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 Anthem
Olympic Hymn

Official anthem of the Olympic Games and the International Olympic Committee
Also known asGreek: Ολυμπιακός Ύμνος
French: Hymne Olympique
LyricsKostis Palamas
MusicSpyridon Samaras, 1896
Adopted1958
Audio sample
The Olympic Hymn Instrumental

History

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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]

The Olympic Hymn was also used, along with the Olympic flag, to represent the Unified Team of former Soviet states at the 1992 Winter Olympics and the 1992 Summer Olympics.

Lyrics

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Greek original Greco-Roman orthography[a] Literal translation[2]

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. 𝄇

Κάμποι, βουνά και θάλασσες φέγγουνε μαζί σου
σαν ένας λευκοπόρφυρος μέγας ναός.
𝄆 Και τρέχει στο ναό εδώ προσκυνητής σου 𝄇
𝄆 Αρχαίο Πνεύμα αθάνατο, κάθε λαός. 𝄇

Archaéo Pnévma athánato, agné patéra
tou oréou, tou megálou ke tou alithinoú
Katéva, phanerósou ki ástrapse edó péra
sti dóxa tis dikís sou gis ke t'ouranoú.

Sto drómo ke sto pálema ke sto lithári
Ston evgenón agónon lámpse tin ormí.
Ke me to amáranto stephánose klonári
𝄆 ke siderénio pláse ke áxio to kormí. 𝄇

Kámpe, vouná ke thálasses phéngoune mazí sou
san énas lefkopórfyros mégas naós
𝄆 Ke tréchi sto naó edó proskynitís sou 𝄇
𝄆 Archaéo Pnévma athánato, káthe laós. 𝄇

O Ancient Spirit immortal, pure father
of the beautiful, the great and the true,
Descend, appear, and sparkle over here
to the glory of thine own earth and heaven.

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. 𝄇

Plains, mountains and seas shine with thee
like a great white-purple temple.
𝄆 And thy pilgrim is running to this here temple, 𝄇
𝄆 O Ancient Spirit immortal, of every people. 𝄇

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 Los Angeles Olympics) was, "Bestow on us the wondrous prize of honor, truth and love."[4]

List of performances at the Olympics

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Before 2016, the anthem had been recorded and performed in many different languages, usually as a result of the hosting of either form of the Games in various countries. However, 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 sung instead of host country's official language, Brazilian Portuguese. Since 2018, the IOC requires that the anthem be performed in either English or Greek (although this is optional depending on the organizer of an Olympics).[5][6]

Olympics City Language performed Notes
1896 Summer Athens,
  Greece
Greek The anthem was performed for the first time at the opening ceremony.
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[citation needed]
1964 Summer Tokyo,
  Japan
Japanese The anthem was sung in Japanese.
1968 Winter Grenoble,
  France
French[citation needed]
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,
  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,
  Yugoslavia
Serbo-Croatian
1984 Summer Los Angeles,
  United States
English
1988 Winter Calgary,
  Canada
Greek The anthem was sung in Greek.
1988 Summer Seoul,
  Republic of Korea
Korean The anthem was performed in Korean.
1992 Winter Albertville,
  France
Instrumental The anthem was performed instrumentally.
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 by Sissel Kyrkjebø with the children's choir.
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)

These were the first Olympics in which the anthem was conducted in both languages the IOC require it be performed in.[5] 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 instrumentally.
2008 Summer Beijing,
  China
Greek The anthem was sung in Greek by the children's choir.
2010 Winter Vancouver,
  Canada
English and French These were the first Olympics that the anthem was performed in both of its official languages. This was done to reflect the official bilingualism in Canada.[5] 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 anthem was performed instrumentally.
2012 Summer London,
  United Kingdom
Instrumental (opening)
English (closing)
Performed instrumentally in the opening ceremony by the London Symphony Orchestra and the Grimethorpe Colliery Band. During the closing ceremony, it was performed in English by the London Welsh Male Voice and Rugby Club choirs.
2014 Winter Sochi,
  Russia
Russian (opening)
Instrumental (closing)
Sung in Russian in the same translation as in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, by Anna Netrebko with the Sretensky Monastery Men's 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 Performed instrumentally (at the London 2012 Opening Ceremony by the London Symphony Orchestra and the Grimethorpe Colliery Band) at both the opening and closing ceremonies.
2016 Youth Lillehammer,
  Norway
Norwegian A choral version was sung in Norwegian using the same lyrics from the 1994 Winter Olympics.
2016 Summer Rio de Janeiro,
  Brazil
English The anthem was sung in English by the More Project Youth Choir from Niterói, a city from the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area.
2018 Winter Pyeongchang,
  South Korea
Greek (Opening)
English (Closing)
The only Winter Olympics so far in which the anthem was performed in both of the languages the IOC requires it be performed in. It was performed in Greek by Hwang Su-mi at the opening ceremony and in English by then 11-year-old Oh Yeon-joon at the closing ceremony.
2018 Youth Buenos Aires,
  Argentina
English Performed by Luna Sujatovich and Melina Moguilevsky respectively at the opening and closing ceremonies.[7]
2020 Youth Lausanne,
  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". These were the second Olympics (first Youth Olympics) that the anthem was performed in both of its official languages.
2020 Summer Tokyo,
  Japan
English Sung in English at the opening ceremony by both the students of Fukushima Koriyama and Toshimagaoka Girls' high schools and by Tomotaka Okamoto at the closing ceremony.[8]
2022 Winter Beijing,
  China
Greek The anthem was sung in Greek by 40 children from Malanhua'er Children's Choir from Hebei Province.
2024 Youth Gangwon,
  South Korea
English Performed by the Gangneung Junior Choir at the opening and closing ceremony, with 5 alumni of the original choir at the closing ceremony.
2024 Summer Paris,
  France
Greek (opening)
English (closing)
The second Summer Olympics in which the anthem was conducted in both languages the IOC require it be performed in. Performed in Greek by the Radio France Choir and the Maîtrise de Radio France at the opening ceremony, and in English by the Maîtrise de Fontainebleau at the closing ceremony.
2026 Winter MilanCortina d'Ampezzo,
  Italy
2026 Youth Dakar,
  Senegal
2028 Summer Los Angeles,
  United States
2030 Winter French Alps,
  France
2032 Summer Brisbane,
  Australia
2034 Winter Salt Lake City,
  United States

See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ "The oldest of the modern Olympic emblems is an anthem!". Olympic News. International Olympic Committee. 12 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Olympic Anthem - Official Olympic Games Hymn, Music & Lyrics". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Olympic Anthem Symbolism" (PDF). LA84 Foundation.
  4. ^ Games of the XXIII Olympiad, Opening Ceremonies, July 28, 1984 on YouTube
  5. ^ a b c Lederman, Marsha (17 February 2010). "More French in Closing Ceremonies, Executive Producer Says". The Globe and Mail. p. S1.
  6. ^ Garcia, Maira (10 February 2018). "Who Were the Singers at the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympics?". The New York Times. The International Olympic Committee requires that the anthem be performed only in Greek or English.
  7. ^ "Buenos Aires 2018: Closing Ceremony". insidethegames. 18 October 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  8. ^ "Recapping the Olympics closing ceremony: Bidding farewell to Summer Games in Tokyo". USA Today. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
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