Olympic Hymn

Olympic Hymn

English: Olympic Anthem
Official and Olympic anthem of 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
Music sample
The 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, 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.

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. Since 1960, 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 Greek	Transliterated 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)
English translation (literal)	English translation (free)
O Ancient immortal Spirit, pure father Of beauty, of greatness and of truth, Descend, reveal yourself and flash like lightning here, within the glory of your own earth and sky.   At running and at wrestling and at throwing, Shine in the momentum of noble contests, And crown with the unfading branch And make the body worthy and ironlike. (2x)   Plains, mountains and seas glow with you Like a white-and-purple great temple, And hastens to the temple here - your pilgrim, (2x) O Ancient immortal Spirit - every nation. (2x)	Immortal spirit of antiquity Father of the true, beautiful and good Descend, appear, shed over us thy light Upon this ground and under this sky Which has first witnessed thy unperishable fame   Give life and animation to these noble games! Throw wreaths of fadeless flowers to the victors In the race and in the strife Create in our breasts, hearts of steel!   In thy light, plains, mountains and seas Shine in a roseate hue and form a vast temple To which all nations throng to adore thee Oh immortal spirit of antiquity!
English sung version
Olympian flame immortal Whose beacon lights our way Emblaze our hearts with the fires of hope On this momentous day   As now we come across the world To share these Games of old Let all the flags of every land In brotherhood unfold   Sing out each nation, voices strong Rise up in harmony All hail our brave Olympians With strains of victory   Olympic light burn on and on O'er seas and mountains and plains Unite, inspire, bring honor To these ascending games	May valor reign victorious Along the path of golden way   As tomorrow's new champions now come forth Rising to the fervent spirit of the game Let splendour pervade each noble deed Crowned with glory and fame   And let fraternity and fellowship Surround the soul of every nation   Oh flame, eternal in your firmament so bright Illuminate us with your everlasting light That grace and beauty and magnificence   Shine like the sun Blazing above Bestow on us your honor, truth and love
Note: This version, although often performed at opening/closing ceremonies, appears to enjoy far less exposure than the original. Hence its words may be determined only by listening to performances; correspondents will most probably disagree on the correct form. An alternate ending to the lyrics (used at the opening ceremony of the 1984 Los Angeles games) was, "Bestow on us the wondrous prize of honor, truth and love."[2] and at the closing ceremony of the 2012 London games was to short the English lyrics to the ending.
French
Esprit antique et éternel, créateur auguste De la beauté, de la grandeur et de la vérité Descends ici, parais, brille comme l'éclair, Dans la gloire de la terre et de ton ciel. Dans la course et la lutte et le poids Des nobles jeux éclaire l'élan, Prépare la couronne Faite de la branche immortelle, Et donne au corps la force De l'acier et la dignité. Les campagnes, les monts, Les mers brillent autour de toi, Comme un grand temple fait De pourpre et de blancheur, Et dans le temple ici accourent tous les peuples Pour se prosterner devant toi, Esprit antique et éternel.

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 is also sung instead of Chinese and in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro games, English is 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.^[3][4][5]

Languages in which anthem was performed

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 requires that the anthem be performed in either English or Greek. But in the 2008 Olympic opening and closing ceremonies in Beijing, China, Greek was also sung instead of host country's official language, Chinese. Also in the 2016 Olympic opening ceremonies in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, English was also sung instead of host country's official language, Portuguese.^[4]

Olympics	City	Language Performed	Notes
1960 Winter	Squaw Valley,  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	Instrumental (opening) Japanese (closing)	The anthem was sung in Japanese at the closing ceremony.[6]
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.[7][8]
1976 Winter	Innsbruck,  Austria	German
1976 Summer	Montreal,  Canada	Greek	The anthem was sung in Greek.[9]
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.[10]
1984 Winter	Sarajevo,  Yugoslavia	Serbo-Croatian
1984 Summer	Los Angeles,  United States	English
1988 Winter	Calgary,  Canada	Greek	The anthem was sung in Greek.[11][12]
1988 Summer	Seoul,  Republic of Korea	Korean
1992 Winter	Albertville,  France	Instrumental	The instrumental version of the anthem was played.[13]
1992 Summer	Barcelona,  Spain	Catalan/French (opening) Spanish (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.[14] At the closing ceremony, Plácido Domingo sang it entirely in Spanish.[15]
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,  Australia	Greek (opening) English (closing)	The only Olympics so far in which the anthem was performed in both of the 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.[16] 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.[17]
2006 Winter	Turin,  Italy	Instrumental	At these Olympics, an abbreviated version was performed at both the opening and closing ceremonies.[18]
2008 Summer	Beijing,  China	Greek	The anthem was sung in Greek at both the opening ceremony and closing ceremony.[19]
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.[3]
2010 Youth	Singapore	Greek	The anthem was sung in Greek.
2012 Youth	Innsbruck,  Austria	Instrumental	The instrumental version of the anthem was played 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.[20] Sung in English at the closing ceremony by the London Welsh Male Voice Choir and the London Welsh Rugby Club choir with short lyrics.[21]
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 performed by Anna Netrebko with the unidentified 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[22]
2016 Summer	Rio de Janeiro,  Brazil	English	The anthem was sung in English at both opening ceremony and closing ceremony.
2018 Winter	Pyeongchang,  South Korea
2018 Youth	Buenos Aires,  Argentina
2020 Youth	Lausanne,   Switzerland
2020 Summer	Tokyo,  Japan
2022 Winter	Beijing,  China

See also

• Olympic symbols

References

1. "Olympic Anthem Symbolism" (PDF). LA84 Foundation.
2. Olympic Anthem Los Angeles 1984 Opening Ceremony (video).
3. Measha Sings the Olympic Hymn.mp4 (video).
4. Lederman, Marsha (17 February 2010). "More French in Closing Ceremonies, Executive Producer Says". The Globe and Mail. p. S1.
5. Dave Pierce, Donovan Seidle (2010). Sounds of Vancouver 2010: Opening Ceremony Commemorative Album (CD).
6. Tokyo Olympiad Closing Ceremony digest (video). 4:38-5:14 minutes in.
7. Olympische Hymne 72 Olympic anthem 1972 (video).
8. Olympische Spiele München 1972: Schlussfeier (video).
9. Montreal 1976 Olympics Music - Olympic Hymn (video).
10. 1980 Olympic Closing Ceremony – Part IV Olympic Anthem & Extinguishing of the Flame (video).
11. 1988 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony Part 22 (video).
12. 1988 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony Part 23 (video).
13. drapeau et flamme olympiques / Albertville '92 (video).
14. Barcelona 1992 Opening Ceremony – Entrance of Olympic Flag – Olympic Anthem (video).
15. Placido Domingo – Olimpic Closing Ceremony Barcelona 1992 on YouTube
16. The Olympic Hymn (video).
17. Olympic Anthem Athens 2004 (video).
18. Olympic Anthem and Torino 2006 Anthem Claudio Baglioni 2006 (video).
19. Olympics Beijing 2008 – Hasteamento da bandeira olímpica – Pequim 2008 (video).
20. Opening Ceremony - London 2012 Olympic Games (video).
21. London Hand Over To Rio (Raising Of The Flags) - Closing Ceremony | London 2012 Olympics (video).
22. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkvUckI-WH8&t=57m48s