voice strong chorus sings "Ode to Joy" from Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony as part of an annual sing-along event held in Tokyo, Japan.
Tenors, sopranos, altos and baritones singers aged four and into their nineties came from across Japan and foreign countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil, Nigeria and China to be part of the event. The choir included amateurs and professional opera singers.
The mega sing-along began in 1985 as a local event to revitalize downtown Tokyo.
(SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) KOZO WATANABE, 65-YEAR-OLD CHORUS MEMBER
"I had a blast! I'm a bass singer, but I'm standing next to a group of alto singers so I tried my best not to sing their part!"
(SOUNDBITE) (German) KERSTIN BEHNKE, GERMAN CONDUCTOR
"That is, of course, something really fantastic, exciting and new but on the other hand not all that different from when its only 200 people because you always have to open up to the people and try to get them to move along with you. I was quite surprised how well it worked with 5000 people."
