Press release: 120 LGBTQI+ choirs to take part in the Various Voices festival in Brussels in 2026
This artistic and activist event will celebrate the pride and talents of the LGBTQI+ community by singing the praises of a more open and inclusive society.
22 January 2025
Various Voices is the European LGBTQI+ choirs festival, organised every four years in a new European city by a local amateur choir. Sing Out Brussels! is hosting the festival in 2026.
Registration for the choirs, which opened in September 2024, has already closed. The festival has reached maximum capacity, with 120 choirs registered from 19 different countries. Germany (32), the United Kingdom (26) and the Netherlands (12) will be the most represented countries. The other countries are France (8), the United States (7), Switzerland (6), Belgium (5), Spain (4), Ireland (4), Finland (3), Poland (2), Italy (2), Denmark (2), Iceland (1), Estonia (1), Norway (1), Slovenia (1), the Czech Republic (1) and Ukraine (1). 10 choirs are also on the festival’s waiting list.
These choirs bring together some 5,000 singers. Between 4,000 and 4,500 of them are expected to take part in the festival, which will be held from 24 to 28 June 2026. Registration is currently underway.
The festival will take place in several prestigious venues in the centre of Brussels: Bozar, Cirque Royal, Madeleine, Auditorium 490 (the Royal Museums of Fine Arts). The choirs will also be reaching out to the general public with free street concerts and open-air performances on the Mont des Arts. Simon Paco is the artistic director of the festival.
The slogan of the Brussels festival is Let Your Heart Be Heard. It is also the title of the festival anthem, which will be performed during the event by all the participating choirs, in association with Belgian choirs from a variety of backgrounds. By singing together in the capital of the European Union, these choir members will be sending out a strong message and a clear signal to countries where the LGBTQI+ community faces repeated attacks.
LGBTQI+ choirs and the festival play a major role in promoting the inclusion and visibility of gender minorities. Their presence over five days in the capital will bring the city to life and have a major economic impact on tourism. That’s why visit.brussels is partnering the event and assisting the organising team with communications and the preparation of public events. The festival has also just received the support of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.