World Choir Festival Hong Kong: competition categories and rules
Choirs taking part in the World Choir Festival Hong Kong 2026 competition will be assessed by an international jury, with awards presented according to final scores and selected choirs considered for the Final Round.
The World Choir Festival Hong Kong 2026 competition will include a wide range of classes for children’s, youth, adult, senior and specialist choirs, alongside categories for vocal ensembles, contemporary music, folklore, show choir, popular styles and specified composer repertoire.
Each performance will be judged by seven jury members against a range of artistic criteria. The highest and lowest marks from the seven jury members will be removed, with the average of the five remaining marks forming the final score for each performance.
Choirs will receive a marksheet showing the marks awarded by each jury member. According to the final score, each performance will receive one of the following awards: - Gold Award: 79.5 points or above - Silver Award: 69.5–79.4 points - Bronze Award: 59.5–69.4 points
Competition categories The category competition includes the following classes:
Children's and youth choir categories - A1 – Children’s Choir: age 9 or below - A2 – Children’s Choir: age 12 or below - A3 – Children’s Choir: age 16 or below - A4 – Equal / Mixed / SAB Choir: age 18 or below
Young adult and adult choir categories - B1 – Female Choir - B2 – Male Choir - B3 – Mixed Choir - C1 – Adult Choir: age 18 or above - C2 – Senior Choir: age 50 or above
Vocal ensemble categories - D1 – Vocal Ensemble I - D2 – Vocal Ensemble II
Specialist repertoire categories - E1 – Contemporary Music - E2 – Folklore - E3 – Show Choir - E4 – Pop, Jazz, Spiritual, Barbershop
Specified composer categories - F1 – Specified Composer Category - F2 – Specified Composer Category The specified composer categories include repertoire by Steve Ho, Cao Guanyu, Chan Kai-young and Liu Xiaogeng.
Performance requirements For most categories, choirs are expected to perform two pieces, with a cappella pieces encouraged. Vocal ensemble categories have separate singer-number requirements, while some specialist categories may require one or two pieces. Stage time limits vary by category, with shorter limits for younger children’s choir categories and longer limits for senior, ensemble and specialist categories.
Entry notes Each choir may enrol in a maximum of two categories. Where a choir enters two categories, one category must be from A to D, with the other from E to F. For categories A to D, up to 10% of choir members may be under or over the stated age requirement.
Final round Choirs receiving outstanding marks in the category competition may be considered for the Final Round. In this round, each selected choir will perform one piece of its own choice. The full jury panel will decide the winners of the Festival’s highest prizes, including the Choir of the World Award, the Jury’s Prize and other Grand Prizes and cash awards. The list of finalists will be announced at the Prize-giving Ceremony.