This Christmas, Heathrow is turning up the holiday cheer with a live choir in arrivals, to welcome passengers home for the holidays. Throughout December, the choir of over 20 singers will deck the arrivals halls of the four terminals with joyful carols, personalised greetings and multilingual merry messages.
Northants Sings Out choir, who made it to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this year, will fill Heathrow’s terminals with the sounds of the season. As well as classic carols and contemporary jingles, they will offer a global twist by singing holiday greetings in the languages of Heathrow’s most popular Christmas destinations – including Arabic, French, Mandarin, Turkish, Spanish and Gaelic.
The festivities began with a surprise performance in Terminal 5 yesterday, where the choir delighted waiting families and friends with cheerful songs including Jingle Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Silent Night and Oh Come All Ye Faithful. Providing a truly extraordinary experience, passengers also requested custom performances, making reunions even more magical with personalised greetings for arriving loved ones.
Over 500 of Heathrow’s ‘Here to Help’ team, and over 70 Heathrow Volunteers, will be on hand in the terminals this year, ready to help passengers on their festive journeys. They will be equipped with a multilingual guide on how to wish visitors “Happy Holidays” in different languages, to make every journey special.
This year Heathrow is expecting its busiest Christmas ever, with record-breaking days forecasted throughout December and a total of seven million passengers expected to pass through its doors. Last year, 141,000 passengers travelled through Heathrow on Christmas day; this year the airport expects to see an increase of 21 per cent to around 170,000 passengers on 25 December.
Heathrow is set to be the festive gateway to the world’s most exciting seasonal destinations. New York, Dubai, Dublin, Madrid and Delhi are expected to be the most popular December destinations, offering everything from dazzling festive lights and shopping sprees to cultural celebrations and warm winter getaways.
For those looking to visit a winter wonderland, travellers can fly from Heathrow to the heart of the Arctic Circle. Travellers could visit Kittilä to meet Father Christmas himself, or head to Tromsø to witness the Northern Lights. Passengers can also visit the enchanting Christmas markets of Nuremberg, a special November and December-only destination.
Lee Boyle, Head of Services at Heathrow, comments: “There’s nothing like that magic feeling of walking out of Heathrow arrivals, spotting your loved one and giving them a big hug – especially at Christmas when families and friends come together. We’re thrilled to have the Northants Sings Out choir bringing an extra touch of holiday spirit, spreading festive cheer and giving a warm, heartfelt welcome to travellers from around the world. Our goal is to make every Christmas journey memorable, and we hope our visitors feel the joy of the season from the moment they arrive.”
Gareth Fuller, Co-founder of the Northants Sings Out, comments: “We are so excited to bring the magic of Northants Sings Out to Heathrow this Christmas. Music has an incredible way of bringing people together, and our choir is passionate about spreading festive cheer to everyone we meet. Whether it’s through a timeless carol, a contemporary favourite, or a heartfelt greeting in someone’s native language, we aim to create moments that bring joy, warmth, and connection.”
Performing at Heathrow is such a unique and exciting opportunity for us. With people traveling from all over the world during one of the most meaningful times of the year, this collaboration gives us a chance to connect with people in a truly special way. Airports are a place of reunions, farewells, and anticipation, and we hope our music adds an extra touch of magic to those moments.”
The choir will be performing on various dates in December, including 9th and 18th December.
