Hand in Hand Asia Inclusive Choral Festival is an international choral festival that brings together choirs from LGBTQ+ communities and their allies across Asia.

The festival has its roots in Proud Voices Asia, an LGBTQ+ choral network in Asia founded in 2011. Today, more than 30 choirs from 16 regions across Asia and its surrounding areas are part of this network, continuing to learn from one another, support one another, and celebrate diversity through music.

The festival was born from this network in Taipei in 2015. Since then, it has continued to grow around the idea of bringing people hand in hand through music — connecting beyond differences in borders, cultures, languages, and diverse backgrounds.

Over the years, the baton has been passed from Taipei to Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Through song, the festival has continued to grow as a place where friendships are nurtured, diversity is celebrated, and personal stories are shared.

In 2028, that baton will be passed to Fukuoka.

It will be the first time in nine years that Hand in Hand is held in Japan, since the Tokyo edition in 2019.

From Fukuoka, a city long known as a gateway to Asia and a place where people and cultures have come together, we extend this message to all of you:

“Welcome back. And welcome, for the first time.”

To the friends we reunited with in Tokyo.
To the friends we newly connected with in Singapore.
And to everyone who will join the circle of Hand in Hand for the very first time.

Fukuoka warmly welcomes you as a place of reunion and new encounters.

In recent years, the call for marriage equality has continued to grow across Japan. High courts throughout the country have issued a series of rulings pointing to constitutional concerns with the current system, which excludes same-sex couples from marriage. Among them, the Fukuoka High Court delivered an important judgment that also referred to the right to pursue happiness, offering a message of hope to many people.

Hand in Hand is more than a choral festival.

It is a place for people who respect diversity, embrace each person’s differences, and believe in a future where everyone can live as their authentic selves.

Voices in song transcend words.
Voices in song cross borders.
Voices in song connect one person to another.

In Fukuoka, in 2028.

Let us take each other’s hands once again and, together with our friends across Asia, weave a new chapter of history.

From here in Fukuoka, together with our friends across Asia, we will carry a harmony of hope into the future.

Now, let us take each other’s hands once more.