around the world
national anthems

top5facts

1.

National Anthems are special to the people of the country.

2.

They are made official by the government or belong to the traditions of the country.

3.

They are used for official state occasions.

4.

They can be very old like the Dutch anthem which goes back to about 1570, or the United Kingdom's God Save the Queen which was first performed in 1745 as God Save the King (for King George II).

5.

Each gold medal winner at the Olympics has their National Anthem played when they collect the medal.

national anthems

There are a few songs that are used to unite countries (e.g. Ode to Joy is used to unite European countries).
Many sports have anthems when there are international games (e.g. Rugby or Football World Cup). These are sometimes part of the media coverage especially for television theme music. The Olympic Hymn is one of these (but has been around longer than television)!

olympic hymnolympic rings

1.

The Olympics has its own official hymn that was written for the first games (since Ancient times) in Athens, 1896.

2.

Written by a poet called Kosis Palamas and set to music composed by Spyros Samaras.

3.

It took until 1958 for it to become official and has been sung in many languages since the 1964 games in Tokyo.

4.

It is sometimes called the Olympic Anthem.

5.

The National Anthem of Greece is a different song called Ode to Freedom (in English).

national anthems

Country

Flag
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National Anthem Factfile

Australia
za

Advance Australia Fair
since: 1984
lyrics: Peter Dodds McCormick, 1878
music: Peter Dodds McCormick, 1878

Brazil
za

Hino Nacional Brasileiro
(English: Brazilian National Anthem)
since: 1922
lyrics: Joaquim Estrada, 1909
music: Francisco Manuel da Silva, 1822

People's Republic of China (Hong Kong and Macau)
za

Yìyǒngjūn Jìnxíngqǔ
(English: March of the Volunteers)
since: 1949
lyrics: Tian Han, 1934
music: Nie Er, 1935

European Union
za

Ode to Joy
since: 1972
lyrics: None (instrumental version)
music: Ludwig van Beethoven, 1823

Germany
za

Das Deutschlandlied
(English: The Germany Song)
since: 1922
lyrics: August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, 1841
music: Joseph Haydn, 1797

India
za

Jôno Gôno Mono
(English: Jana Gana Mana)
since: 1950
lyrics: Rabindranath Tagore
music: Rabindranath Tagore

Italy
za

Il Canto degli Italiani
(English: Song of the Italians)
since: 1946
lyrics: Goffredo Mameli, 1847
music: Michele Novaro, 1847

New Zealand
za

God Defend New Zealand
(Equal status with God Save the Queen)
since: 1940
lyrics: Thomas Bracken, 1870s
music: John Joseph Woods, 1876

Russian Federation
za

Hymn of the Russian Federation
since 2000
lyrics:Sergey Mikhalkov, 2000
music:Alexander Alexandrov, 1938

South Africa
za

Nkosi Sikelel' i Afrika / Die Stem van Suid-Afrika (English: The Call of South Africa)
2 songs in one and sung in 5 languages
since 1997
lyrics:Enoch Sontonga, 1897 / C J Langenhoven, 1918
music:Enoch Sontonga, 1897 / C J Langenhoven, 1918

Sweden
uk flag

God Save the Queen
since 1745
lyrics: unknown author
music: unknown composer

United Kingdom
uk flag

God Save the Queen
since 1745
lyrics: unknown author
music: unknown composer

United States of America
za

The Star-Spangled Banner
since: 1931
lyrics:Francis Scott Key, 1814
music: John Stafford Smith, 1780

spain
go to the spain page

header scandinavia nordic

Edvard Grieg

In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt

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