The Third China International Competition for Singers, will be held in Ningbo, coastal city of east China's Zhejiang Province, sources with the Ministry of Culture (MOC) said on Tuesday.

Pu Tong, a senior official with the MOC said the competition will have a jury made up of well-known educators and singers from Russia, Italy, Finland, Austria, France, Ukraine and the United States. Guo Shuzhen, a well-known teacher at China's Central Conservatory of Music, will chair the jury committee.

According to Pu, the competition will proceed in three rounds, giving awards to four male and four female singers gradually. Two special awards will be given for excellent performance of Chinese songs, one of which will go to a foreign, non-native Chinese speaker.

The competition's top prize will be a record US$16,000, Pu said, adding that each candidate will also receive a travel subsidy ranging US$200 - 400.

Ningbo Vice-Mayor Cheng Yuechong told Xinhua that a concert hall covering 2,700 square meters with best sound equipment has been prepared for the competition. The organizer has invited performers from 71 countries and regions, as well as 83 musical institutes and groups.

The competition was initiated in 2000 as a national artistic competition hosted by the MOC.
 
(Xinhua News Agency April 5, 2005)