The seaside city of Xiamen will be alive with the sound of choral music in July when the fourth World Choir Games are held in the southeastern city of Fujian Province.

Previously known as the "Choir Olympics," the competition is the largest and highest standard of all choral music contests, said Xu Hui, a Xiamen official in charge of promoting the event.

The Xiamen competition will feature 400 choirs and 25,000 singers from 60 nations and regions, "an unprecedented number for any arts festival in our city's history," according to Xu.

Xiamen beat Venice, Sydney and Prague in winning the rights to host this event. The city has a rich and long music tradition and is the birthplace of many of China's top musicians from the classical music genre.

In recent years, the city has played host to a slew of national and international music events, including the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians.

Xiamen is using the competition as an opportunity to promote the city's tourism and cultural legacy, said Xu Hui. The city has won several major awards for its beautiful environment and overall quality of life.

"We also intend to use music to build a bridge of friendship," said Xu, "and spread the voice of peace to people all over the world."
   
(China Daily February 24, 2006)