Choral festival clashed with Ed Sheeran gigs

The organisers of the Cork International Choral Festival say it has suffered “reputational damage”, after they rescheduled it to avoid clashing with Ed Sheeran’s gigs.

The music event, founded in 1954, is the city’s longest-running festival and is one of the top-five choral festivals in Europe.

Worth €11.8m to the local economy, it has been staged in the three-day run-up to — and across — the May Bank Holiday weekend since 1994.