Festival
History of the festival

EUROPA CANTAT is the biggest event of the European Choral Association – Europa Cantat organised every three years in a different country.

The EUROPA CANTAT Festival first began in 1961 in Passau (Germany), and since then, every three years it is hosted by a different European country.

This great musical event brings together, for one week, more than 3,000 singers from across Europe and several countries in the world. It wants to offer its participants the opportunity to meet each other, make important educational experiences, sing their repertoire, learn new music, tighten relationships, understand choral and vocal traditions of the hosting country and also of the participating countries, as well as the latest news, innovations, perspectives of the International panorama.

Previous editions

1961 Passau (Germany)
1964 Nevers (France)
1967 Namur (Belgium)
1970 Graz (Austria)
1973 Autun (France)
1976 Leicestershire (United Kingdom)
1979 Lucerna (Svitzerland)
1982 Namur (Belgium)
1985 Strasbourg (France)
1988 Pécs (Hungary)
1991 Victoria (Spain)
1994 Herning (Danemark)
1997 Linz (Austria)
2000 Nevers (France)
2003 Barcelona (Spain)
2006 Mainz (Germany)
2009 Utrecht (The Netherlands)
2012 Torino (Italy)

Pécs has already hosted the EUROPA CANTAT festival in 1988, when for the first time in history the event was organized behind the Iron Courtain. The “legendary 10th” is still in the minds of those 3672 people who took part, as well as in the collective memories of the Pécs inhabitants.