Olympic Hymn
The Olympic Hymn (Greek: Ολυμπιακός Ύμνος, pronounced [oli(m)bi̯aˈkos ˈimnos]), also known as the Olympic Anthem, is a choral cantata by opera composer Spyridon Samaras (1861–1917), with Demotic Greek lyrics by Greek poet Kostis Palamas. Both poet and composer were the choice of the Greek Demetrius Vikelas, who was the first President of the International Olympic Committee.[1]
| Olympic Hymn | |
 | |
Official anthem of the Olympic Games and the International Olympic Committee | |
| Also known as | Greek: Ολυμπιακός Ύμνος French: Hymne Olympique |
|---|---|
| Lyrics | Kostis Palamas |
| Music | Spyridon Samaras, 1896 |
| Adopted | 1958 |
| Audio sample | |
The Olympic Hymn Instrumental
| |
History
The anthem was performed for the first time for the ceremony of opening of the first edition at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. In the following years, every hosting nation commissioned to various musicians the composition of a specific Olympic hymn for their own edition of the games.
The anthem by Samaras and Palamas was declared the official Olympic Anthem by the International Olympic Committee in 1958 at the 54th Session of the IOC in Tokyo, Japan.[2] The anthem was performed in English at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley and since then it has been played at each Olympic Games: during the opening ceremony when the Olympic flag is hoisted, and during the closing ceremony when the Olympic flag is lowered.[3]
Lyrics
| Greek original | Greco-Roman orthography[lower-alpha 1] | Literal translation[2] |
|---|---|---|
Αρχαίο Πνεύμα αθάνατο, αγνέ πατέρα |
Archaéo Pnévma athánato, agné patéra |
O Ancient Spirit immortal, pure father |
List of performances at the Olympics
The anthem has been recorded and performed in many different languages, usually as a result of the hosting of either form of the Games in various countries. The IOC doesn't require that the anthem be performed in either English or Greek, but in the 2008 & 2022 Olympic opening and closing ceremonies, in Beijing, China, Greek was sung instead of the host country's official language, Mandarin. Also in the 2016 Olympic opening and closing ceremonies in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, English was sung instead of host country's official language, Portuguese,[4] and in the 2020 Olympic opening and closing ceremonies in Tokyo, Japan, English was also sung instead of Japanese.
| Olympics | City | Language performed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1896 Summer | Athens,.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Greece | Greek | The anthem was performed for the first time at the opening ceremony. |
| 1960 Winter | Squaw Valley,.svg.png.webp){kind=small} United States | English | This was the first time that the Olympic Hymn was performed since the Athens 1896 games. |
| 1960 Summer | Rome, Italy | Italian | |
| 1964 Winter | Innsbruck, Austria | German | |
| 1964 Summer | Tokyo, Japan | Japanese | The anthem was sung in Japanese at the opening and closing ceremonies. |
| 1968 Winter | Grenoble, France | French | |
| 1968 Summer | Mexico City, Mexico | Spanish | |
| 1972 Winter | Sapporo, Japan | Japanese | |
| 1972 Summer | Munich, West Germany | Instrumental | An instrumental arrangement was used during the opening and closing ceremonies. |
| 1976 Winter | Innsbruck, Austria | Greek (opening) Instrumental (closing) | In the opening ceremony, the anthem was sung in Greek. In the closing ceremony, an instrumental arrangement was used. In both cases, instead of the third verse, the first verse was performed once again. |
| 1976 Summer | Montreal,.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Canada | Greek | The anthem was sung in Greek. |
| 1980 Winter | Lake Placid, United States | English | |
| 1980 Summer | Moscow, Soviet Union | Russian (opening) Greek (closing) | The anthem was sung in Russian at the opening ceremony then in Greek at the closing ceremony. The anthem was performed by the Red Army Choir and Bolshoi Theater Chorus. |
| 1984 Winter | Sarajevo,.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Yugoslavia | Serbo-Croatian | |
| 1984 Summer | Los Angeles, United States | English | |
| 1988 Winter | Calgary, Canada | Greek | The anthem was sung in Greek. |
| 1988 Summer | Seoul, South Korea | Korean | The anthem was performed in Korean in the opening and closing ceremony. |
| 1992 Winter | Albertville, France | Instrumental | The instrumental version of the anthem was used. |
| 1992 Summer | Barcelona, Spain | Catalan, Spanish, and French (opening) Spanish and English (closing) | At the opening ceremony, Alfredo Kraus sang the anthem's first two stanzas in Catalan and the rest of the anthem in Spanish and French. At the closing ceremony, Plácido Domingo sang it in both Spanish and English lyrics. |
| 1994 Winter | Lillehammer, Norway | Norwegian | Sung at both the opening and closing ceremonies by Sissel Kyrkjebø with the Children's chorus. |
| 1996 Summer | Atlanta, United States | English | Performed at the Opening Ceremony by the 300 voices of the Centennial Olympic Choir with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and at the Closing Ceremony by Jennifer Larmore and the Morehouse College Glee Club with the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. |
| 1998 Winter | Nagano, Japan | Japanese | Performed by the Nagano Festival Orchestra and sung by the Nagano City Children's Chorus Group in Japanese. |
| 2000 Summer | Sydney,.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Australia | Greek (opening) English (closing) | These were the first Olympics until 2018 Winter Olympics in which the anthem was conducted in both languages preferred by the IOC.[4] At the opening ceremony, performed in Greek by the Millennium Choir of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in recognition of the substantial Greek population of Australia. At closing ceremony, performed in English by Australian soprano Yvonne Kenny. |
| 2002 Winter | Salt Lake City, United States | English | Sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at the Opening Ceremony and by Laura Garff-Lewis at the Closing Ceremony. |
| 2004 Summer | Athens, Greece | Greek | In Greek; sung to the arrangement of John Psathas. |
| 2006 Winter | Turin, Italy | Instrumental | At these Olympics, an abbreviated version was performed at both the opening and closing ceremonies. |
| 2008 Summer | Beijing, China | Greek | The anthem was sung in Greek at both the opening and closing ceremonies by the children's choir. |
| 2010 Winter | Vancouver, Canada | English and French | This was the only Olympics that the anthem was performed in both of the official languages of the Olympics. This was done to reflect the official bilingualism in Canada.[4] Measha Brueggergosman at the opening ceremony and Ben Heppner at the closing ceremony sang the first two, the fourth, and sixth stanzas in English and the remainder in French. |
| 2010 Youth |  Singapore | Greek | The anthem was sung in Greek. |
| 2012 Youth | Innsbruck, Austria | Instrumental | The instrumental version of the anthem was used at both opening and closing ceremonies. |
| 2012 Summer | London, United Kingdom | Instrumental (opening) English (closing) | Instrumental version played in the opening ceremony by the London Symphony Orchestra and the Grimethorpe Colliery Band. |
| 2014 Winter | Sochi, Russian Federation | Russian (opening) Instrumental (closing) | Sung in Russian in the same translation as in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. It was performed by Anna Netrebko with the Sretensky Monastery Male Choir at the opening ceremony. The Instrumental version which also played at the London 2012 Opening Ceremony by the London Symphony Orchestra and the Grimethorpe Colliery Band was used at the closing ceremony. |
| 2014 Youth | Nanjing, China | Instrumental | The Instrumental version (played at the London 2012 Opening Ceremony by the London Symphony Orchestra and the Grimethorpe Colliery Band) was used at both the opening and closing ceremonies. |
| 2016 Youth | Lillehammer, Norway | Norwegian | A choral version was sung in Norwegian at both opening and closing ceremonies using the same lyrics from the 1994 Winter Olympics |
| 2016 Summer | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | English | The anthem was sung in English at both opening ceremony and closing ceremony by the More Project Youth Choir from Niterói, a city from Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area. |
| 2018 Winter | Pyeongchang, South Korea | Greek (Opening) English (Closing) | The first Olympics since 2000 Summer Olympics, in Sydney, Australia, and the only Winter Olympics so far in which the anthem was performed in both of the languages preferred by the IOC. It was performed in Greek by Sumi Hwang at the opening ceremony and in English by 11-year-old Oh Yeon-joon at the closing ceremony. |
| 2018 Youth | Buenos Aires, Argentina | English | Performed by Luna Sujatovich at the Opening Ceremony and by Melina Moguilevsky at the Closing Ceremony.[5] |
| 2020 Youth | Lausanne,.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Switzerland | English and French (opening) Instrumental (closing) | A bilingual version was sung at the opening ceremony by the children's choir "Les Petits Chanteurs de Lausanne" |
| 2020 Summer | Tokyo, Japan | English | Sung in English at the opening ceremony by both the students of Fukushima Koriyama High School and Toshimagaoka Girl's High School and by Tomotaka Okamoto at the closing ceremony.[6] |
| 2022 Winter | Beijing, China | Greek | The anthem was sung in Greek at both the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony by 40 Children from Malanhua'er Children's Choir from Hebei Province. |
| 2024 Youth | Gangwon, South Korea | ||
| 2024 Summer | Paris, France | ||
| 2026 Winter | Milan–Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy | ||
| 2026 Youth | Dakar, Senegal | ||
| 2028 Summer | Los Angeles, United States | ||
| 2032 Summer | Brisbane, Australia | ||
See also
Notes
References
- "The oldest of the modern Olympic emblems is an anthem!". Olympic News. International Olympic Committee. 12 January 2022.
- "Olympic Anthem - Official Olympic Games Hymn, Music & Lyrics". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- "Olympic Anthem Symbolism" (PDF). LA84 Foundation.
- Lederman, Marsha (17 February 2010). "More French in Closing Ceremonies, Executive Producer Says". The Globe and Mail. p. S1.
- "Buenos Aires 2018: Closing Ceremony". insidethegames. 18 October 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
- "Recapping the Olympics closing ceremony: Bidding farewell to Summer Games in Tokyo". USA Today. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
External links
- The original score of the Olympic Hymn, transcribed at Wikisource
- Philip Barker. The Anthem – Olympism's Oldest Symbol
- English lyrics
- A collection of recordings of the Olympic Hymn in various languages
