European Youth Choir Festival Basel (EJCF)

European Youth Choir Festival Basel (EJCF)

📅 Wednesday, May 28, 2025 | 📍 St. Jakobshalle Basel

 

🙌🏼 Spectacular Choral Show

Choral Music Around the Globe. 1,300 children and youth in colorful costumes and traditional attire fill the arena of St. Jakobshalle. They sing and move together and apart, showcasing their extraordinary talents through solo performances and grand choreographies. The musical journey stretches from Appenzell to European countries and Cameroon, featuring classical, folk, pop, gospel, and musical songs. The event culminates with electronic musician James Varghese’s newly composed improvisational piece for a 1,000-voice choir and electronics.

Nineteen highly qualified children’s and youth choirs from twelve European countries, Switzerland, and Cameroon jointly open the 14th European Youth Choir Festival Basel. They are musically welcomed by eight high school choirs from the region. Over 1,000 singers deliver a choral show of superlatives with presentations from their home countries, video inserts, impressive choreographies, and the premiere of a piece for a thousand-voice choir and electronics by James Varghese.

 

Greetings: Federal Councilor Beat Jans, BL Senator Maya Graf (President, EJCF Association)
Host: Lionel Mattmüller

 

14th European Youth Choir Festival Basel (EJCF)

Founded in 1992, the European Youth Choir Festival Basel (EJCF) will take place for the 14th time in the Basel region from May 28 to June 1, 2025 (Ascension Days). The festival is one of the world’s most significant gatherings of outstanding children’s and youth choirs.

Under the EJCF FESTIVAL program, 19 selected choirs featuring approximately 850 singers aged 10–25 from 12 European countries, one non-European country, and various Swiss regions will perform. The EJCF ATELIER program will bring together nearly 2,000 children and youth from Switzerland for communal singing. In total, they will perform over 50 concerts for around 40,000 festival attendees.

Additional events include Sing Along! activities, church service accompaniments, workshops, a gala dinner with music aboard the Choir Ship, open-air concerts, and large-scale events like the “Get Together: Europe in Miniature” on Saturday at Münsterplatz. The festival center, Sing Garden, will be located at Barfüsserplatz.

Beyond exceptional musical quality, the festival represents a unifying spirit across borders. All invited choirs are hosted by local families in the Basel region. Furthermore, 400 volunteers contribute to the success of this multi-day singing festival.

 

🎟 Tickets

Ticket sales for the “Spectacular Choral Show” begin on December 1, 2024. Beautifully designed festival cards (four designs to choose from), gift vouchers, or tickets are available as Christmas presents.

Tickets and festival cards can be purchased via:

• www.ejcf.ch
• Phone: +41 61 401 21 00 (Festival Office)
• Kulturhaus Bider and Tanner in Basel

Tickets are also available online via Ticketcorner.

For more information, visit: www.ejcf.ch

 

🚈 Getting to St. Jakobshalle Basel
• Site Map
• Travel by car or public transport
• Parking

 

⚠️ Important Information for Your Visit
• Prohibited items

 

🍴 Food and Beverages
A wide range of drinks and food will be available in the foyer starting from the venue’s opening time.

 

⏱️ Schedule
Doors open: 6:00 PM
Start: 7:30 PM
Estimated end: 10:00 PM

 

👋🏼 We Look Forward to Seeing You!
The St. Jakobshalle Basel team wishes you an enjoyable event and is happy to assist with any questions.
Tel. +41 61 317 82 22 | StJakobshalle@bs.ch