Category: Francie

Kuba: If you don't sweat at least 2 liters a day, you're not enjoying southern France enough.

Mára: If your suitcase weighs more than it should, just take the batteries out of the scale.

Ráďa: survival kit, southern France version: sunscreen (50 SPF), unlimited supply of water, and at least a basic knowledge of French.

Maty: The only word you'll hear from a French person in English is "Elo."

Mr. Dos: If you want to survive and succeed in Provence, you need Sextet Plus, resistance to any temperature, Mrs. Dos and her excellent French, and also Madame de la Ville... otherwise, you really won't get anywhere 😀

Mrs. Dos: After lengthy preparations for the entire event, I stand and applaud proudly with the crowd around me. Yes, these wonderful guys, who are successful not only in competitions but also in subsequent performances, during which cameras click and loud applause always follows, are "ours." And I just quietly thank myself inside that I can be here and now with all of them...🍀

John: It would probably be a wonderful dream to walk the streets of France and be praised by people from all corners of the world, but that is exactly what we experienced, believe it or not, after our performance on the streets of Toulon with the Sextet – Uruguayans, Americans, French, Poles, people we knew and complete strangers spontaneously applauded us. Thank you, France, for the wonderful experiences.

Dejv: I learned to understand Polish in France.

Daniel: Being the best vocal ensemble in Europe is certainly not bad. Add to that the sea, the sun, and wonderful people, and you have a guaranteed recipe for happiness 😉

Luky: If you want to perform well, you need to add a couple of apples to your breakfast every morning and pour apple juice into your Evian bottle.

Katka: Five days full of music, sun, sea, and wonderful company of amazing guys. Their performances break down all barriers, and listeners leave with smiles and red palms from applauding. And the highlight of the trip? Boat as a public transport🛥️

In the morning, our choir leaders met with the jury, where they learned what to improve, and we rested in the meantime. At 1:10 p.m., the boat took us to the other side of Toulon, where we transferred to the church where the Grand Prix was taking place.

Afterwards, some went for a late lunch, while others sat and enjoyed the beautiful view of the sea before setting off to admire the city's beauty. We discovered, for example, a church with very specific long acoustics, where we naturally sang a few songs.

This was followed by a street concert and dinner in the park. This was accompanied by the establishment of friendships and the arrangement of various collaborations.

Then the results were announced and the winning bands performed. Because it took so long, we missed the last bus. Fortunately, the Croatian girls gave us a ride to the hotel, for which we are very grateful.

After a good breakfast we decided to spend the morning at the sea. The route itself was not long, but because the path was lined with various games which we tried, it was quite long. As a result, we were all warmed up and so were happy to cool off in the waves of the Mediterranean.

For lunch, most had lasagna and others had pizza. Both were very good.

After a rest, some went to make contacts with the Polish choir and the rest went to explore the beauty of Toulon. Our first steps led to the local cathedral, which had excellent acoustics. We then had ice cream of various flavours, such as lavender. Our next steps also led to the church, where we sang Otche Nash. We then moved on to the National Naval Museum. Here we were pleasantly surprised by the free admission. And so we had a nice detailed look at the whole museum. On the way back some of us had a cup of coffee and others got their feet wet in the waters of the local harbour. On the way we came across a pastry shop where every product was a work of art.

A small group went back to the beach in the evening to watch the sunset. Unfortunately, we missed it, but the last rays of the sun beautifully illuminated the clouds above the horizon. We also enjoyed the breakwater and even rinsed our feet in the sea.

Tomorrow we will listen to the Grand Prix, enjoy a short performance, and have dinner provided by the organizer. We can't wait to hear the beautiful music performed by the winning ensembles.

In the morning we were welcomed at the IBIS hotel with a very good and nutritious breakfast, which we enjoyed very much. Then followed the preparation for the afternoon competition.

After lunch, we took a boat, which by the way belongs to Toulon's public transport, to the casino and from there to the local church where the school was located. There we waited for the start of the competition.

Our turn came around five. Then we moved straight to a local park for a sound check.

At 19:00 we were waiting for the announcement of the results of our category Vocal Groups. The chairman of the jury welcomed us and started to announce the results. It started from 8th place. Uruguay. Switzerland. Italy. USA. Our hearts leapt for joy because it meant we were in the top half. France. Croatia! Our hearts were racing. That means we're first or second. There was a moment of suspense and... Sextet+. 

Only the Indonesians were ahead of us. And that means we are the best in Europe and the second best in the whole world in this category! 

We had to celebrate! And how else but with a good dinner, which each group had a little different.

The final concert followed. Here we heard choirs from different parts of the world, for example from China. Personally, we felt that we received the biggest and strongest applause.

Then it was just a transfer to the hotel and a well-deserved sleep after such a hard day.

Tomorrow, i.e. on Saturday, we will have a free day, so we will probably enjoy the beauty of the city and the sea, in which we will definitely swim.

We met at the Václav Havel airport before 12 o'clock and started our journey to France. The journey with the Ryanair plane went well, although we arrived in France with a slight delay. 

Then we moved to the hotel, where we changed into blue polo shirts and went to the opening ceremony. Here we were greeted by a ballet performance, a concert by an amateur group and the judges were introduced to us. Towards the end we were caught in a small shower and then we went off to the hotel, during which some of us bought an extra large croissant.

We have a competition performance tomorrow, so wish us luck.