Since the mid-nineteenth century, regular song festivals have been organized, bringing together choirs from across the Nordic region.
These festivals had a distinctively "national" repertoire, reflecting the desire to express each country's unique cultural identity.
It served as a platform for Nordic composers to have their works performed, featuring compositions from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and other countries in seven large-scale choral and orchestral concerts.
Subsequent festivals were held in Stockholm in 1897 and in 1919, once again in Copenhagen, where renowned conductors such as Carl Nielsen, Jean Sibelius, Wilhelm Stenhammer, and Johan Halvorsen participated.
From 1974 to 1982, the festival introduced a "guest country" concept, inviting composers and works from Poland (1974), Canada (1976), the German Democratic Republic (1978), the United Kingdom (1980), and France (1982).