Cornwall Choral Festival Brings £1.6 Million to Local Economy

Burundi pulled out. Albania dropped at the last minute. Fuel prices and visa headaches threatened to derail months of planning. And yet, somehow, the 2026 Cornwall International Male Choral Festival pulled off three days that brought 1,620 singers to the county and pumped an estimated £1.6 million into the local economy.

📷Festival Champions the Celtic Male Ensemble celebrating their win at Truro Cathedral – Photo – Gary Flower for CIMCF

A festival against the odds

This year was one of the most difficult in the festival’s history. Choirs from the East African nation of Burundi and from Albania were unable to travel, with rising costs and visa problems blocking the journey. Even so, 45 choirs made it to Cornwall, performing in 30 events from St Just to Saltash, including concerts, competitions and educational outreach work.

Artistic Director Dr Gareth Churcher said the response had been remarkable given the obstacles. “We’ve had so many global issues which made the transportation of choirs to Cornwall extremely difficult, and yet we’ve had a fantastic three days of celebration and music with amazing international, UK and Cornish choirs, and the comments that have come back to us have been quite overwhelming,” he said.

📷CIMCF Artistic Director Dr Gareth Churcher (R) with Jakub Martinec from the Czech Children's Choir Jitro – photo Gary Flower for CIMCF

A Cornish double first

For the first time in the festival’s long history, both the festival champion choir and the artistic director are Cornish. The Celtic Male Ensemble took the overall title, and their rendition of “Who Wants To Live Forever” was named the best single piece of music.

Gareth himself, also Cornish, is the artistic director behind this year’s edition.

Voices from Kent to Adelaide

David Rance, who travelled down from Kent with “Just Men Singing”, said the trip had been worth every mile.

“All of us, that is, singers, musical leadership team and supporters, had the most incredible time. For a new choir yet to celebrate its third birthday, a round trip of nearly 700 miles to such a prestigious festival was a pretty big thing,” he said.

“It was a tremendous experience to perform in such a range of venues, also to witness and interact with other choirs and musicians. It does a huge amount of good.”

The festival’s reach went well beyond those who made the trip in person. Live screening took the music to more than 150,000 people worldwide.

One unexpected audience member was Bronwyn Arnold, visiting from Adelaide in South Australia to walk the ground where three generations of her great-grandparents were born and died on St Michael’s Mount.

“As I walked down onto Marazion Beach I heard this incredible singing which I discovered to be first from the Peterborough Male Voice Choir and then the young Czech singers, and I became quite emotional obviously,” she said.

A children’s choir from the Czech Republic

Those young Czech singers were guests of the festival, brought over by Jakub Martinec. “Jitro” (The Daybreak) is a touring choir drawn from the best of the Czech Children’s Choir, and this year’s line-up happens to be all girls.

Jakub said the work mattered beyond Cornwall. “We are all celebrating the great tradition of choral singing and festivals like this are so important because that tradition worldwide is dying. So it’s really important to support and be involved in choral art and we need to have more children involved in singing,” he said.

One of Jitro’s lead singers, Bara Viskova, said the trip had been a highlight. “We’re so excited to be here in Cornwall. We love to travel as friends who all love to sing, and it’s amazing to connect with all the other choirs and visit new places and of course a lot of singing,” she said.

📷Czech Children's Choir Jitro visiting St Michael's Mount

Coming home

For some of the visiting choir leaders, the festival is also personal. Will Prideaux directs last year’s champions, Peterborough Male Voice Choir, and the trip down doubles as a homecoming.

“It’s just lovely to be here and for me it’s a chance to come home too. The Cornwall Festival is stitched through with those kind of musical high points and points of engagement and meeting new friends or friends we’ve collaborated with before. It’s very special,” he said.

📷The media spotlight for Peterborough MVC director Will Prideaux Gary Flower / CIMCF

What’s next

The programme ranged from traditional choral works to pop covers and the premiere of brand new pieces for male choral and cambiata singing, with a surprise appearance from the Camborne Town Band thrown in for good measure.

Choirs performed in churches, gardens, schools and visitor attractions, alongside the bigger ticketed events at Truro Cathedral and the Hall for Cornwall.

This was the 12th biennial Cornwall International Male Choral Festival. Organisers, a mix of volunteers and professionals, now take a short break before work begins on the 2028 edition. Films, photos and full details of this year’s festival are at cimcf.uk.

📷Czech Children's Choir Jitro at St Michael's Mount PHOTO Gary Flower / CIMCF

📷Czech Children's Choir Jitro attract an international audience at St Michael's Mount - photo Gary Flower / CIMCF