Viisukuppila

After each performance, each group of singers will remain on stage to form a combined choir, which will present popular choral excerpts between national performances, interspersed by video 'postcards from home'.

A key moment in the programme will see the amassed choir invite the live audience on Rathausplatz and a guest choir assembled in the Latvian capital Riga, (European Capital of Culture 2014) to sing the European anthem 'Ode to Joy' by Beethoven.

EBU Media director Annika Nyberg Frankenhaeuser says the concept for Europe Sings evolved from the highly successful format developed by ORF in 2011, known as 'Osterreich Singt' (Austria Sings).

“Europe Sings showcases the best of European amateur choral singing,” said Ms Frankenhaeuser.