Olympic Hymn

The Olympic Hymn (Greek: Ολυμπιακός Ύμνος, Olympiakós Ýmnos), also known informally as the Olympic Anthem, is a choral cantata by opera composer Spyridon Samaras (1861-1917), with 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.

Olympic Anthem
Greek: Ολυμπιακός Ύμνος
French: Hymne Olympique
Olympic Hymn

Official and Olympic anthem of Olympic Games and the International Olympic Committee
LyricsKostis Palamas
MusicSpyridon Samaras, 1896
Adopted1958
Audio sample
The Olympic Hymn
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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. 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.[1]

Lyrics

Original GreekTransliterated into Latin alphabet
Αρχαίο Πνεύμα αθάνατο, αγνέ πατέρα
του ωραίου, του μεγάλου και του αληθινού,
Κατέβα, φανερώσου κι άστραψε εδώ πέρα
στη δόξα της δικής σου γης και τ' ουρανού.
 
Στο δρόμο και στο πάλεμα και στο λιθάρι
Στων ευγενών αγώνων λάμψε την ορμή
Και με το αμάραντο στεφάνωσε κλωνάρι
και σιδερένιο πλάσε και άξιο το κορμί. (δις)
 
Κάμποι, βουνά και θάλασσες φέγγουνε μαζί σου
σαν ένας λευκοπόρφυρος μέγας ναός.
Και τρέχει στο ναό εδώ προσκυνητής σου (δις)
Αρχαίο Πνεύμα αθάνατο, κάθε λαός. (δις)
Arkhéo Pnévma athánato, aghné patéra
tou oréou, tou meghálou ke tou alithinoú
Katéva, fanerósou ki ástrapse edhó péra
sti dhóksa tis dhikís sou ghis ke t'ouranoú.
 
Sto dhrómo ke sto pálema ke sto lithári
Ston evghenón aghónon lámpse tin ormí.
Ke me to amáranto stefánose klonári
ke sidherénio pláse ke áksio to kormí. (2x)
 
Kámpi, vouná ke thálasses féngoune mazí sou
san énas lefkopórfyros méghas naós
Ke trékhi sto naó edhó proskynitís sou (2x)
Arkhéo Pnévma athánato, káthe laós. (2x)

If the anthem is to be performed in English, then the English sung version is used, which has been usually in English-speaking countries. If it is to be performed in a language other than English or Greek, then the original version is translated to the language it is to be performed but in the 2008 Beijing games, Greek was also sung instead of Chinese and in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro games, English was also sung instead of Portuguese. The only Olympic games in which lyrics of the English version were used in translation were the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Donovan Seidle, associate music director during the games, arranged the anthem, translating some of the stanzas to French in recognition of the official bilingualism in Canada.[2][3][4]

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 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 also sung instead of host country's official language, Portuguese.[3]

OlympicsCityLanguage performedNotes
1896 SummerAthens,
 Greece
GreekThe anthem was performed for the first time at the opening ceremony.
1960 WinterSquaw Valley,
 United States
EnglishThis was the first time that the Olympic Hymn was performed since the Athens 1896 games.
1960 SummerRome,
 Italy
Italian
1964 WinterInnsbruck,
 Austria
German
1964 SummerTokyo,
 Japan
Instrumental (opening)
Japanese (closing)
The anthem was sung in Japanese at the closing ceremony.[5]
1968 WinterGrenoble,
 France
French
1968 SummerMexico City,
 Mexico
Spanish
1972 WinterSapporo,
 Japan
Japanese
1972 SummerMunich,
 West Germany
InstrumentalAn instrumental arrangement was used during the opening and closing ceremonies.[6][7]
1976 WinterInnsbruck,
 Austria
Greek (opening)
Instrumental (closing)
In the opening ceremony, the anthem was sung in Greek.[8] In the closing ceremony, an instrumental arrangement was performed.[9] In both cases, instead of the third verse, the first verse was performed once again.
1976 SummerMontreal,
 Canada
GreekThe anthem was sung in Greek.[10]
1980 WinterLake Placid,
 United States
English
1980 SummerMoscow,
 Soviet Union
Russian (opening)
Greek (closing)
The anthem was sung in Russian at the opening ceremony then in Greek at the closing ceremony.[11]
1984 WinterSarajevo,
 Yugoslavia
Serbo-Croatian
1984 SummerLos Angeles,
 United States
English
1988 WinterCalgary,
 Canada
GreekThe anthem was sung in Greek.[12][13]
1988 SummerSeoul,
 South Korea
Korean
1992 WinterAlbertville,
 France
InstrumentalThe instrumental version of the anthem was played.[14]
1992 SummerBarcelona,
 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.[15] At the closing ceremony, Plácido Domingo sang it in both Spanish and English lyrics.[16]
1994 WinterLillehammer,
 Norway
NorwegianSung at both the opening and closing ceremonies by Sissel Kyrkjebø with the Children's chorus.
1996 SummerAtlanta,
 United States
EnglishPerformed 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 WinterNagano,
 Japan
JapanesePerformed by the Nagano Festival Orchestra and sung by the Nagano City Children's Chorus Group in Japanese.
2000 SummerSydney,
 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.[3] 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.[17] At closing ceremony, performed in English by Australian soprano Yvonne Kenny.
2002 WinterSalt Lake City,
 United States
EnglishSung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at the Opening Ceremony and by Laura Garff-Lewis at the Closing Ceremony.
2004 SummerAthens,
 Greece
GreekIn Greek; sung to the arrangement of John Psathas.[18]
2006 WinterTurin,
 Italy
InstrumentalAt these Olympics, an abbreviated version was performed at both the opening and closing ceremonies.[19]
2008 SummerBeijing,
 China
GreekThe anthem was sung in Greek at both the opening ceremony and closing ceremony.[20]
2010 WinterVancouver,
 Canada
English and FrenchThis 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.[3] 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.[2]
2010 Youth SingaporeGreekThe anthem was sung in Greek.
2012 YouthInnsbruck,
 Austria
InstrumentalThe instrumental version of the anthem was played at both opening and closing ceremonies.
2012 SummerLondon,
 United Kingdom
Instrumental (opening)
English (closing)
Instrumental version played in the opening ceremony by the London Symphony Orchestra and the Grimethorpe Colliery Band.[21] Sung in English at the closing ceremony by the London Welsh Male Voice Choir and the London Welsh Rugby Club choir with short lyrics.[22]
2014 WinterSochi,
Russian Federation
Russian (opening)
Instrumental (closing)
Sung in Russian in the same translation as in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. It 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 YouthNanjing,
 China
InstrumentalThe 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 YouthLillehammer,
 Norway
NorwegianA choral version was sung in Norwegian at both opening and closing ceremonies using the same lyrics from the 1994 Winter Olympics[23]
2016 SummerRio de Janeiro,
 Brazil
EnglishThe 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 WinterPyeongchang,
 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 YouthBuenos Aires,
 Argentina
EnglishPerformed by Luna Sujatovich at the Opening Ceremony and by Melina Moguilevsky at the Closing Ceremony.[24][25]
2020 YouthLausanne,
  Switzerland
English and French (opening)
Instrumental (closing)
A bilingual version of the anthem was sung in the opening ceremony by the children's choir "Les Petits Chanteurs de Lausanne"
2020 SummerTokyo,
 Japan
2022 WinterBeijing,
 China
2022 YouthDakar,
 Senegal
2024 YouthGangwon,
 South Korea
2024 SummerParis,
 France
2026 WinterMilan,
 Italy
2028 SummerLos Angeles,
 United States

See also

References

  1. "Olympic Anthem Symbolism" (PDF). LA84 Foundation.
  2. Measha Sings the Olympic Hymn.mp4 (video).
  3. Lederman, Marsha (17 February 2010). "More French in Closing Ceremonies, Executive Producer Says". The Globe and Mail. p. S1.
  4. Dave Pierce, Donovan Seidle (2010). Sounds of Vancouver 2010: Opening Ceremony Commemorative Album (CD).
  5. Tokyo Olympiad Closing Ceremony digest (video). 4:38-5:14 minutes in.
  6. Olympische Hymne 72 Olympic anthem 1972 (video).
  7. Olympische Spiele München 1972: Schlussfeier (video).
  8. Olympic Hymn (Innsbruck 1976) (video).
  9. Olympic Hymn Innsbruck 1976 (closing ceremony) (video).
  10. Montreal 1976 Olympics Music - Olympic Hymn (video).
  11. 1980 Olympic Closing Ceremony – Part IV Olympic Anthem & Extinguishing of the Flame (video).
  12. 1988 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony Part 22 (video).
  13. 1988 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony Part 23 (video).
  14. drapeau et flamme olympiques / Albertville '92 (video).
  15. Barcelona 1992 Opening Ceremony (video).
  16. Barcelona 1992 Closing Ceremony on YouTube
  17. The Olympic Hymn (video).
  18. Olympic Anthem Athens 2004 (video).
  19. Olympic Anthem and Torino 2006 Anthem Claudio Baglioni 2006 (video).
  20. Olympics Beijing 2008 – Hasteamento da bandeira olímpica – Pequim 2008 (video).
  21. Opening Ceremony - London 2012 Olympic Games (video).
  22. London Hand Over To Rio (Raising Of The Flags) - Closing Ceremony | London 2012 Olympics (video).
  23. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkvUckI-WH8&t=57m48s
  24. "Himno olimpico Luna Sujatovich Ceremonia de Apertura Juegos Olímpicos Juventud - #BuenosAires2018". YouTube. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  25. "Buenos Aires 2018: Closing Ceremony". insidethegames. 18 October 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
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