Updated Oct. 12, 2026
The 22nd International Harp Contest in Israel has restructured its required repertoire and competition process into three stages, with the first stage taking place by video recording and the semifinal and final stages to be held January 15–22, 2027, in Tel Aviv. Please see Harp Column’s updated repertoire post for more details.
Updated Sept. 18, 2025
The 22nd International Harp Contest has been rescheduled for January 11–21, 2027. The required repertoire for September 2024 has not changed and remains valid for the new dates. The 22nd competition is open to harpists of all nationalities who were not more than 36 years of age by Aug. 13, 2024.
Original post as of Aug. 19, 2025
The International Harp Contest in Israel has postponed its 22nd competition, which was scheduled to take place December 1–11, 2025, in Jerusalem. “We have no intention to cancel the Contest,” chairperson Colette Avital says, addressing online reports to the contrary. “However, due to concerns resulting from the current security situation in Israel, some of the potential candidates did not register in time, so sadly we decided to postpone the Contest to better times.”
Avital said that no new date has been set, but the organizers are targeting December 2026 or early 2027 for the 22nd edition of the competition. Originally scheduled for fall of 2024, this marks the second time the 22nd Israel Contest has been postponed. It was first postponed to December 2025 due to security concerns in the region.
