EU holds choral festival with the UST to celebrate 60 Years of EU-Philippines Diplomatic Relations

The Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines collaborates with the University of Santo Tomas to host “Sounds of Celebration: Sixty Years of EU-Philippines Relations”, a choral festival, to mark the 60 years of bilateral relations between the European Union and the Philippines.

The event will take place at the Buenaventura Garcia Paredes OP Building (BGPOP), University of Santo Tomas, on 26 April 2024, featuring exceptional choral groups from all over the Philippines in a showcase of talent, musical diversity, and cultural exchange. The festival also coincides with the University of Santo Tomas’ 413th founding anniversary.

The theme of this event, “Sounds of Celebration”, is a recognition of how music can transcend borders and go beyond the barrier of language. Music is a worldwide language, and for this choral festival, music will be utilised to celebrate the 60 years of friendship and cooperation between the European Union and the Philippines.

The choral festival will feature performances by various choral groups, along with special recognitions. The “EU-Philippines Cultural Award” will recognize a choir’s outstanding performance, which highlights the diverse cultures of the European Union and the Philippines, fostering unity and cooperation in the realm of arts. “The Ambassador's Choice Award” will be awarded to the choir whose performance best embodies cultural diplomacy.

“We are thrilled to celebrate the upcoming choral festival with the University of Santo Tomas, our partner since 2017,” said H. E. Luc Véron, European Union Ambassador to the Philippines. “As we honour the 60 years of EU-Philippines diplomatic relations, we hope that this festival will create lasting memories and an avenue for people to experience our unity in diversity between the EU and the Philippines.”

Stay tuned for more updates about the upcoming choral festival, Sounds of Celebration: Sixty Years of EU-PH Relations. Visit @soundsofcelebrationeuph on Facebook and Instagram.

Background:

This choral festival is one of many partnership projects between the Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines and the University of Santo Tomas. In 2017 and 2019, the Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines hosted a series of cultural activities on campus called “Hemispheres: A European Cultural Symposium”, showcasing the art, literature, and music of the European Union in a series of talks, performances, and exhibitions. This served as an outlet for cultural exchange in which Thomasians, and the wider public, experienced and learnt about the diverse art traditions of the EU.

The University of Sto Tomas also hosted “EU Whiz”, an inter-collegiate competition between local universities to test students’ knowledge about the EU and bilateral EU-Philippines relations. The EU Whiz will be organised again in commemoration of the 60 Years of EU-Philippines diplomatic relations, during the second half of this year.

The Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines also hosted with the University of Santo Tomas an online poetry festival entitled “Bersong EuroPinoy” in 2022, featuring poetry readings on topics such as worldwide unity, sustainability, and diversity.