18th International Choral Festival Flanders-Genk 2026 

COMPETITION

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I. General

1. The festival will take place from Friday 2 October to Sunday 4 October 2026 in the cultural center of the city of Genk, C-mine.

2. The festival includes the following mandatory parts:

   • a competition performance on Saturday;

   • a performance at C-mine on Saturday night;

   • a performance of 20 minutes on Sunday afternoon;

   • participation in the community singing of the festival song on Sunday afternoon;

   • the award ceremony on Sunday evening with performance by the laureates.

3. The following choirs can participate:

   • mixed choirs of min. 16 members;

   • like-voiced choirs of min. 12 members.
     All choirs will be combined into one ranking for the final results.

4. The singers must be at least 15 years old.
    

II. Registration

1. The entry fee is 300 euros per choir and 200 euros per additional entry.
   Entries must arrive at the secretariat by 15 March 2026​.
   
   Early Bird registration is 200 euros and 150 euros per additional registration (male voices and female voices of mixed choirs can register as separate choirs); deadline is 31 January 2026.Registration is exclusively via the website registration form: www.ikv-genk.be.

2. Additional information and documents are always sent to the festival secretariat:

   • Postal address: IKV-Genk c/o Christiane Janssens, Oude Hoevestraat 51, 3600 Genk;

   • e-mail: info@ikv-genk.be.

3. Tenders will only be accepted if all required documents and documents have been submitted in a timely and complete manner:

   • Registration form: the name of the choir is stated in their own language and in English via the website www.ikv-genk.be ;

   • Curriculum vitae of the choir (in English and/or Dutch, approx. 120 words in continuous text) with recent photo(s) in digital format jpeg or tiff format (minimum 300 dpi);

   • Curriculum vitae of the choir director (in English and/or Dutch, approx. 120 words, via website) with recent photo(s) in digital format jpeg or tiff format (minimum 300 dpi);

   • One copy of each choral work included in the competition programme. All scores must include the composer's surname, first name, date of birth and, if applicable, date of death in Roman characters; scores may be emailed in PDF format;

   • Short text content of each choral work for the competition program (in English and/or Dutch). Titles must be in the original language and in English;

   • A high-quality sound recording, maximum two years old, with at least three a cappella choral works.
      

III. Selection

1. The selection of registered choirs is based on the submitted documentation (scores, curriculum vitae and a recent sound recording.

2. Choirs will be notified no later than 1 April 2026 whether they have been selected or not. Registration will only become final after receipt of the entry fee, which must reach the organisation by 30 April 2026 at the latest. When a selected choir declines to participate, it loses its registration fee.

3. After payment of the registration fee, the selected choirs receive the required work.
    

IV. Program

1. Competition:

   • For the competition on Saturday, each choir presents itself with a program from different style periods with a duration of 20 – 25 minutes, including:

     • A work composed before 1900;

     • A work from our own country, composed after 1970;

     • The obligatory work (new composition of approx. 3'30 - 4'00) by a Flemish composer;

     • A folksong (unison)  of the choir's native country (a cappella);

     • Some works of your choice, a cappella or with piano and/or non-melodic percussion accompaniment.

   • The solo parts should be limited.

   • The choirs are free to determine the order of their competition program. The final order must be communicated to the secretariat before 1 September 2026 at the latest and cannot be changed afterwards.

2. Concerts:

For the concerts on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon, the choirs will perform a programme of their choice of 20 to 25 minutes. In that context, a folkloric character and/or traditional costume will always be appreciated.

   3. Festival song:

The score of the festival song will be handed over along with the compulsory work.

   4. Proclamation:

The announcement of the results will take place at C-mine on Sunday evening. The 3 laureates will give a short performance during this proclamation.

 

V. Jury

1. The international jury consists of 5 members.

2. All participating choirs will receive a written and oral evaluation from each adjudicator in addition to their percentage score.

3. The jury's verdict is indisputable.
    

VI. Prizes

1. The prizes:

   • First prize (min. 85%): 2,000 euros and a work of art, donated by the city of Genk 

   • Second prize (min. 80%): 1,500 euros

   • Third prize (min. 75%): 1,250 euros

2. Special prizes:

   • Prize for the best performance of the compulsory work: 500 euros

   • Prize for the best performance of the unison national anthem: 500 euros

   • Prize for the most captivating programme: 500 euros

3. Audience prize: 500 euros

 

VII. miscellaneous

1. The performers cannot claim compensation for recordings and/or broadcasts by radio or television, or when making CDs.

2. The choirs themselves must comply with copyright law. Each choir is responsible for its own scores. The Flanders-Genk International Choir Festival does not bear any responsibility for this.

3. The organizers are not responsible for any accidents, theft, etc

4. Participating choirs agree that all images sent and made during the festival can be used by the organization for PR purposes.
    

Practical information

1. The choirs are welcome in C-mine from Friday,  02 October, 2026.

   • Address: C-Mine 10/1, Evence Coppeelaan 91, 3600 Genk, Belgium;

   • GPS coordinates: Evence Coppélaan 91, B-3600 Genk, Belgium

2. Participating choirs may stay
   • in a youth hostel, guest house, hotel or holiday park at their own expense; a list will be provided. Contacts will be made by the choir itself.

3. A permanent accompanist is provided for each choir.

4. The choirs are responsible for organising and paying for their own travel to and from Genk. Transport within the framework of the festival will be organised and paid for by the IKV-Genk.

5. A certificate of participation can be requested from the festival secretariat.

6. When registering in C-mine, the choir provides 5 folders to the festival secretariat. Each folder contains one copy of all competition scores in the order they are sung at the competition. The name of the choir and the city of origin are clearly stated on the map.

7. 7.    All folders will be returned to the choir during the meet and greet with the judges.