SING ALONG SUNDAY: "The Olympic Hymn"

As the games in Vancouver come to a close, I celebrate them with this tribute "The Olympic Anthem".

Congratulations to the athletes and participants! -Tommy

Evan Lysacek with his figure skating gold medal

Winter Olympic Games

The Winter Olympic Games are a winter multi-sport event held every four years. They feature winter sports held on snow or ice, such as Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, figure skating, bobsledding and ice hockey. Cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping, and speed skating have been competed at every Winter Olympics since 1924. Other athletic events have been added as the Games have progressed. Some of these events, such as luge, short track speed skating, and freestyle skiing have earned a permanent spot on the Olympic programme. Others, like speed skiing, bandy, and skijöring have been demonstration sports but never incorporated officially as an Olympic sport.

Fewer countries participate in the Winter Olympics than the Summer Olympics. The first Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France in 1924. Prior to this, figure skating and ice hockey had been events at the Summer Olympics. The Games were held every four years from 1924 until 1940 when they were interrupted by World War II. The Winter and Summer Games resumed in 1948 and were celebrated on the same year until 1992. At that time the Winter Games split from the Summer Games, and were begun to be celebrated on alternating even years. The first Winter Olympic Games to be held on this new schedule was in 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway.

The Winter Games have undergone significant changes since their inception. The rise of television as a global medium for communication has greatly enhanced the profile of the Games. It has also created an income stream in the form of the sale of broadcast rights and advertising, which has become very lucrative for the International Olympic Committee (IOC). This has allowed outside interests, such as television companies and corporate sponsors, to influence various aspects of the Games. The IOC has had to address several internal scandals, and the use of performance enhancing drugs by Winter Olympic athletes. One country has boycotted the Winter Olympics. The Winter Games have also been used by countries to demonstrate the claimed superiority of their political systems.

The Winter Olympics have been hosted in three continents, but never in a country in the southern hemisphere. The United States has hosted the Games four times, more than any other country. France has been host three times. Austria, Canada, Italy, Japan, Norway, and Switzerland have hosted the Games twice. The next Games will be hosted by Sochi, Russia in 2014. This will be the first time that Russia will host the Winter Olympic Games.

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, on lyrics by Greek poet Kostis Palamas.
Both poet and composer were the choice of Demetrius Vikelas, a great Greek Pro-European and the first President of the International Olympic Committee.

[edit] History

The anthem was performed for the first time for the ceremony of opening of the first edition at the 1896 Athens Olympic Games. 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. This happened up to the edition at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.

The Anthem by Samaras and Palamas was declared the official Olympic Anthem by the International Olympic Committee in 1958 at the 55th Session of the IOC in Tokyo. Since 1960, it has been used at the Opening Ceremonies of each Olympic Games.^[1]

[edit] 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.^[2]

At the Montreal Olympics in 1976, the Olympic Anthem was sung by a men's choir named Orpheus. The anthem was sung in Greek.

[edit] English

[edit] French

[edit] German

[edit] Japanese

[edit] Catalan

Barcelona 1992 (opening ceremony only)

[edit] Greek Performances

For the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, the hymn was recorded and performed in Greek by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Sydney with the Sydney Symphony during the opening ceremony, in recognition of the substantial Greek population of Australia. In addition to its appearance at Athens 2004, the decision was also made to use a Greek arrangement at the 1988 Winter Olympics at Calgary, Alberta, Canada and at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

[edit] Combination of Different Languages

At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canadian opera singer Measha Brueggergosman sang the hymn in a mix of English and French during the opening ceremony, to reflect Canada's official languages,^[2] which are also the official languages of the Olympic movement.

The 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 kai t'ouranoú. Sto dhrómo ke sto pálema kai sto lithári Ston evghenón aghónon lámpse tin ormí. Ke me to amáranto stefánose klonári kai sidherénio pláse ke áksio to kormí. (twice) Kámpi, vouná ke thálasses féngoune mazí sou san énas lefkopórfyros méghas naós Ke trékhi sto naó edhó proskynitís sou (twice) Arkhéo Pnévma athánato, káthe laós. (twice)
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. (twice) Plains, mountains and seas glow with you Like a white-and-purple great temple, And hurries at the temple here, your pilgrim, (twice) O Ancient immortal Spirit, every nation. (twice)	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 Los Angeles 1984 Olympics) was, "Bestow on us the wondrous prize of honor, truth and love".