May 25, 2026
Artist Culture Festival International Concert

Various Voices 2026: Brussels becomes a queer choir city

By Leon Gabriel / May 25, 2026

In just a few weeks, Various Voices 2026 will finally land in Brussels. After years of preparation, hundreds of LGBTQIA+ choirs and singers from all over Europe will turn the city into a giant vocal playground – with concerts, workshops, talks, city tours and a massive anthem sung together at ING Arena. For everyone with a Full Festival Ticket, the countdown has really started.

All practical information, updates and forms are centralised on the official website:

Below is everything you need to know, in Ket mode.

Read also : 5 Days, 1 Queer Capital: Inside the Various Voices Brussels 2026 Festival Programme

First stop in Brussels: the Welcome Centre and your badge

As soon as you arrive in Brussels, you will need to collect your personalised festival badge – your key to everything that happens during the week.

  • Where: Welcome Centre, Auditorium 490, Place du Musée, 1000 Brussels
  • From when: opening at 12:00 on 24 June (check exact opening hours here:
    → Welcome Centre info: opening schedules

The badge is:

  • your ID for the festival
  • your access pass for venues and activities
  • and, according to the team, “full of surprises”.

You are asked to wear it at all times, both for security and to make access smooth.

Once you’re badged, you can head to the Festival Village to have a drink, meet other singers and soak up the atmosphere.

Singing together: “Let Your Heart Be Heard”

Various Voices 2026 has its own anthem, “Let Your Heart Be Heard”, and the festival aims to form the biggest choir Brussels has ever seen for the grand performance.

  • Rehearsals:
    • Thursday and Friday, 10:00–12:00
    • Where: Bozar (Terarken rooms)
    • With: musical director Emily Allison
    • Registration: via the online form
      → Sign‑up for rehearsals: REHEARSALS
  • Big show:
    • “Let Your Heart Be Heard”, mass choir
    • When: Saturday 27 June, 21:00
    • Where: ING Arena
    • Ticket for this show will be sent by email in June – keep an eye on your inbox and spam folder.

If you want to prepare, you can already access the material:
→ Score & recordings: Let Your Heart Be Heard – score & audio

Guided tours: queering Brussels on foot

The festival offers 15 themed guided tours, in English or French, built around topics that speak directly to queer choirs:

  • music in the city
  • LGBTQI+ history in Brussels
  • gender and public space
  • architecture and urban stories
  • Price: €11 per tour (goes entirely to the guides)
  • Deadline: register before 31 May
  • Info & programme: Guided tours – full programme
  • Booking: contact the team by email, mentioning the tours you want:
    → CONTACT US

Morning workshops: politics, practice and choir life

Six morning workshops are offered during the festival. They are free, capacity is limited to 100 participants each, and most will be held in English.

Topics include:

  • “An inclusive and accessible festival: financially too?” – Thu 25/06 (10:00–12:00)
  • “Why Does a Choir Need a Strategy? (Yes, Even Us!)” – Thu 25/06 (10:00–12:00)
  • “LGBTQI+ rights in Europe” – Fri 26/06 (10:00–12:00)
  • “Trans and non-binary folks in our choirs” – Fri 26/06 (10:00–12:00)
  • “Queer Choirs, LGBTQ+ Rights, European Belonging” – Sat 27/06 (10:00–12:00)
  • “Choir History Workshop” – Sat 27/06 (10:00–12:00)

How it works:

  • in the form, you select your top three choices
  • the team does its best to match people and capacity
  • you must answer before 31 May.

→ Register for workshops: WORKSHOPS

Evening social activities: karaoke, dancing, quiz

Because choirs are also here to play, the festival offers three types of social evenings:

  • Karaoke – Wednesday
    • no registration needed
  • Dance night – Thursday
    • two sessions
    • registration required
  • Quiz game – Friday
    • two sessions
    • registration required

All are mainly in English, and the venues are accessible to people with reduced mobility. Capacity: 100 people per activity.

You can:

  • pick your top two activities
  • register before 31 May.

→ Sign‑up form: SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

Lunchtime brain food: talks and readings

At the Festival Village, two lunchtime slots are reserved for extra activities:

  • Friday: informal discussion with Yonatan Volfin (researcher and musicologist)
    • Theme: “What makes choir queer so gay”
    • Linked to his research on belonging in LGBTQI+ choirs.
  • Saturday: reading by Jules Balen from their book
    • A Queerly Joyful Noise: Choral Musicking for Social Justice
    • The book connects queer choral work with civil rights and labour movements, exploring music as a tool for collective resistance and social action.
      → Book info: A Queerly Joyful Noise

No registration is needed for these two events.

Free Bozar exhibition: “Picture Perfect”

One of the festival’s main venues, Bozar, is hosting the exhibition “Picture Perfect”, which explores the concept of beauty from a queer perspective.

Good news for festival‑goers:

  • 500 VIP tickets have been reserved for Various Voices participants
  • you can book up to two tickets
  • first come, first served.

How to book:

  1. Click the VIP link below
  2. Choose a date between 23 and 28 June
  3. Select the VIP offer.

→ Book your free tickets: VIP TICKETS – PICTURE PERFECT

Sober friends: a WhatsApp group without alcohol

Not everyone wants their festival to run on beer and bubbles. A British delegate, Kevin, has started a WhatsApp group for people who don’t drink.

  • Purpose: make it easier for sober participants to meet up, go out together and enjoy the festival without alcohol.
  • Open to anyone who feels this fits their needs.

→ Join the group: JOIN – sober WhatsApp group

Big shows, guest artists and how to book seats

Every evening, the festival hosts major themed shows bringing together multiple choirs and guest artists, under the artistic direction of Simon Paco. Each night focuses on a different aspect of LGBTQI+ history, culture and struggles.

To follow the evolving line‑up of guest artists:

For the detailed timetable:

Seat reservations

If you have a Full Festival Ticket, you must still reserve a seat (free of charge) for four flagship events:

  • Opening ceremony – Bozar, Wednesday 24 June
  • “Treachery of Images” – Cirque Royal, Thursday 25 June
  • “Royalties” – Cirque Royal, Friday 26 June
  • Closing ceremony – Bozar, Sunday 28 June

To book:

Important:

  • On Billetweb, you will also see other events (“Sing with us”, afternoon concerts, extra Let Your Heart Be Heard options).
  • Do not book those if you already have a Full Festival Ticket – they are paying extras for external participants.

Shop, support and practical documents

If you want to arrive in full festival drip, there is a 24/7 online shop:

  • T‑shirts, hoodies, accessories and more
  • allow about 10 days for delivery if you want your order before the festival.

→ Festival shop: SHOP
(Shortcut from the mail: FESTIVAL SHOP)

Other useful links from the information pack:

Various Voices 2026 is about to turn Brussels into a queer, polyphonic Europe in miniature. Between the big shows at Bozar and Cirque Royal, the quiet conversations in workshops, the city tours, the Picture Perfect exhibition and the late‑night karaoke, this festival is built to be more than a series of concerts. It is a week‑long reminder that when choirs meet, community becomes audible.

KET Magazine is a community‑driven, non‑profit magazine run by volunteers based in Brussels. Get in touch to share your thoughts or tell us about your activities. You can also promote your events on our website or support our work with a donation. Contact us at Info@ket.brussels.

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