Intramuros hosts choir festival from 13 to 15 November

Intramuros and the Global Children's Choir Festival are bringing choral performances to Manila from 13 to 15 November 2026. The three-day event takes place in the historic Walled City, with a Grand Choir Concert scheduled for 15 November at Plaza Moriones.

Global Children's Choir Festival runs until 15 November

The festival is the first edition of the Global Children's Choir Festival and brings together ten founding choral groups. The programme combines music, learning, cultural heritage and international exchange, according to the festival announcement carried by BusinessMirror's festival report.

The participating groups include school and community choirs from Metro Manila and nearby areas. Anna Tabita Abeleda-Piquero is named as artistic director, while the festival was founded by Mary Jane Salomon. Its stated theme is Where Heritage Inspires Harmony, linking the musical programme directly to the setting.

The Intramuros Administration lists the festival as running from 13 to 15 November 2026 in its November events calendar. The same programme identifies other cultural performances and film screenings during the month, but the choir festival is the event running across the current weekend.

1571 origins frame the choral programme

Intramuros is the historic core of present-day Manila. The Intramuros Administration says the settlement was established by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in 1571, while its walls and fortifications were constructed between 1590 and 1825.

The district served as the capital of the Spanish East Indies from 1571 to 1898 and was the endpoint of the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade route from 1571 to 1815. It was occupied during the Second World War and largely destroyed by 1945; the Intramuros Administration was created in 1979 to guide restoration and development. Those layers make the festival's theme more specific than a generic concert setting: the performances are placed inside a district shaped by centuries of movement between Asia, Europe and the Americas. The agency's historical overview of Intramuros records these dates.

The festival's closing concert at Plaza Moriones therefore brings children's choirs into one of the district's public historic spaces. The location connects the event's emphasis on cultural exchange with a place whose history includes trade, religious institutions, education and colonial administration.

Visiting Intramuros: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• The Global Children's Choir Festival runs from 13 to 15 November 2026 in Intramuros, with the Grand Choir Concert on 15 November at Plaza Moriones.
• The festival announcement states that admission to the Grand Choir Concert is free. No separate access arrangements are stated for the other programme elements.
• Intramuros is in the historic core of Manila, and Plaza Moriones is one of the named venues for the closing concert.
• Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.

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Frequently asked questions about Intramuros

When does the Global Children's Choir Festival take place at Intramuros?

The festival runs from 13 to 15 November 2026 in Manila. Its Grand Choir Concert is scheduled for 15 November at Plaza Moriones.

What is Intramuros?

Intramuros is the historic core of Manila, established in 1571. Its walls and fortifications were constructed between 1590 and 1825.

Where is Intramuros and how do you get there?

Intramuros is in Manila's historic core in the Philippines. Plaza Moriones, the venue named for the closing concert, is inside the Walled City.