Wuppertal Stadium Christmas Carol Sing

A Stadium Becomes a Christmas Church

There are dates in the Wuppertal calendar that are non-negotiable: the 4th of Advent has belonged to the Wuppertal Stadium Christmas Carol Sing for years. On December 20, 2026, around 9,000 people will flock to the Stadion am Zoo — the home ground of Wuppertaler SV — to sing Christmas carols together. The format has evolved from its first edition into an interregional phenomenon; with 9,000 participants, the Stadium Christmas Carol Sing is one of the largest communal Christmas sing-alongs in Germany.

Program — Market, Devotion, Singing

• 3:00 PM — Christmas market opens around the stadium: mulled wine, waffles, bratwurst, gingerbread — a one-and-a-half-hour prelude. Stalls from participating churches, donation stands for supported projects
• 4:30 PM — Start of the Christmas Carol Sing: Approximately 90 minutes of communal singing. The Antoniusmusik Choir and the New City Voices Gospel Ensemble lead the voices, the audience sings from songbooks distributed at the entrance
• In between — Christmas story and 90-second sermon: two short spiritual interludes that give the event its meaning — without delving into long liturgies
• Approx. 6:00 PM — Conclusion with the classic 'Silent Night, Holy Night' — sung by 9,000 voices in the open stadium bowl

The Musical Repertoire

The approximately 15 songs mix tradition and modernity: 'Macht hoch die Tür', 'O du fröhliche', 'Tochter Zion' on the traditional side, 'Last Christmas', 'Driving Home for Christmas', 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' as popular classics. This makes the singing evening accessible to all generations — and all denominations and religious affiliations.

Charitable Commitment

Each ticket sold includes a €1 donation share for two international aid projects, which the United Evangelical Mission (VEM) and the Catholic City Deanery of Wuppertal jointly select annually. Thus, the approximately €9,000 in donations are an integral part of the concept — Christmas as a tangible demonstration of solidarity.

Organizers — An Ecumenical Partnership

The Stadium Christmas Carol Sing is a unique ecumenical format: co-organizers are the Wuppertaler SV (provides the stadium), the Evangelical Church District of Wuppertal, the United Evangelical Mission, the Catholic City Church of Wuppertal, and the Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal. This partnership allows a religiously themed format to be brought into a secular venue (the football stadium) — low-threshold, intergenerational, rooted in the entire city.

Stadion am Zoo — The Special Venue

The Stadion am Zoo is located in the Wuppertal district of Sonnborn, directly next to the Wuppertal Zoo, and has been the home ground of Wuppertaler SV (WSV) since 1924. With its open grandstand structure and hilly location in the valley, it offers astonishing acoustics for mass singing — and in December, the right melancholic atmosphere that Christmas carols require.