The 2017 Festival of Voices was launched on Wednesday and will this year feature hundreds of talented vocalists as they descend on the state. 

This year’s festival will kick off for a run of shows on the East Coast and then head to Hobart for more performances. 

In 2017, performers will include The Umbilical Brothers, Sarah Blasko, a capella group The Idea of North, and Toni Childs, as well as a large range of choirs, community sing-alongs, and pop-up performances. 

Now in its 13^th year, the annual festival will bring back popular events such as Voicebox at Hobart’s City Hall and the Big Sing Bonfire, which will now be bigger than ever before. 

A wide range of singing workshops will also be available in many genres for any budding singers, including pop, gospel, choral, and a capella. 

Regional locations such as Buckland, Bicheno and Coles Bay will become part of the festival as FoV Coastal brings world-class performers out of the cities. 

Festival executive director Peter Choraziak said this year’s festival would be very different to what Tasmanians had seen in the past. 

“It will be a lot bigger, it will be a lot more inclusive, there will be a lot more singers down here this time,” Mr Choraziak said. 

“The singing community will be bigger and a lot more major concerts.” 

Premier Will Hodgman said last year, the event attracted 30,000 visitors to the festival, with about half of those attendees visiting from interstate or overseas.

“Festival of Voices is another great event growing in appeal, attracting more people to Tasmania and invigorating our winter,” Mr Hodgman said. 

“This event has great potential for growth and organisers are focusing on the participatory choral elements that drive strong interstate visitation. 

“Congratulations to festival organisers on what is an exciting program of events and workshops.” 

The Festival of Voices will be held from June 30 until July 16 in different locations across Tasmania, tickets are on sale on the festival’s website from April 28.