Hitting High C
Cincinnati is singing sweet tunes of success after landing the 2012 World Choir Games.
By Rob Cotter
THEY’VE BEEN STRIKING THE RIGHT NOTE IN CINCINNATI FOR A LONG, LONG TIME—the city is, in fact, home to the oldest continuous choral festival in the Western Hemisphere. The Cincinnati May Festival, consisting of choral groups led through an extensive repertoire of classical music during the last two weeks of the month, has been held at the same venue since 1878. Its roots stretch to the 1840s and the waves of German immigrants, who with their strong musical culture introduced the Saengerfest (singing festivals) to the city and region.
The prominence of song and the importance of the Saengerfest to the cultural well-being of the city spurred Reuben Springer, a wealthy Cincinnatian, to partly finance the city’s majestic Venetian-Gothic styled Music Hall, home of the festival. Today, this imposing edifice—one of the oldest and largest U.S. music halls and home to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as well as the resident May Festival Chorus—continues to provide musical entertainment, as it has for more than a century.
Such a rich musical legacy was not overlooked by decision-makers for the World Choir Games (WCG), organized by music foundation Interkultur of Pohlheim, Germany. It is the world’s most prestigious choral competition, and in June, the city was selected to play host to the games in July 2012.
Running biannually since 2000, the WCG have been hosted by Austria, China, Germany and Korea. This will be its first U.S. appearance—a major coup for Cincinnati.
“[This is] a legacy-building event that encompasses the entire community and will energize, revitalize and transform the region,” said Dan Lincoln, Cincinnati USA CVB president and CEO. “The opportunity will be a transcendent moment for Cincinnati USA as we prepare to host a global event of major proportions.”
This is no understatement—the event has been attracting ever-increasing levels of participants and attendees since its inception and has now reached a staggering average of 15,000 to 20,000 choral participants and 150,000 visitors. The Cincinnati event is expected to generate US$14 million in competitor spending alone and will require up to 50,000 hotel room nights, a robust test in stepping up to the next level of international event organization.
As the first representative of the games in the U.S., Cincinnati wants to set the standard that other U.S. and international cities will have to follow. A successful staging of this event will also give Cincinnati a solid platform for attracting and securing future events of a similar magnitude.
But the games pose myriad challenges to the organizers and to the city. There will be approximately 400 choirs from more than 90 countries taking part in this 11-day Meistersinger Marathon, bringing a plethora of languages, cultures, ages and expectations with them.
“The Music Hall in the city was built for the express purpose of hosting choral works and competitions. Added to that, we have an arts and culture scene in Cincinnati today that is one of the most vibrant in the U.S., and all the infrastructure requirements for the World Choir Games are already in place in the city,” said Julie Calvert, vice president of marketing and strategic development for Cincinnati USA CVB, on what prompted the city to nominate itself for the WCG. “The city is very supportive of art and cultural venues and at every level we really wanted these games—every ingredient was there and as a community, we raised the bar.”
Günter Titsch, Interkultur president, echoed these sentiments.
“Cincinnati demonstrated a level of preparedness, professionalism and enthusiasm that confirmed beyond doubt that it was the best candidate to host our 2012 Games,” he said.
Of 52 potential cities worldwide at the outset, there was an explicit desire to have the games hosted in the U.S., but cities had to strongly demonstrate their ability to do so. The competition was finally narrowed down to two: Cincinnati and Reno.
“Cincinnati showed a passion and an energy regarding this event that mirrors ours. From the governor of Ohio to the mayor of Cincinnati and the arts and cultural institutions, they showed us how much they wanted these games,” Titsch said. “We are delighted to be bringing these games to the U.S. for the first time and to the great city of Cincinnati.”
It was an amazing team effort that brought the 2012 Games to Ohio, said Governor Ted Strickland.
“We now have the opportunity over the next three years to showcase the people, places and spirit that make Cincinnati USA and the state of Ohio a great place to live, work and play,” he said.
The organizations involved have decided not to waste a second of this opportunity. With fewer than three years before the planned event, the CVB has already rolled out its social media program to connect the games’ participants. This includes a Facebook fan page and a Twitter page, with platforms such as Ning and Flickr also under way. To enrich involvement of the palette of nationalities expected in the city, foreign language Facebook fan pages will also be set up to include videos and photos of the choral groups coming to the city, all linked through the CVB social media sites.
The opportunity has also been a catalyst for the engagement of arts organizations throughout the city.
“The announcement that the games were awarded to Cincinnati was like a rallying cry,” Calvert said. “Arts organizations have been looking for the best way for them to link in to these games. This is an international profile event and it would be short-sighted for Cincinnati arts organizations to see it as a fringe cultural event as it really taps into the city’s heritage. They have realized the potential in it for them to be showcased on the international stage, too, and we will be working very closely with them in the years ahead.”
Relishing the challenge of the event’s scale, Calvert says Cincinnati can use a synthesis of past events to help prepare for this one.
“We regularly hold events consisting of between 10,000 to 15,000 participants,” she said. “In addition, the city plays host to the Tall Stacks Riverboat celebration in the city every four years, attracting more than 200,000 people. So the basis of what we need to do is in place, but we are also aware of how unique the games are and the special requirements of international participation.”
Calvert is making no assumptions that these requirements can be met without some practical experience.
“Next year, we will be closely monitoring the World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Ky., an event that attracts internationally,” Calvert said. “There will be travel packages available for day trips to Cincinnati and we will be analyzing very closely how visitors navigate their ways around an American city. We can learn a lot from this exercise and use what we learn to enhance the Cincinnati experience during the games.”
Several venues throughout the city will be used for musical performances, including Music Hall, Memorial Hall and Christ Church Cathedral. The event’s headquarters will showcase two of the city’s finest event-hosting assets: the centrally located and recently expanded and renovated Duke Energy Convention Center and the new School for the Performing Arts, already built and due to open next year.
“Transportation will be enhanced and expanded, as well. There is event branding under way right now that will unify the identity of the event with the venues we are using and the transportation between them,” Calvert said. “We are working on everything from transportation, visas for participants, security, marketing and a welcome pack to ensure that everything runs smoothly from the start.”
With much work yet to be done, Cincinnati is still able to look forward to promoting itself beyond a successful WCG.
“This will solidify our place in the arena for international events: sporting, artistic, large conventions,” Calvert said. “While there is a lot of hard work between now and 2012, having secured the games is also a sales and communications opportunity for us to promote ourselves to other events producers.”
Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory, a key player in the city’s bid for the games, is convinced that “the entire WCG experience will reshape the Cincinnati USA business, arts and hospitality landscape and leave a legacy of hope, optimism and potential like no other event in the history of the Cincinnati USA region.”
With a lot to look forward to in 2012, expect Cincinnati CVB to be performing more of the symphonic repertoire than chamber music in the future. One+
ROB COTTER is a freelance writer based in Berlin.
What’s New in Cincinnati
• Designed by celebrated architect Zaha Hadid, the city’s Lois and Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art opened to great acclaim in 2003.
• The city has received a recent US$2 billion downtown and riverfront facelift including the renovation and expansion of the Duke Energy Convention Center and redevelopment of nearby Fountain Square.
• Cincinnati recently opened two new stadiums—Paul Brown Stadium opened in 2004 home to the National Football League’s Cincinnati Bengals and Great American Ballpark opened 2003 for Major League Baseball’s Cincinnati Reds.
Transportation Tips
• Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) is the major airport for the city and region.
• Views of Cincinnati can be enjoyed from the Ohio River on several river boats offering cruises.
• Interested in state-hopping for dining and entertainment? A shuttle service operated by the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky takes passengers over the Ohio River and into neighboring Kentucky. From downtown Cincinnati, the service runs three-to-four times per hour and costs US$1.50.
Fun Facts
• Cincinnati has one of the largest and most intact spots on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places—the Over-the-Rhine area of the city is where many German visitors can feel at home.
• Can’t make it to Munich for the Oktoberfest? With its German heritage, the Oktoberfest Zinzinnatti, the world’s second-largest authentic Oktoberfest, should satisfy any beer-lover’s cravings.
• Cincinnati is within reach of 60 percent of the U.S. population via 1-hour plane ride.