[8] In 1985, the Berlin Philharmonic under the direction of Herbert von Karajan gave a concert at the Gütersloh Community Center [de] to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Bertelsmann media group.

[9] During the event, Karajan spoke with Liz Mohn about the lack of programs for promoting new opera talent, saying that, compared to other countries, it was difficult to find suitable young singers in Germany.

[10] As a result, Mohn, who became a member of the Bertelsmann Stiftung's advisory board in 1986, organized an international singing competition.

August Everding, general manager of the Bavarian State Theaters, played a key role by providing the specialized knowledge required to hold the event.

[3][11] Organized together with the managers' committee of the Deutscher Bühnenverein, the association representing Germany's theaters and orchestras, the first competition took place at the Gütersloh Community Center in October 1987.

[12] In contrast to other events designed to promote new talent, the Neue Stimmen participants performed on a large stage in a concert hall, which they had to fill vocally.

In conjunction with the competition, the Bertelsmann Stiftung organized a symposium at which experts debated cultural policy issues.

[13] Neue Stimmen was initially a European singing contest since only artists who trained in Europe qualified to participate.

Participants were given the opportunity to develop both their artistic and career skills in individual and group training sessions via video.

[39] Patrons of the singing competition have been Richard von Weizsäcker (1993), Roman Herzog (1995), Rita Süssmuth (1997), Wolfgang Clement (1999) and Peter Ustinov (2001).