June 2026).
We’re looking for volunteers!
Organising an international festival without the help of a large number of volunteers is impossible! We are looking for people who want to help us with a wide variety of tasks. Being present at the festival’s information point to answer questions from choir members and the public, welcoming and accompanying artists backstage, checking tickets: the tasks are numerous and varied! This is a unique opportunity to take a look behind the scenes of an international event that only takes place once in Brussels! Would you like more information? Read and fill in the form. Margot, our volunteer coordinator, will then contact you.