HUNDREDS of singers are being sought to take part in the opening of the 2016 Salisbury International Arts Festival.

The singers, who need to be 18-years-old or over, will play a pivotal role in the opening ceremony for the event.

Next year's festival looks south to New Zealand, welcoming the arts and artists of the nation to the city.

An introductory workshop is being held on January 20 at Sarum Academy, starting at 7pm.

"You do not need to be able to read music and no previous experience is necessary," said a spokesman for Salisbury International Arts Festival.

"Representing Salisbury, and under the direction of music director Howard Moody, our festival chorus will breathe new life into the music of our ancestors, to welcome a group of New Zealand artists who will in turn introduce us to their own culture. And to close the ceremony we are commissioning a new Maori waiata (or song) that everyone will sing, continuing a long and beautiful vocal tradition, resonating throughout the fortnight to follow."

This year's festival saw scores of singers fill the corners of the city - taking over Market place and the surrounding streets.

They performed a collection of market songs, rounds, choruses and cries, which brought together seven centuries of history to life and traced the development of Salisbury as a market town.

Audiences were able to follow the choirs, who were positioned in the four corners around Market Place, before they come together for a a grand finale in the centre of Market Place.

The 2016 festival will launch with the opening ceremony on May 27 in Cathedral Close.

Anyone interested in attending the introductory workshop can register in advance by contacting Sue Kent at sue@salisburyfestival.co.uk or call 01722 332241.

For more information about the festival go to salisburyfestival.co.uk