We are thrilled to be sharing the video of hundreds of children singing and performing the Festival Song ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams, a highlight of this year’s Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages, which is co-ordinated by International Newcastle.
78 schools, community groups and choirs signed up to take part in the Festival Song and 5,884 children and young people got involved across the region. Children were encouraged to sing in different languages, sign (BSL), play instruments and perform the song, sharing their videos.
Performances of children and young people from 36 schools and groups can be seen in the video celebration, compiled by Gareth Miller from Music Partnership North Newcastle, who along with Georgina Biddle, led this Festival project.
Click here or on the image to watch children and young people performing ‘Happy’ in different languages.
This is our third year of working with the North East Festival of Languages and once again we were amazed with the quality of performances from schools and education settings all across the North East.
It’s a fantastic way to celebrate the diversity of languages and cultures amongst our young people, bringing them together in this joyful performance. We hope you enjoy watching the singing, signing, dancing and playing!”
Gareth Miller, Team Coordinator, Music Partnership North Newcastle
It is wonderful to see the ‘Happy’ North East video. The performances of children and young people across the region embody the spirit of the Festival, to embrace, enjoy and celebrate different languages and cultures and to spread positivity.
Thank you to everyone who got involved this year and to Music Partnership North for making this happen.
Declan Baharini, CEO of International Newcastle and Festival Co-ordinator
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to all the schools and groups who participated this year and particular thanks go to the staff and children who submitted videos to be part of the regional celebration performance, listed below:
Thanks also go to:
- Our project lead partners, Gareth Miller and Georgina Biddle at Music Partnership North Newcastle for their incredible work in delivering this joyous Festival project
- The other regional music services and hubs who provided support to schools and groups in their areas
- Declan Baharini at International Newcastle and Sarah Edgar at Newcastle City Council (School Effectiveness) for being part of the Festival song steering group
- All those people who provided translations and performances of the song in different languages (community members, university staff and students) and to Natalie Davies for the BSL version of the song
- Charanga, who provided access to the song resources and hosted our translations of the song, making these available to schools and groups
