THUA THIEN-HUE (VNS)— An International Choir Competition opened on Wednesday in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue to promote the use of music to shorten the distance between countries, strengthen exchange and call for peace in the world, said Art Director Ralf Eisenbeiss.

Mixed, male, female, children's and youth choirs will compete at the Green Hotel in Hue and stage public performances at the March 2 Park and Nghinh Luong Dinh Stage until tomorrow.

The competition is being jointly organised by the provincial People's Committee and the German-based organisation Interkultur. A total of 14 troupes from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea and Viet Nam take part in the event.

The first international choral competition in the country was held in the central port town of Hoi An last year.

Interkultur has delegate members from more than 90 countries. Its flagship event is the World Choir Games, which takes place every two years in different partner cities around the world.-VNS