Sligo International Choral Festival
The SLIGO INTERNATIONAL CHORAL FESTIVAL, founded in 1988 by local businessmen, Joe Kelly and John Ryan, is now regarded as the 20th largest festival of its kind in the 32 counties and the largest annual cultural event in the North-West of Ireland.
The main commercial sponsors are “THE SLIGO CHAMPION” and “FAILTE IRELAND NORTH-WEST”. The festival takes place in Mid-November annually.
Other main sponsors include ‘The Arts Council’, ‘Sligo Borough Council’ and ‘Sligo County Council’, not forgetting our ever-loyal and generous local sponsors, patrons and advertisers. It is estimated that the event contributes approximately €1 million to the local economy.
Categories of competition include
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Mixed Choirs (3 grades),
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Female Voice,
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Male Voice,
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Folksongs,
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Gospel, Barbershop,
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Youth and School Choirs — 16 competitions in all.
46 Choirs competed in the 2009 Festival for €8,500.00 in prizemoney and many splendid trophies.
Participating countries since 1988:
Austria, Belgium, Belarus, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Estonia, France, Germany, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, The United States of America,Venezuela and Wales.
On the Saturday of the festival, choirs entertain shoppers on the streets and in the shopping-centres in Sligo and also enhance the various religious services on the Sunday.
SLIGO INTERNATIONAL CHORAL FESTIVAL can be contacted at the following address:
Innovation Centre, Institute of Technology, Sligo, Ash Lane, Sligo, IrelandTelephone/Fax: +353 71 91 38791 or 00353 86 2592290
Email: sligochoralfest@eircom.net
Website: www.sligochoralfest.org