Children in Need Choir

In 2011,^[3] the Children in Need Choir started by Gareth Malone featured the contestants on The Big Performance Series 2. They sang "Keep Holding On" by Avril Lavigne. The choirs sang at:

• London at BBC Television Centre in the BBC London region
• Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay^[4] for BBC Scotland
• Kent at Bluewater^[5] for BBC South East
• Weston-super-Mare at Grand Pier^[6] for BBC West
• Salford at MediaCityUK^[7] for BBC North West
• Cornwall at Eden Project^[8] for BBC South West
• Cardiff at Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama^[9] for BBC Wales
• Pudsey in the Leisure Centre car park^[10] for BBC Yorkshire
• Birmingham at Aston Hall^[11] for BBC West Midlands
• Belfast at W5 museum^[12] for BBC Northern Ireland
• Hull at Hull Truck Theatre^[13] for BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
• Hampshire at The National Motor Museum^[14] for BBC South
• Colchester at Charter Hall^[15] for BBC East
• County Durham at Beamish Museum, County Durham^[16] for BBC North East and Cumbria
• Loughborough at Loughborough University^[17] for BBC East Midlands

Hull, Hampshire, Colchester, County Durham and Loughborough weren't included in the nationwide link up performance and were instead included in the highlights programme.

In 2012,^[18] the choir was led by Aled Jones and featured over 2000 singers in 15 locations. They sang "Bridge over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel.

The choirs were singing at:

• London at BBC Television Centre in the BBC London region
• Aberdeen at The Beach Ballroom^[2] for BBC Scotland
• Northumberland at The Alnwick Garden^[2] for BBC North East and Cumbria
• Swindon at STEAM: Museum of the Great Western Railway^[2] for BBC West
• Birmingham at The Mailbox^[2] for BBC West Midlands
• Belfast at Broadcasting House^[19] for BBC Northern Ireland
• East Sussex at Glyndebourne^[2] for BBC South East
• Cardiff at BBC Hoddinott Hall^[20] for BBC Wales
• Scunthorpe at Baths Hall^[2] for BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
• Winchester at INTECH^[2] for BBC South
• Cambridge at West Road Concert Hall, University of Cambridge^[2] for BBC East
• Exeter at The Forum, University of Exeter^[2] for BBC South West
• Leicestershire at Conkers Discovery Centre, National Forest^[2] for BBC East Midlands
• Rotherham at Magna Science Adventure Centre^[2] for BBC Yorkshire
• Salford at MediaCityUK^[2] for BBC North West

Cambridge, Exeter, Leicestershire, Rotherham and Salford weren't included in the nationwide link up performance and were instead included in the highlights programme.

In 2013, the main studio moved to Elstree Studios in Borehamwood just outside of London, the performance featured only 10 choirs and 1624 children, instead of all of the events having choirs and some not being included it was decided those regions would just not have choirs and this idea had continued.

The choirs sang "Sing" from Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Concert at:

• Elstree at Elstree Studios in the BBC London region
• Bath at The Roman Baths^[21] for BBC West
• Belfast at BBC Blackstaff House^[22] for BBC Northern Ireland
• Manchester at Z-Arts^[23] for BBC North West
• Falmouth at National Maritime Museum Cornwall^[24] for BBC South West
• Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay^[25] for BBC Scotland
• Birmingham at The Library of Birmingham^[26] for BBC West Midlands
• Kettering at Wicksteed Park^[27] for BBC East
• Merthyr Tydfil at The college^[28] for BBC Wales
• Hexham at Hexham Trinity Methodist Church for BBC North East and Cumbria

In 2014,^[29] the choir had a similar format to 2013 with 10 locations and 1685 and they sang "I'll Stand by You" by The Pretenders.

The choirs sang from:

• Elstree at Elstree Studios in the BBC London region
• Bradford at Bradford College for BBC Yorkshire
• Norwich at The Millennium Library at The Forum^[30] for BBC East
• Newport at The Newport Centre^[31] for BBC Wales
• Birmingham at Thinktank for BBC West Midlands
• Belfast at BBC Blackstaff House^[32] for BBC Northern Ireland
• Plymouth at Plymouth Life Centre for BBC South West
• Blackpool at Blackpool Tower Circus for BBC North West
• Chatham at Chatham Historic Dockyard for BBC South East
• Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay for BBC Scotland

In 2015, there were 1661 children in 10 locations and the choir sang "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus.

The choirs sang from:

• Elstree at Elstree Studios in the BBC London region
• Gloucester at Gloucester Cathedral for BBC West^[33]
• Belfast at BBC Blackstaff House for BBC Northern Ireland^[34]
• Keswick at The Rawnsley Centre for BBC North East and Cumbria
• Great Yarmouth at The Hippodrome for BBC East^[35]
• Llandudno at Venue Cymru for BBC Wales^[36]
• Jersey at Fort Regent for BBC South West^[37]
• Blackpool at Blackpool Tower Circus for BBC North West
• Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay for BBC Scotland^[38]
• Arundel at Arundel Castle for BBC South^[39]

In 2016, they had 1580 children in nine choirs and they sang "Lean on Me" by Bill Withers.

The Choirs sang at:

• Elstree at Elstree Studios^[40] in the BBC London region
• Liverpool at Sefton Park^[40] for BBC North West
• Swansea at Swansea University^[40] for BBC Wales
• Bridlington at Bridlington Spa^[40] for BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
• Dudley at The Black Country Living Museum^[40] for BBC West Midlands
• Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay^[40] for BBC Scotland
• Milton Keynes at Stadium MK^[40] for BBC East
• Salisbury at Salisbury Arts Centre^[40] for BBC South
• Belfast at Titanic^[40] for BBC Northern Ireland

In 2017, there were 1788 children in 10 choirs and they sang "Over the Rainbow" by Judy Garland.

The choirs sang from:

• Elstree at Elstree Studios in the BBC London region^[41]
• Manchester at The Science and Industry Museum for BBC North West^[41]
• Bristol at Aerospace for BBC West^[41]
• Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay for BBC Scotland^[41]
• Newcastle at The Discovery Museum for BBC North East and Cumbria^[41]
• Newbury at Brockhurst and Marlston House School for BBC South^[41]
• Belfast at The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum for BBC Northern Ireland^[41]
• Halifax at The Piece Hall for BBC Yorkshire^[41]
• Cardiff at The Broadcasting House for BBC Wales^[41]
• Nottingham at The Albert Hall for BBC East Midlands^[41]

In 2018, the 1466 children in nine choirs sang "A Million Dreams" from The Greatest Showman.

The choirs sang from:

• Elstree at Elstree Studios^[42] in the BBC London region
• Southampton at King Edward VI School^[42] for BBC South
• St Ives at Tate^[42] for BBC South West
• Belfast at The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum^[42] for BBC Northern Ireland
• Chester at Storyhouse^[42] for BBC North West
• Lincoln at The New Theatre Royal^[42] for BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
• Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay^[42] for BBC Scotland
• Cardiff at The Broadcasting House^[42] for BBC Wales
• Wolverhampton at The Grand Theatre for BBC West Midlands

In 2019, there were nine choirs and 1399 children and they sang "True Colours" by Cyndi Lauper.

The choirs sang from:

• Elstree at Elstree Studios^[43] in the BBC London region
• Hartlepool at The Town Hall Theatre^[43] for BBC North East and Cumbria
• Belfast at W5 museum^[43] for BBC Northern Ireland
• Maidstone at Allington Castle^[43] for BBC South East
• The Wirral at The Lady Lever Art Gallery^[43] for BBC North West
• Cardiff at The Broadcasting House^[43] for BBC Wales
• Mountsorrel at The Mountsorrel Memorial Centre for BBC East Midlands
• Larkhill at St Michael's CE Primary School^[43] for BBC West
• Glasgow at BBC Pacific Quay^[43] for BBC Scotland

In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the choir was altered to fit guidelines: choirs in each location were reduced to around 4–5 singers and it was pre-recorded, except for the studio choir, which had 12 members and were live on the night. Instead of an instrumental section, it went to a montage of all the choirs together before returning to showing the locations as usual. Instead of Museums or Theatres more of the locations were landmarks with their on screen labels being the landmark name instead of just the city/ town. It was also the last year to be in Elstree Studios. They sang "Fix You" by Coldplay.

The singers sang from:

• Elstree at Elstree Studios in the BBC London region
• The Brontë Parsonage, West Yorkshire for BBC Yorkshire
• The National Maritime Museum, Falmouth for BBC South West
• Pacific Quay, Glasgow for BBC Scotland
• Coventry Cathedral^[44] for BBC West Midlands
• Stonehenge, Wiltshire for BBC South
• The Harmonies of Hope Choir – A Choir of children who have had kidney transplants. The choir is funded by Children in Need and they sang from their homes across London and The South East and were edited together by the BBC Production Team.
• Ely Cathedral for BBC East
• Portmeirion for BBC Wales^[45]
• Cardiff Castle for BBC Wales^[45]
• Titanic Belfast^[46] for BBC Northern Ireland

In 2021 the choir followed a similar format to 2020: most locations have 4–6 singers and 12 in the live studio choir. However, it did include the instrumental section. This was the first year to use Salford for the Main Studio. They sang "Rise Up" by Andra Day. The on-screen name labels followed the same format as 2020.

The singers sang at:

• MediaCityUK, Salford in the BBC North West region
• Stirling Castle for BBC Scotland
• Scarborough Spa for BBC Yorkshire
• Housesteads, Hadrian's Wall for BBC North East and Cumbria
• Smeaton's Tower, Plymouth for BBC South West
• Mumbles Pier for BBC Wales
• The Abbey Pumping Station in Leicester for BBC East Midlands
• Beaumaris Castle for BBC Wales
• The Vision Signing Choir, a signing choir based in Kent signed the song from their homes and were edited together by the Production Team for BBC South East
• The Cutty Sark, London for BBC London
• The Giant's Causeway for BBC Northern Ireland

In 2022 the choir was again pre-recorded with the studio choir live. The number of singers was upped to around 20 per location and. This year was the first year not to start and end with the studio choir's performance instead starting with a montage of the children preparing for singing and all of the choirs were shown before the instrumental with only the Studio and a montage of all the choirs shown after. They sang "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane.

The choirs were:

• Framlingham Castle, Suffolk for BBC East
• Aberystwyth at The National Library of Wales for BBC Wales
• The Laxey Wheel on The Isle of Man for BBC North West
• Bristol at Purdown Open Space for BBC West
• The Kelpies at Falkirk for BBC Scotland
• Hull Marina for BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
• MediaCity UK in Salford in the BBC North West region
• Blists Hill Victorian Town in Telford for BBC West Midlands
• The Tropical Ravine in Belfast for BBC Northern Ireland

The choirs sang from:

• Slough at The Old Horlicks Factory for BBC South
• Rotherham at Wentworth Woodhouse for BBC Yorkshire
• Salford at MediaCityUK in the BBC North West region
• Sunderland at Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens for BBC North East and Cumbria
• Edinburgh at Port Edgar for BBC Scotland
• Cardiff from outside The Senedd building for BBC Wales
• Northampton at The Holy Sepulchre Church for BBC East
• Guernsey at Castle Cornet for BBC South West
• Antrim at Antrim Castle Gardens for BBC Northern Ireland

The studio choirs are made of children from the region they are in but created by the main studio team not the region's team.

In 2024 the choirs sang "Never Forget" by Take That. This year instead of having choirs in various locations around the country they decided instead to invite 19 children from each of the 15 BBC Regions who have been helped by Children in Need projects. They were joined onstage by other children from the Hallé Youth Choir.^[47]

In 2025 the format was the same as 2024. 16 children, all of whom have been helped by Children in Need, representing the 15 BBC regions were joined on stage by Salford Cathedral Children’s Choir to sing "Yellow" by Coldplay.

• Children in Need at IMDb