World Choir Games crowns champions after 11 days of competition in Helsingborg
The 14th World Choir Games has concluded in Helsingborg, Sweden, with 250 choirs and groups from 42 countries and regions taking part in one of the world's largest international celebrations of choral singing.
Around 11,000 participants gathered in the Swedish city from 6 to 16 August for 11 days of competitions, concerts and other events, culminating in the final awards ceremonies and the crowning of the 2026 World Choir Games Champions.
Three choirs finished the Games with two Champion titles each. Guangzhou Little Petrel Children’s Choir from China, conducted by Zhi Jun Diao and Meng Fei Liu, won both Young Children’s Choirs and Folklore and Indigenous Music a cappella. St. Paul’s Co-educational College Senior Mixed Voice Choir from Hong Kong, conducted by Apollo Wong, was named Champion in Sacred Choral Music a cappella and Contemporary Music, while the UK’s Barnsley Youth Choir, conducted by Mathew Wright, won both Gospel and Pop Choirs.
Belgium’s Jeugdkoor Waelrant, conducted by Marleen De Boo, also secured two titles across the Games, winning Mixed Youth Choirs and Sacred Choral Music with Accompaniment.
Other Champions included Hangzhou Children’s Art Troupe Choir in Children’s Choirs, ByeZoo Choir in Youth Choirs of Equal Voices, Sweden’s Värmlands Nations Kör in Mixed Choirs, Swiss ensemble consonus vokalensemble in Mixed Chamber Choirs and Vocal Ensembles, Denmark’s SORA in Adult Choirs of Equal Voices, Nigeria’s Mountain Top Chorale in Spiritual, and Indonesia’s Vocalista Angels in Folklore and Indigenous Music with Accompaniment.
China was the most successful country in the Champions Competition medal table, collecting 35 medals, including 30 golds. Host nation Sweden followed with 12 medals, while Canada and Indonesia each won seven. Across the competition, 110 gold and 22 silver medals were awarded.
The Champions Competition is the highest competitive level of the World Choir Games and is designed for choirs with established international competition experience. The highest-scoring Gold Medal choir in each category receives the title Champion of the World Choir Games.
Alongside it, the Open Competition provides a route for choirs with a broader range of competitive experience. Its 2026 category winners included Vox Humanis from Türkiye, Canada’s Pacific Voices - RESONATE, Modern Vocal Ensemble Copenhagen, Germany’s Ulmer Spatzen Jugendchor and Sweden’s Helsingborgs Motettkör. The Open Competition awarded 35 Gold, 28 Silver and three Bronze Diplomas.
The Games extended well beyond the competition stages, with a programme including Friendship Concerts, a Parade of Nations and a PEACE Concert bringing together five international choirs at St. Maria Kyrka.
Organised by INTERKULTUR, the World Choir Games are staged as a major international meeting point for amateur choirs, encompassing different ages, musical traditions and levels of competitive experience.