The countdown to this year's Cornwall International Male Voice Choral Festival has begun, with the six-day programme of events now finalised and confirmation that it will be a record-breaker on all fronts.

A spectacular array of statistics reinforces the biennial event's status as the biggest of its kind in Europe and probably the world.

The line-up for the biennial festival on May 2-7 - majoring on The Hall For Cornwall but now with 30 venues across Cornwall - will feature almost 3,000 singers in 60 choirs from 13 countries, attracting an anticipated aggregate audience of around 30,000.

Because of its rapid expansion, expenditure on the festival has increased to £120,000 for the 2007 event.

"Far from peaking second time round, the event has continued to show a remarkable growth in popularity, to such an extent that we are already having to put off additional choirs until 2009," said festival artistic director Dr Roy Wales.