A music festival scheduled for May at the Principality Stadium in Wales is facing widespread cancellations among participating choirs due to participation fees that organizers describe as steep and unexpected.
The Land of Song Festival is being promoted as one of the world’s largest shared singing events, with Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli scheduled to perform on Saturday and up to 20,000 choristers expected on Sunday. However, the fee structure has prompted approximately 40 choirs and singing groups to announce on social media that they will not participate.
According to the festival’s website, choirs must pay a £150 subscription fee, with each individual choir member charged an additional £42 to participate. This means some ensembles face costs in the thousands of pounds, before accounting for travel expenses such as coach hire and accommodation. Participants have also reported that obtaining printed sheet music incurs additional charges. Glynneath Male Voice Choir, which considered sending about 20 members, estimated their total participation cost at approximately £1,000 plus hundreds in transportation expenses.
Choir leaders have expressed frustration with both the costs and the event’s communication practices. One musician noted that in his 44 years of choir participation, he had never been required to pay to sing and typically received compensation instead. Another described the fees as unexpected given minimal communication from organizers about rehearsal requirements or repertoire details prior to the fee announcement on social media.
The organizers, The Land of Song Festival and the Principality Stadium, have not yet provided public comment on the withdrawals or the fee structure. Some choir members have expressed disappointment about missing a rare large-scale performance opportunity, while others have suggested the event’s viability may be in question given the scale of cancellations.
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