Festival Song

Who is it for?

Children and young people (aged 7-18) in the North East of England.

We can only accept entries from schools or groups in the 12 local authority areas in the North-East of England: Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, Durham, Darlington, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton and Hartlepool, who are:

• at primary school
• at secondary school, sixth form or college
• learning outside mainstream school

Schools and groups in other countries with links to schools and groups in the North East are also welcome to participate and the resources can be shared with them through their partners in the North East.

When will it happen?

• Registration opens in November and the deadline to register is 13th February to receive links and resources.
• Take part from 6th January. Submissions of performances of the song can be sent in any time after 6th January until 5pm on 31st March 2026,
• The performances will be compiled into a Festival video and shared before the end of the school term to celebrate this year’s Festival.

What is the activity?

We invite you to join our virtual performance of our Festival Song, ‘Love is the only River”. This will be a centrepiece of the Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages 2026 and we would like as many schools, choirs, orchestras and community groups to join in as possible.

The Festival is a celebration of the diverse languages, cultures and communities in the region and our connections to the world. We encourage children and young people to join in this song by singing, signing and/or playing. instruments and filming their performances. For those singing, the song can be sung in English or any other language and/or performed in British Sign Language (BSL). We have provided a range of translations and pronunciation guides in different languages.

Children and young people can sing all or part of the song and get involved singing in their home/community languages with their own translations.

For those with international schools links, you may wish to sing, play or perform the song with your partners overseas and in their spoken or signed language.

Videos of the performances will be submitted by the 31st March and compiled into a video of the song being sung, signed and played by children and young people across the region and their international partners.

Be inspired by performances by the region’s children and young people in the compilation videos of the 2022 Festival Song: I am a small part of the world. the 2023 Festival song: Just One World, the 2024 Festival Song: Happy and the 2025 Festival Song: What a Wonderful World

Song resources

The song resources are available from Music Partnership North Newcastle and can be accessed by a weblink, sent after registration. These will include:

• musical arrangements for instrumental parts (alto sax, guitar, piano, recorder, trumpet and violin) but you are free to use other instruments to play the song
• vocal parts (full score, lyrics, vocal melody and harmony and piano) and recordings of the backing track with and without vocal guide, as well as with harmony and melody with backing
• Guidance on how to film your performance for the best results
• Different Language Versions: People from our diverse linguistic communities have helped us provide translations in different languages and sing versions of the songs for children to learn. The song is available in English, British Sign Language and a wide range of foreign languages, which all have the English text, translation and a pronunciation guide. We have recorded as many videos as possible of people singing these foreign language versions with the words on screen, for ease of use in classrooms and communities.

How do I get involved?

• Registration is open from November 2025. We are asking that schools and groups register by by 13^th February 2026, so that we know you are participating, we can send links and updates and can link you to support provided by local Music Services or Music Education Hubs across the region.
• Click here to register Once registered, you will receive a link to the song resources
• Submit your filmed entries by before the deadline of 5pm on 31st March 2026, in accordance with the guidance that is provided.
• North East Music Hub includes Durham Music Service (Durham and Darlington, Gateshead Music Service, Newcastle Music Service, North Tyneside Music, Northumberland Music, Music Connects Sunderland, South Tyneside Council, Tees Valley Music Hub covers Tees Valley.  
• You will have access to set of resources including musical arrangements for instrumental and voice parts and recordings, translations and videos different languages, as well as guidance on filming your performances to get the best results.
• Support will be provided for those taking part by the Music Education Hubs and Music Services in your part of the North East.
• If you have any questions, contact Georgina Biddle, Newcastle Music Service by email: georgina.biddle@newcastle.gov.uk

Further information and links

Visit North East Music Hub’s website here

Follow North East Music Hub on social media: facebook | instagram

Visit Newcastle Music Service’s website here

Follow Newcastle Music Service on social media: facebook | instagram | X | youtube

This project has been developed specifically for Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages. There are other multilingual creative projects running from January to 31st March which schools, community schools and groups can participate in:

• Together we fly! World Friendship art project (5-18 year-olds). Schools, community schools and colleges can create and submit colourful origami butterflies with drawings and/or messages of friendship written in different languages as part of a celebratory public art installation in Newcastle Civic Centre.
• Mother Tongue Other Tongue (7-18 year-olds) children’s writing activity, expressing themselves by reproducing a poem in their own language or writing a piece in a language they are learning. Certificates for entries, which will also be part of a digital anthology.
• Language Calligrams Celebration (7-9 and 9-11 year-olds) Create calligrams in any language (other than English) based on words children already know. School certificates for all and selected entries included in an ebook.
• World Recipe Book: exploring food and cultural heritage NE schools, youth and community groups: Share recipes in languages (other than English) and why these are important to different cultures. Digital recipe book will include selected entries.

Who is organising this?

Newcastle Music Service is part of North East Music Hub and Newcastle City Council’s Schools’ Educational Development and Inclusion Team. They have worked collaboratively with International Newcastle and the other Music Education Hubs and Music Services in the region to develop and roll out this exciting and creative project.

We are grateful to people from our diverse language communities who have provided translations and sung versions of the song for sharing.

• Contact: Georgina Biddle, Senior Specialist Music Service
• Email: georgina.biddle@newcastle.gov.uk

The activity has been developed and is being delivered in partnership with: