Choir brings holiday spirit to kiwis who spend Christmas in quarantine

The carols of a community choir who sang outside an Auckland quarantine hotel on Christmas Eve were moved to tears by the response from those inside the hotel.

About 50 Christmas carols by Everybody Sings, a collective of seven choirs, sang in front of the Pullman Hotel in Auckland.

Music director Kate Bell said some members of the group “cried a lot” when they saw how much the audience appreciated the music.

“I don’t think we were prepared for how incredibly moving it was going to be. We could see people in their rooms with the windows open. They greeted us, blew kisses and held up signs that said ‘thank you.’ and Merry Christmas’ “.

Around 50 people from six choirs across Auckland braved the downpours to bring the Christmas spirit to those trapped in quarantine.

“Being in a situation where they couldn’t be with their loved ones other than whoever was in that room, I guess it must have felt quite isolated to people.”

The group sang for more than an hour, including a selection of waiata, to help the Kiwis feel at home.

The group often performs on the streets and in shopping malls two weeks before Christmas, raising money for the desperately needy Auckland city mission.

This year, the group has raised more than $ 25,000 for charity.

The Pullman hosted the choir for their guests and Bell said the hotel donated to the Auckland City Mission.

There are 5,700 people who will be spending Christmas Day in the 32 isolation or quarantine facilities run in New Zealand, and some of them will still be in their hotel rooms by New Year’s Eve.

Medical staff and Defense Forces workers held a festive display at the Sudima Hotel in Rotorua and Naumi Auckland Airport said it had planned a festive party for guests.

Those at the Auckland Airport hotel will enjoy a Christmas tray of cold cuts for breakfast and Christmas mince pies for morning tea, followed by Champagne Ham for lunch and Truffle Butter Roast Lamb for lunch. Dinner.