Stadium Carol Singing in Wuppertal

What has long been part of the Advent season in many German cities celebrated an impressive premiere in Wuppertal on the 4th Sunday of Advent, 21 December 2025: the communal singing of Christmas carols at the Stadium am Zoo. Thousands of people came together to sing their way into Christmas – sending a strong message of community, solidarity and togetherness.

For the first time, the Protestant and Catholic churches in Wuppertal, Wuppertaler Sportverein (WSV) and the United Evangelical Mission (UEM) jointly extended the invitation. The stadium was transformed into one large choir – open to all generations and denominations.

An Idea with a History

The idea for a stadium carol singing event in Wuppertal first emerged in 2019, but could not be realised in the following years due to the coronavirus pandemic. From the beginning of 2025, a dedicated team of music and event professionals from the participating churches and organisations worked intensively on the preparations. The result was a professionally organised, atmospheric event that brought people together and left a lasting impression.

At the presentation of the project, Superintendent Ilka Federschmidt described the shared vision as follows:
“We hope to see full stands with a wide variety of people who enjoy singing and who, in doing so, set a sign for community and cohesion in our city. We want a genuine sense of ‘togetherness’ to emerge among a diverse mix of people of different ages, cultural and religious backgrounds – as colourful as our city itself.”
Christmas, she said, unites people much like football does. For many, it remains an important celebration even if they are not affiliated with a church. “It stands for family, friendship and, not least, peace.”

A Musical Mix for a Diverse City

The musical programme deliberately reflected the diversity of Wuppertal. Alongside traditional church carols such as “Macht hoch die Tür” and “O du fröhliche”, well-known international classics including “Jingle Bells” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” were sung.

The communal singing was accompanied and led by the children’s and youth choir of the Catholic Antonius parish in Barmen (Antoniusmusik), the gospel choir NewCityVoices from the Protestant congregation of Heckinghausen, and the lunch-break choir of the Wuppertal Institute. The choirs were conducted by Stefan Starnberger (Antoniusmusik) and Tine Hamburger (NewCityVoices & WI Choir).
Additional musical highlights were provided by the Oppaband, directed by Atti Reinhartz. Overall musical direction was in the hands of Florian Franke. The organisation team also included Jörg Spitzer, UEM Officer for International Church Music.

Singing for a Good Cause

The stadium carol singing was not only a musical experience but also a charity event. Each ticket included a 50-cent donation, which was shared equally between the Wuppertal foundation “Kindertal” and the United Evangelical Mission. Additional donations were also collected on site.

Through its share, the VEM supports the campaign “Einfach Kind sein” (“Simply Being a Child”) and programmes for children and young people in crisis situations in VEM regions in Africa, Asia and Germany, particularly in the areas of education, health and social participation. In this way, the stadium carol singing linked local community with global responsibility.

A Strong Sign for the Future

About 5,000 singing voices created true goosebump moments at Wuppertal’s Stadium am Zoo. The organisers are in no doubt: this premiere is not intended to be a one-off event. Instead, the stadium carol singing is set to become the start of a new Advent tradition in Wuppertal.

The United Evangelical Mission thanks all those involved, the contributors, partner organisations and, not least, the many people in the stands who demonstrated through their voices and their donations that:
music connects – and shared action can make the world a little brighter.

Impressions and highlights of the evening can be found here in the YouTube video.