As you arrive at the Arena you will be directed to the relevant section of the arena and depending on how early your are, you will either have to hang on until the Arena doors open (usually around 1.30pm) or be directed straight to your seats. Make sure you get there in plenty of time to get settled (no later than 2.30pm) that way you have to make yourself comfy, as these will be your seats for the whole day. If you are going to be more than 30 minutes late then you can always phone the Young Voices Office and they will let us know via walkie-talkie that you are running late and confirm to our staff that you are coming – that way we can keep your seats.

Once you are all settled and ready to start (around 2.30pm) we will introduce you to our team and give you the necessary Health and Safety notices and helpful information. From this point onwards it’s all go! You and your choir will have the opportunity to warm-up the vocal chords with the assistance of our Principal Conductor David Lawrence then rehearsals will start straight after the warm-up and finish at 5.00pm.

The most important thing on the day will be listening to the people on stage and on the microphones. We fully understand that there will be some pretty excited young people with you on the day but we urge teachers to make sure their choirs are respectful of any notices and pay careful attention to any information, the most important of which is how to work together as a choir. There will be between 5,000 and 8,000 children in the choir; depending on which venue you are attending. The ONLY way we can pull this off is if you and your choir have practiced and learnt your songs and apply those skills during the concert. If we work together and use all the vocal skills we have practiced over the past few months you are sure to be a part of the BEST Young Voices concerts ever.

Unfortunately for your choir (and fortunately for you) the day will eventually come to an end. Once the lights go up please remain in your seats until a member of the Arena Staff or a Young Voices Coordinator tells you that it is your choir’s turn to exit. IMPORTANT: For Health and Safety reasons we have been told to stagger your departure due to the number of people in the choir and the fact that they are all children. Any members of the audience who are meeting their respective choirs/children afterwards will not be allowed to stay inside the auditorium, they will be asked to leave and meet you at your designated meeting point. We advise that this is either in the car parks or at a designated exit of the arena.

For those of you who have a coach journey ahead of you – we hope you enjoy the continuous singing because we’ve been told that this goes on well after the end of the concert, with children singing the songs over and over again…