2020 Update

Europe's LGBTQ+ premier singing festival Various Voices Bologna is moving to 2023

The quad-annual 15th Various Voices Festival of Legato, the European Association of LGBTQ+ Choirs was hosted in Bologna and moved from 2022 to the summer of 2023. Team Bologna was led by Komos, the LGBT Chorus of Bologna, with their partners and funders including the municipality of Bologna, along with allies and friends in Italy. The 5,000 expected participants will bring at least €2.5 million estimated income into the local economy of Emilia-Romagna, Italy during the festival.

The festival is a celebration for the LGBTQ+ choirs and musicians of Europe celebrating with their friends from around the worldwide community of singers, to share, learn and enjoy time, singing, performing, engaging in the beautiful ancient "la rossa" red city of Bologna and the people of the region of ‎‎Emilia-Romagna, the home of parma ham, balsamic vinegar and parmesan. Five glorious warm summer days and balmy evenings of superb singing, entertainment and a “totally fun experience”. Choirs and musical groups perform in a range of languages, styles, an eclectic crucible of European musicians and music.

Nicola Mainardi, Bologna Various Voices Festival Director, said "we will be using this time to add that extra bit of Bologna sparkle, seeking even greater local support and working with our partners to rebook venues and agree new dates in 2023.  This has been a complex decision in response to the global pandemic and we need to give all time to heal and recover, to enjoy our festival safely.  As details are confirmed we will share them with all our stakeholders. We will create the best Various Voices experience ever, for everyone"

#Isingwhatiam

Bologna “La Dotta” (“Learned” Bologna) has always been a pioneer of cultural initiatives.

To be the first city to host a festival with such worldly fame in the LGBT* community like Various Voices would only add to the great reputation the city has earned.

A myriad of men of culture, artists, musicians and thinkers have passed through the ancient city walls. Those walls have survived and the architecturally wonderful entrance gates will bear witness to thousands of people united in music passing through to celebrate LGBT* pride.

Komos is so grateful for everything that Legato and Various Voices have given us these past years - an enormous treasure, not only from an artistic perspective, but also from a human perspective.

You gave us a rush of emotions when we sang as the first italian choir in the history of the Festival for an audience that embraced us with that warmth we didn’t expect. You gave us a network of international relations composed of amazing people that enables us to sing in cities across Europe and to host foreigner choirs in Italy.

You gave us a huge wave of enthusiasm, thanks to which we succeeded in organizing in Bologna the first italian Festival of GLBT choirs, Cromatica. Now it’s time for us to give something back to Various Voices.

We can affirm without a doubt that Bologna is the foremost city in Italy where GLBT culture is alive and productive, with more than 20 GLBT organizations and a Municipality that stands firmly against discrimination and promotes equality and diversity. Bologna was the first Italian city to assign a community location for its LGBT citizens: the Cassero di Porta Saragozza in 1982. It was also the first to elect a transsexual to the local council, Marcella Di Folco, directly from the LGBT movement. Since 2016 the local authority has been part of the rainbow cities of Europe and the European coalition of cities against racism.