Christmas festivities at National Heritage Park in Ópusztaszer (Hungarian Radio Corporation/György Németh)

Folk and seasonal music pooled by the EBU community for this year's Euroradio Christmas Project has reached record numbers.   

A total of 97 offerings have been submitted for the Euroradio Special Day of Christmas Music and the Euroradio Christmas Folk Project, ensuring Members a broad selection of music for the festive season.

29 broadcasters across Europe and as far away as Korea have registered for the Folk Project, while the Euroradio Special Day of Christmas Music remains one of the EBU’s most sought after programmes.

On the Sunday before Christmas (22 December), around a dozen EBU Members from Europe and North America broadcast live (or slightly deferred) hour-long concerts of classical music focused on the theme of Christmas.

The quality of the musical selections is matched only by its variety. The repertoire, which includes thirteen concerts broadcast between 9:00 am and 11:00 pm (GMT), ranges from Gregorian chant and traditional carols to Baroque sacred music and contemporary a cappella works.

Live audiences are often asked to sing along with on-stage performers, adding to the charm for radio audiences. This year, for example, Bavarian Radio (DEARD) has invited staff members to participate in the concert at its studio in Munich.