Experience a week of world-class choral music in the magnificent setting of Gloucester Cathedral
Experience the power of live choral music at the world’s longest-running choral music festival. The superb week of concerts features our own choirs, internationally-recognised soloists, and the world-renowned Philharmonia Orchestra, performing in the magnificent surroundings of Gloucester Cathedral.
Enjoy our flagship evening concerts, laid back late-nights, and intimate daytime recitals, and soak up the atmosphere between events in our Festival Village. Throughout our 300-year history the Three Choirs Festival has been committed to new music and has commissioned some of the world’s finest composers. We are proud to champion both the future of British choral music and the Anglican choral tradition.
The Three Choirs Festival presents a mix of large-scale choral-orchestral concerts, intimate chamber recitals, and late-night events. Performances feature choirs, orchestras, chamber ensembles, and soloists, including the festival’s own choirs and orchestra-in-residence, the Philharmonia.
The repertoire spans from early music to the present day, rooted in the Anglican choral tradition while embracing a wide range of styles. Alongside established masterpieces, the festival is committed to new music through its Associate Composer programme, working closely with Gavin Higgins over a 3 year residency.
Our main venue is the glorious Gloucester Cathedral, with further daytime and late-night concerts/events in the city’s historic churches. Beyond the performances, the Festival Village offers even more to explore with community music at the Bandstand.
All of our venues are located within Gloucester City Centre this year. Gloucester train station is a short walk away from the Cathedral. If you're coming to the festival from Ledbury, we'll be running the Ledbury Link minibus for selected evening concerts.
Gloucester and the surrounding areas offer a wide range of accommodation options, including hotels, guest houses and bed and breakfasts, with properties available both in the city centre and in nearby rural locations.
Some people still like to dress up for concerts, but if your style is more jeans and trainers, then that's fine too. The important thing is to be comfortable. The cathedral can get hot during concerts, so do plan for this.
A range of food is available to buy from our Festival Village for you to enjoy before concerts, as well as our bar where you can collect pre-ordered interval drinks.
As well as walking tours around the historic city of Gloucester, where you can explore its rich and varied past, there are also a wide range of fascinating museums to discover. While you’re here, it’s well worth taking a moment to appreciate the splendour of our main venue, Gloucester Cathedral, renowned for its breathtaking architecture and centuries of history. Visitors can also enjoy the historic docks, explore Beatrix Potter’s House of the Tailor of Gloucester, and take a short trip to our partner, Three Choirs Vineyard, located nearby.
The Museum of Gloucester offers further insight into the city’s heritage, while Greyfriars, a Franciscan house founded in 1231, is of particular architectural interest. Its nave and north aisle are almost equal in height and width, believed to be the only example of this design in the country. Although only the remains survive today, they can still be visited and appreciated.
Meanwhile, Blackfriars Priory stands as a stunning example of a 13th-century medieval priory site, nestled in the heart of the waterside city. It offers a unique glimpse into monastic life and remains one of Gloucester’s most atmospheric and historically significant landmarks.
