// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Festival headlined by Andrea Bocelli scraps choirs fee after backlash
Andrea Bocelli is set to return to Wales for the first time since 2005
Organisers of the Land of Song Festival have announced they are scrapping a controversial £42 charge per choir member.
The "cheeky" fee prompted some choirs to pull out of the event after realising they would be charged thousands of pounds to take part.
In a social media post, it was confirmed the fee had been scrapped, and those entering were only required to pay the flat fee of £150 per choir.
The two-day festival is set to take place in May 2027, with Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli featuring on the Saturday, marking the first time he has played in Wales for 22 years.
Several conductors threatened not to take part when the festival's pricing was revealed in September.
About 40 choirs or singing groups took to social media to say they would refuse to take part in the event because of the cost.
It led to concerns about the festival's viability, with a member of the Glynneath Male Voice Choir suggesting there was a "good possibility" it would not go ahead.
But, on the Land of Song Festival Facebook page, a message from the Côr World Choir & Young Voices CEO said they had "got something important wrong" with the individual chorister registration.
"An event celebrating the joy, community and inclusivity of singing should not create unnecessary barriers to taking part," the post read.