# Let the Peoples Sing 2024

Let the Peoples Sing 2024 was the 47th edition of the international choral competition Let the Peoples Sing. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) as host broadcaster. For the first time in the contest, the finalists competed live from their own countries, with the performances assessed by an eight-member jury voting from the BBC in London. This was the first time since 2003 that the city of London hosted the contest, having done so for the inaugural contest in 1961 until 1982, and once again in 2001 and 2003. The final was presented by Ian Skelly and Suzi Digby.
Eight choirs from seven countries participated, with Finland being the only country who competed in both adult's and children/youth's categories. The winner was Copenhagen Girls' Choir from Denmark. The adult category was won by Hägersten A Cappella from Sweden and the inaugural Youth Jury prize was won by Incantanti [de] from Switzerland.

## Location

For the first time since the contest's inception, the finalists competed live from their own countries. However, their performances were assessed by an eight-member jury voting from the British Broadcasting Corporation in London.

## Format

Competing countries who are members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) radio organizations were eligible to compete in the contest, who can enter choir groups in two categories, adult and children/youth.
The competition was organized in two rounds: semi-finals and finals. The EBU jury for the semi-finals took place remotely and based their result on audio listening only, while the EBU international jury convened face-to-face at the BBC in London to listen live on air to the eight finalists and decide on the winner.
In the semi-final, each choral group submitted a recording of 10–20 minutes, consisting of at least three contrasting pieces of music, at least two pieces must be sung a cappella. The recording must include pieces of music from at least two different stylistic periods or musical genres/styles and must be performed in one take and cannot be edited.
The final was held in the form of a public concert organised and broadcast live by the EBU radio organizations that entered choirs selected as finalists. Each choral group performed an 8-10 minute programme of music, which were different from that of the semi-finals and which was performed completely acoustically. There were no restrictions as to periods and styles.
The winning choir was presented the Silver Rose Bowl. For the first time in the contest's history, the winning children/youth choir was also awarded the Youth Jury prize by the representatives from the European Choral Association Youth Committee.

## Jury members

On 30 June 2024, the EBU announced the jury for the final:
* Jonathan Manners – BBC Singers producer (co-chair)
* Inari Tilli [fi] – Yle journalist (co-chair)
* Bob Chilcott – conductor and composer (guest juror)
* Pumeza Matshikiza – soprano (guest juror)
* Natalia Popudribko – Radio Kultura head of the Art Fund Department of Chief Editorial Office for Music Programmes
* Albert Torrens – Catalunya Música [ca] programme editor
* Anna Veismane [lv] – Latvijas Radio 3 Klasika composer and music producer
* Susanne Vongries – Bavarian Radio Choir [de] manageress

## Participating countries

The official list of participants was published on 4 February 2024 and included seven countries, with Finland being the only country who competed in both categories. Copenhagen Girls Choir from Denmark won the competition and received the Silver Rose Bowl, with Hägersten A Cappella from Sweden winning the adult category and Incantanti [de] from Switzerland winning the Youth Jury prize. BarbAros, the 2019 winner, performed as an interval act.
| Draw | Country | Choir | Song(s) | Conductor |
| Children's/youth category |||||
| 1 | Bulgaria | BNR Children's Choir | "Now Is the Month of Maying" – Thomas Morley "Northern Lights" – Ola Gjeilo "Bezmŭlven" – Dimitar Hristov | Hristo Nedyalkov |
| 2 | Switzerland | Incantanti [de] | "Celtic Dance" – Kirby Shaw "Ceremony After a Fire Raid" – Ernst Widmer [de] "Luagant vu Bärga und Tal" – Traditional "Las giallinas" – Curò Mani-Vital "Kruhay" – Benny F. Castillon | Christian Klucker |
| 3 | Denmark | Copenhagen Girls Choir | "Jeg og dig" – Matti Borg "Tota pulchra es, Maria" – Maurice Duruflé "I himmelen" – Karin Rehnqvist | Anne-Terese Sales |
| 4 | Finland | Chorus Iucundus | "Nouse lauluni" – Soila Sariola "I Shall Pass Through This World" – Margaret Bonds "Väinämöinen uneksii lentävästä veneestään" – Jaakko Mäntyjärvi | Timo Lehtovaara [fi] |
| Adult category |||||
| 5 | Estonia | Encore | "Unelaul" – Karin Tuul "Adrift! A Little Boat Adrift!" – Tõnu Kõrvits "Noore veljo, veeritäge" – Mart Saar | Karin Tuul |
| 6 | Finland | KYN [fi] | "Toivon että toivon" – Riikka Talvitie [fi] "And I Saw" – Timothy C. Takach "Kalastusloitsu" – Jukka Linkola | Kaija Viitasalo |
| 7 | Latvia | Juventus | "Aeternum" – Jēkabs Jančevskis [lv] "Mēness vokalīze" – Evija Skuke | Valdis Tomsons |
| 8 | Sweden | Hägersten A Cappella | "Mässa för dubbelkör" – Frank Martin "Let Him Kiss Me" – Sven-David Sandström "Pluck the Fruit and Taste the Pleasure" – Libby Larsen | Kerstin Börjeson |

## Broadcasts

Broadcasters in participating countries :
| Country | Broadcaster | Channel(s) | Commentator(s) |
| Bulgaria | BNR | Hristo Botev Radio | Un­known |
| Denmark | DR | DR P2 | Esben Tange |
| Estonia | ERR | Klassikaraadio | Marge-Ly Rookäär [et] and Ivo Heinloo |
| Finland | Yle | Yle Radio 1 [fi] | Noora Hirn and Riikka Holopainen |
| Latvia | LR | Latvijas Radio P3 | Inta Pīrāga |
| Sweden | SR | Sveriges Radio P2 | Jack Lantz |
| Switzerland | RTR | Radio RTR [fr] | Flavio Bundi [de] |
| Switzerland | SRF | Radio SRF 2 Kultur | Patricia Moreno |
Broadcasters in non-participating countries :
| Country | Broadcaster | Channel(s) | Commentator(s) |
| Germany | HR | hr2-kultur | Susanne Herzog |
| Germany | WDR | WDR 3 | Susanne Herzog |
| Iceland | RÚV | Rás 1 | Ása Briem |
| Ireland | RTÉ | RTÉ lyric fm | Un­known |
| Norway | NRK | NRK Klassisk | Un­known |
| Ukraine | Suspilne | Radio Culture [uk] | Un­known |