The Night of Choirs in Ruda Śląska

Every year on the last Saturday of May, Ruda Śląska transforms into a vast open-air stage for the Night of Choirs – an international festival celebrating collective singing as a living form of intangible cultural heritage. Since its inception, the event has uniquely combined art, education, and community engagement, bringing together hundreds of performers and thousands of listeners. Each edition demonstrates that singing is not only an art form but also a social practice deeply rooted in community life and shared emotion.Between 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., audiences can wander through the city and discover around 15 concert locations, where nearly 45 short performances, each lasting about 20 minutes, take place in parallel. Every year, between 20 and 28 choirs and vocal ensembles from across Poland and abroad fill the city with song — transforming it into a living symphony of voices.The festival’s motto, “Music for Everyone!”, captures its essence. Night of Choirs breaks away from the traditional concert format: there are no stages, spotlights, or formal concert attire. Instead, choirs perform close to the people — in courtyards, cafés, gardens, train stations, parks, and post-industrial spaces — entering the city’s daily rhythm and surprising passers-by with live music in their everyday surroundings. Singing becomes a spontaneous encounter, blurring the line between performer and audience, and reminding everyone that music truly belongs to all.By bringing performances into such diverse and meaningful urban spaces, the festival connects tangible and intangible heritage, turning the city itself into an instrument of cultural expression — where architecture, memory, and voice meet.A signature moment of the festival is the collective performance of the “Night of Choirs Song”, specially composed for the event. This takes place after 10 p.m., in near darkness, when hundreds of voices and listeners join together in a moving act of shared singing. The evening then continues with a joyful dance and community celebration, extending late into the night — a spontaneous expression of togetherness, freedom, and joy.The Night of Choirs is organized by the Silesian Association of Choirs and Orchestras, in cooperation with numerous cultural institutions, associations, and local partners. The event enjoys the honorary patronage of national and regional authorities and is supported by a broad network of sponsors and media, ensuring its strong community roots and growing international reach.In 2025, the festival was nominated for the prestigious International Music Council Award, recognizing its innovative approach to community music-making and its contribution to safeguarding and revitalizing intangible heritage in urban space.Through its ever-expanding resonance, Night of Choirs continues to prove that collective singing unites generations, strengthens local identity, and transforms ordinary places into extraordinary moments of shared emotion and harmony.