The Olympic anthem ( Greek Ολυμπιακός Ύμνος ) is a musical work ( cantata ) written by the Greek composer Spyros Samaras . The words of the anthem were written by Kostis Palamas . The composer and poet were chosen by the first president of the IOC, Demetrius Vikelas .
Content
History
The Olympic anthem was first played at the opening ceremony of the I Olympic Games of 1896 . In subsequent years, until the 1956 Olympics in Cortina D'Ampezzo , the host country ordered its musicians to write a new anthem for the Olympics. In 1956, the anthem of Michal Spisak sounded at the Winter and Summer Games. Since 1960, the Olympic anthem of Samaras was again returned, which was mainly performed in the official language of the country where the games were held. The exceptions were instrumental versions performed in 1972, 1992, 2006 and 2012. The anthem was also performed several times in Greek (1976, 1988, 2008, YOI 2010), in addition to this, versions were performed both in the language of the host country and in Greek ( 1980, 2000).
Anthem Words
| Original in Greek | Latin transliteration |
|---|---|
|
|
Translations
Below are translations of the anthem into English, in which it was performed most often at opening and closing ceremonies, and into Russian. The author of the Russian translation is Robert Rozhdestvensky : the Russian version was performed at the opening ceremony of the XXII Olympic Games in Moscow (1980) and the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi (2014) [1] . The English text below was performed by the Salt Lake City Mormon Tabernacle Choir in 2002.
| English (2002 version) [2] | Russian (translation by R. Rozhdestvensky) |
|---|---|
Olympian flame immortal As now we come across the world Sing out each nation, voices strong Olympic light burn on and on As tomorrow's new champions now come forth And let fraternity and fellowship Oh flame, eternal in your firmament so bright Shine like the sun | Antiquity an immortal spirit, your children ask: Stone throwing and struggle, and debates in fast running, Flashed the vastness of the earth, You burn with humanity in fate |
Versions of the Olympic anthem performed at the Olympic Games in 1896 and since 1960
| Olympic Games | City | Tongue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1896 Summer Olympics | Athens , Greece | Greek | First performance of the Olympic anthem at the opening ceremony. |
| 1960 Winter Olympics | Squaw Valley , USA | English | The Olympic anthem was first performed since 1896. |
| 1960 Summer Olympics | Rome , Italy | Italian | |
| 1964 Winter Olympics | Innsbruck , Austria | Deutsch | |
| 1964 Summer Olympics | Tokyo Japan | Instrumental and Japanese | The anthem was performed in Japanese at the closing ceremony. |
| 1968 Winter Olympics | Grenoble , France | French | |
| 1968 Summer Olympics | Mexico City , Mexico | Spanish | |
| 1972 Winter Olympics | Sapporo , Japan | Japanese | |
| 1972 Summer Olympics | Munich , Germany | Instrumental | |
| 1976 Winter Olympics | Innsbruck, Austria | Greek and instrumental | At the opening ceremony, the anthem was performed in Greek [3] , at the closing ceremony the instrumental version [4] was performed. In both cases, instead of the third verse, the first was re-performed. |
| 1976 Summer Olympics | Montreal Canada | Greek | It was decided to perform the anthem in Greek [5] . |
| 1980 Winter Olympics | Lake Placid , USA | English | |
| 1980 Summer Olympics | Moscow , USSR | Russian and Greek | At the opening ceremony, the Russian version was performed [6] , the Greek version at the closing ceremony. |
| 1984 Winter Olympics | Sarajevo , Yugoslavia | Serbo-Croatian | |
| 1984 Summer Olympics | Los Angeles , USA | English | |
| 1988 Winter Olympics | Calgary Canada | Greek | It was decided to perform the Greek version of the hymn [7] [8] . |
| 1988 Summer Olympics | Seoul , South Korea | Korean | |
| Winter Olympics 1992 | Albertville , France | Instrumental | It was decided to execute the instrumental version [9] . |
| 1992 Summer Olympics | Barcelona , Spain | Catalan, Spanish, French, English | The first two verses were performed in Catalan, the rest of the hymn in Spanish and French [10] . At the closing ceremony, Placido Domingo performed the anthem in Spanish and English. [11] |
| 1994 Winter Olympics | Lillehammer , Norway | Norwegian | At the opening and closing ceremonies, the hymn was performed by Sissel Shirhebo accompanied by a children's choir. |
| 1996 Summer Olympics | Atlanta , USA | English | At the opening ceremony, the anthem was performed by a choir of 300 people and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. At the closing ceremony, the anthem was performed by Jennifer Larmore and Morehouse College Glee Club . |
| Winter Olympics 1998 | Nagano , Japan | Japanese | Performed by the Nagano Orchestra and children's choir. |
| 2000 Summer Olympics | Sydney Australia | Greek and English | For the first time in history, the anthem was performed in Greek (at the opening ceremony) and English (at the closing ceremony) [12] . At the closing ceremony, the anthem was performed by Yvonne Kenny . |
| Winter Olympics 2002 | Salt Lake City , USA | English | At the closing ceremony, the anthem was performed by Laura Gariff-Lewis. |
| 2004 Summer Olympics | Athens , Greece | Greek | Done in Greek by John Psatas. |
| 2006 Winter Olympics | Turin , Italy | Instrumental | The author of the arrangement is Claudio Balloni . It was decided to execute an abridged instrumental version [13] . |
| 2008 Summer Olympics | Beijing , China | Greek | It was decided to perform the Greek anthem both at the opening ceremony and at the closing ceremony. |
| 2010 Youth Summer Olympics | Singapore | Greek | |
| 2010 Winter Olympics | Vancouver Canada | English and French | For the first time in history, the anthem was performed in two official languages of the country - English and French [14] . |
| 2012 Youth Winter Olympics | Innsbruck, Austria | Instrumental | |
| 2012 Summer Olympics | London , UK | Instrumental and English | The instrumental version was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra at the opening ceremony. At the closing ceremony, the anthem was performed by the London Welsh Male Voice choir. |
| winter Olympic Games 2014 | Sochi , Russia | Russian and instrumental | It was performed in Russian at the opening ceremony by soloist Anna Netrebko , accompanied by the male choir of the Sretensky Monastery [15] [16] . An instrumental version was performed at the closing ceremony . |
| 2014 Youth Summer Olympics | Nanjing , China | Instrumental | At the opening and closing ceremonies, an instrumental version of the hymn was performed. |
| Youth Winter Olympics 2016 | Lillehammer , Norway | Norwegian | |
| 2016 Summer Olympics | Rio de Janeiro , Brazil | English | It was originally planned that the Brazilian version of the anthem in Portuguese would be performed at the opening ceremony, and the European version in English at the closing ceremony. But nevertheless, as a result, in both cases, the Olympic anthem sounded in English. |
| 2018 Winter Olympics | Pyeongchang , South Korea | Greek and English | At the opening ceremony, the anthem sounded in Greek, at the closing ceremony - in English. |
| 2018 Youth Youth Olympic Games | Buenos Aires , Argentina | English |
See also
- Olympic symbols
Comments
- ↑ This line is absent in the magazine, but it was present at the performance both at the Moscow Olympics and at the Sochi Olympics.
- ↑ These two words were used both when performing at the Olympic Games in Moscow, and at the Olympic Games in Sochi, in the version from the journal "Peers" there was "Every People".
Notes
- ↑ Quoted from the journal Peer , No. 7, 1980, 4th page of the cover.
- ↑ Olympic Hymn on YouTube
- ↑ Olympic Hymn (Innsbruck 1976) [video].
- ↑ Olympic Hymn Innsbruck 1976 (closing ceremony) [video].
- ↑ Olympic anthem at the 1976 Montreal Olympics on YouTube
- ↑ Moscow 1980 OC - Arrival and Hoisting of the Olympic Flag on YouTube
- ↑ 1988 Olympics Opening Ceremony Part 22 on YouTube
- ↑ 1988 Olympics Opening Ceremony Part 23 on YouTube
- ↑ drapeau et flamme olympiques / Albertville '92 on YouTube
- ↑ Barcelona 1992 Opening Ceremony - Entrance of Olympic Flag - Olympic Anthem on YouTube
- ↑ Placido Domingo - Olimpic Closing Ceremony Barcelona 1992 on YouTube
- ↑ The Olympic Hymn on YouTube
- ↑ Olympic Anthem and Torino 2006 Anthem Claudio Baglioni 2006 on YouTube
- ↑ Measha Sings the Olympic Hymn.mp4 on YouTube
- ↑ Opening of the XXII Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics (March 18, 2014). Date of treatment August 12, 2016. Archived on August 12, 2016.
- ↑ Anna Netrebko, Olympic Anthem ~ Opening Ceremony Sochi on YouTube