'Choir helped me heal after sister's death'

A singer taking part in Hull's International Choir Competition this weekend has said being in a choir helped her to "heal" following the death of her sister.

Elli Wood lost her sister to cancer in 2017 and joined a choir to try and "find herself again".

Her choir, All For One, is taking part in the competition, taking place across the city until Monday.

The contest is in its second year and will include a gala concert at Hull Minster later.

Speaking to the BBC's One Show, Ms Wood said her sister Jenny loved karaoke and supported her in everything she did. She said her love for singing had "died" with her sister.

"I turned 40, and I thought, I need to find me again, and I joined All For One choir," she said.

All For One has 450 singers across choirs in Hull, Beverley, Cleethorpes, Market Weighton and Driffield. More than 220 are taking part in the competition.

"Having the friendships and the support from everybody around you makes you feel welcome. It makes you feel loved. It makes you feel complete," she said.

"Being in the choir has definitely helped to heal me. I often think that it saved me when I didn't even know that I needed saving."

The competition's artistic director, Mat Wright, said the event was a showcase for choirs from all over the world.

"We are thrilled to be welcoming 10 different countries, 24 choirs to this wonderful historic city," he said.

"It's a special opportunity for choirs from all different levels of experience, and crucially, different backgrounds and cultures, to compete against one another, but also to share in the joy of singing and connect in a really, really beautiful way."

Ms Wood said she was very excited to take part: "There's about 200 people in the choir, and it's just such an amazing feeling standing on that stage and being able to perform."

There are free performances in Trinity Market, Hull Paragon Interchange and the ground floor of Princes Quay over the bank holiday weekend.

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