Olympic anthem

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Title page of the first edition of the Olympic hymn, version for three-part choir and piano

The Olympic hymn ( Greek Ολυμπιακός Ύμνος Olympiakos Ymnos ) is one of the Olympic symbols . The melody comes from the composer Spyros Samaras , the text from Kostis Palamas and was written especially for the 1st modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 . It is the only official Olympic festival music and part of all major events of the Olympic movement.

history

The Olympic anthem was first in the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens played.

Before the actual performance, Samaras had the hymn performed on a trial basis in the “Parnassos” music association in January 1896 and tested the audience's reactions. Samaras was a representative of the Ionian school and was in Athens against the resistance of the German Romantic movement not foothold, only the royal family supported him, therefore, the anthem is also the Crown Prince-influenced music scene Constantine dedicated. The original text was written by Palamas in Greek and has since been slightly changed. The original manuscript is in the archives of the IOC in Lausanne.

There were two attempts to have other compositions declared official hymns, that of the American Walter Bradley-Keeler with a text against tyranny, and one by Richard Strauss for the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. The original anthem seemed to correspond more to the essence of the game and so in 1958 the "Olympic Anthem" was officially declared an official anthem by the IOC . It has been performed at all Olympic Games since the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo .

It will be played and / or sung during the opening ceremony of the Games when the Olympic flag is hoisted and during the closing ceremony when it is retrieved. The text is sung by a choir or a well-known artist in the country. A choir has been dispensed with in three cases so far.

The Olympic anthem should not be confused with the commercial Olympic songs, which have no official Olympic status and are primarily used to market the respective games.

Translations into national languages ​​(selection)

For some games the text has been translated into the respective national language:

A Chinese version was composed before the Olympic Games in Beijing, but the organizers still decided on the original version.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Different versions and translations (English)