Scotland flying solo at Eurovision competition

The singing troupe, aptly named Alba, will compete at the Eurovision Choir contest in Gothenburg on the 3rd August.

BBC weather presenter Joy Dunlop will lead the 35-strong group, who will be singing a specially arranged Gaelic song with both traditional and modern influences.

The choir, which features singers from all over Scotland, will compete against Europe’s best choirs from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Latvia, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Wales and returning champions Slovenia.

Blending spectacular staging and in front of a live stadium audience, Eurovision Choir will be broadcast to millions across the globe, taking viewers on a journey of musical traditional and cultures from across Europe in search of the continent’s pre-eminent vocal group.

Joy says: “I am so proud to conduct Scotland’s debut entry at Eurovision, and I’m so pleased that the language and music of Gaelic will be heard by millions across the world.”

In preparation for the event, Joy has been on a journey around Europe getting ready for the show, even going to the hugely popular Eurovision Song Contest in Israel in May.

She was followed by a camera crew, who captured her journey to the competition.

Eurovision Choir will be hosted by the BBC’s Petroc Trelawny and SVT’s Ella Petterson, and will be broadcast live on BBC ALBA at 7.30pm on 3 August.

The documentary following Joy on her Eurovision journey will air on Thursday, 1 August at 8.30pm on BBC ALBA.