BBC Cardiff Singer of the World postponed to 2027

BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, which was due to take place in 2025, has been postponed for two years, and will be replaced by a gala concert.

The international talent competition, whose previous winners include mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton and soprano Karita Mattila, usually takes place once every two years in St David’s Hall in the Welsh capital. In September 2023, just a few months after Cardiff Singer of the World’s last outing, the concert venue was closed amid worries the roof could collapse when reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (known as RAAC) was found in the building.

Until last year, Cardiff Council had been responsible for running the 40-year-old venue and had previously raised the issue of a ‘significant maintenance backlog’.  A survey of the building’s condition in 2021 flagged that the roof would need serious work within five years. However, the council considered it did not have the money available for major investment in St David’s Hall and in 2023 the Academy Music Group (AMG) took on a long-term lease to run the venue, with classical music programming protected as part of the agreement.

Following the repair work, St David’s Hall was due to reopen in time for BBC Cardiff Singer of the World next July. The week-long competition is usually broadcast on BBC TV and radio and is open to young opera singers at the start of their professional careers. Instead of the 2025 event, a standalone gala concert will take place at the Wales Millennium Centre as part of the Llais international music festival. It will feature previous winners and competitors.

Rhuanedd Richards, director of BBC Cymru Wales, said: ‘BBC Cardiff Singer of the World holds an important place in the international musical calendar as well as here in Wales.  This gala concert is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate some of the exceptional voices to emerge from this competition to be enjoyed not just at the Wales Millennium Centre but by audiences across the UK.’