World Choir Games Hits a High Note in Tāmaki Makaurau

Behind the scenes of a global music event

When the curtain lifted on the 13th edition of the World Choir Games in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland in July 2024, the scale and ambition of the production was clear from the first note. Heralded as the ‘Olympics of singing’, the event saw more than 11,000 choristers from 42 countries converge on Aotearoa for a global celebration of voice, community, and culture. But before a single harmony rang out, a large-scale technical and creative effort had already played its part.

Executive Director Kylie Sealy (Q Theatre Limited, New Zealand Comedy Trust, Te Taumata Toi a Iwi), Artistic and Games Director John Rosser (previously Chair of the New Zealand Choral Federation), NZ Major Events and Tātaki Auckland Unlimited successfully tendered for the event back in 2020. They were joined by a local organising team of 56 to deliver an 11-day programme. It involved more than 100 crew and 360 volunteers and comprised six core venues, over 800 performances, 54 Friendship Concerts, and six ceremonial events, including a spectacular opening ceremony at Spark Arena. The Games would go on to win ‘Major or Mega Event of the Year’ and ‘New Zealand’s Favourite Event’ at the 2024 NZEA Awards.

Opening night: Aotearoa choral  history unleashed

The concept for the opening ceremony, titled ‘Welcome to Aotearoa New Zealand’ was to tell Aotearoa’s story of collective song. “Choirs at opening ceremonies invariably involve a revolving door approach, wheeled on and off the stage,” explains John. “We wanted to create a spectacle with light, sound, movement and cultural elements to showcase the choirs in the five stages of the development of choral song in Aotearoa – birds, arrival of Māori, Europeans and Pasifika, and the melting pot that song is today.”

John brought in Director Malia Johnston (Show Director for the World of Wearable Art, director of the opening ceremony for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 and founder of dance organisation Movement of the Human). Production Manager Pak Peacocke, known for his work on NZ Fashion Week, Christmas in the Park, Aotearoa Music Awards and NZ Comedy Festival, combined John and Malia’s vision with the detailed template for the official ceremonies provided by German-based client INTERKULTUR.

Pak’s planning for the opening ceremony began with the footprint required for the opening, closing and four award ceremonies, all to be held at Spark Arena. The space needed for a 600-person choir, the Auckland Philharmonia, plus front of stage singers, dancers and presenters pushed the Spark Arena to its limits. Pak recalls, “We went through three iterations to identify the most financially efficient solution, ultimately using the bleachers and pushing the stage forward with creative use of stage risers by Stage NZ to give the appearance that the choir was on one seamless platform.”

Three screens with IMAG support were provided by Big Picture, audio by NW Group and lighting by Simon Garrett’s Spotlight Systems, “Once we persuaded the client to shift from 200 physical flag raises at the award ceremonies to using a digital image on the middle screen, technically it was quite a straightforward event,” chuckles Pak. “The team that Kylie and John had pulled together, plus a helpful and approachable client, made the Games an absolute pleasure to work on. The tech and creative teams were all local and even though it was a global event, we felt like a family.”

After months of planning and rehearsal, thousands of newly arrived performers gathered to watch Ria Hall entering the arena on a sculptural waka followed by kapa haka, dance, and choral music, in a 40 minute cross- cultural spectacle.

And meanwhile, across town…

While the opening ceremony drew the spotlight, it was just one part of a complex logistical puzzle. Over 11 days, more than 490 separate events unfolded at 30 venues across Tāmaki Makaurau, including workshops, concerts, street parades and awards ceremonies. Venues encompassed St Matthew-in-the-City, Auckland Town Hall, Q Theatre, Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum, the Aviation Wing of the Museum of Transport and Technology, and the Auckland Botanic Gardens.

Kylie reflects on the challenges, “The production requirements were relatively light due to the mainly acoustic performances with some requiring basic amplification. We relied largely on the venues for technical services and they all did an amazing job. In comparison to other events I have delivered, it was the breadth and scale of the logistics that blew me away. We were sorting everything from getting instruments through border control, to sourcing enough keyboards, to providing transportation amidst Auckland traffic to rehearsals and performances, to finding accommodation for upwards of 60,000 room nights. We wanted to ensure that all these highly passionate choral groups who had travelled from all over the world, experienced the best of Aotearoa.”

Showcasing Aotearoa

The World Choir Games is more than a competition; it is a cultural exchange. This was reflected in the Friendship Concerts where choirs ‘popped up’ and sang across Auckland and in the Celebration Concerts that brought together some of the top competing choirs alongside groups from Aotearoa and the Pacific to present several incredible evenings of collective singing.

A highlight was ‘Matariki He Kāhui Reo’, a choral work performed entirely in te reo Māori by eight local choirs at Holy Trinity Cathedral over two sold out nights. With compositions by five Māori composers and lyricists, across 10 movements, the event fused tikanga Māori with Western choral tradition, requiring John to navigate both logistic and cultural demands.

“We succeeded in locating the choirs in different parts of the church whilst ensuring line of sight to the conductor. Lighting was excellently managed by the church’s local team. Sound was simple as it was mainly acapella with only one movement requiring an organ and the church itself provided the acoustics. My focus, other than people wrangling, was ensuring that we were presenting the story of Matariki in an accurate and culturally appropriate way, and I collaborated closely with my Māori colleagues from the start.”

For John this was the climax of the Games, “Years in the works, as I had initially developed the concept for the 2020 World Symposium on Choral Music, cancelled due to Covid, Matariki He Kāhui Reo was a high point for me. I believe that this was the most significant event in New Zealand’s choral history. The audience, predominantly international guests, were enraptured. People commented that it was the greatest choral concert they had witnessed.”

The closing ceremony brought the full spectrum of the Games to a dramatic close. Pak reflects, “Every couple of years you do one show where you sit back and think ‘wow this is good’, and it reminds you why you put up with all the stresses and the hours of the job. At the end of the closing ceremony, I had one of those moments.

The 600 strong choir and the orchestra were going full steam, performing a 12- song medley of global pop hits with 10,000 predominantly trained singers standing up and joining in. The energy in the room was incredible.”

A Resounding Success

Across its 11-day run, the World Choir Games 2024 delivered more than 800 performances in 28 competitive categories, spanning children’s choirs, chamber ensembles, jazz, gospel, pop, spirituals and indigenous music. A total of 131 medals were awarded by 36 international judges across two ceremonies at Spark Arena, with four Aotearoa choirs named as category winners and 13 medals earned by New Zealand groups.

Beyond the silverware, the Games demonstrated Aotearoa’s ability to host and deliver a cultural event of immense technical, logistical, and artistic complexity. With its blend of innovation, cultural grounding, and flawless execution, the 2024 edition has set a new benchmark for international events on our shores.