World Music’s Impact on the Summer Olympics
The Olympics is about far more than athletic ability or bragging rights. It’s an impressive global effort that unites nations for a celebration of arts, culture, and sport. In essence: what makes us all human. At Universal Production music, we know how important getting the right sound is for the success and impact of a media project. As the world is once again inspired by the beauty of the Olympics, learn more about our licensing solutions and see how we can help you go for the gold in your creative endeavors.
Music has been a key part of bringing the world together since the very first modern Olympic games held in 1896. If you feel inspired by the many ways music is woven through the narrative of the games this year, register to access a library of high quality tracks as diverse as the Olympic victors.
A global symphony
The essence of the Olympics is captured by the World Music genre. This genre refers to a blending of folk and popular music and instrumentation from around the world and has grown in popularity since the 1960s as countries began to export more music to global audiences.
The spectacles of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics often feature World Music to represent cultural cooperation and exchange. The ultimate example of this came at the opening ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, when artists from Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas, and Oceania all took part in a sweeping rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
The unifying lyrics of Lennon’s anthem were accompanied by instruments from many cultures. Most of the musicians performed their segments remotely due to pandemic restrictions, showcasing how technology has contributed to the blending of different influences in the World Music genre.
If you’re searching for an evocative global sound, check out our curated world music playlist to bring the grand scale of the Olympics to your project.
Celebrating culture and connection
The modern Olympic games are based on the legendary sporting events of ancient Greece, which though brutish and bloody, included rich cultural performances. Musicians played exciting fanfares in the Olympia stadium while the athletes competed.
The Olympic games blazed bright in the Western canon and consciousness and were revived across Europe over the centuries. Italian poet Pietro Metastasio’s opera libretto L ’Olimpiade was first performed in 1734 and kicked off a longstanding popular obsession with the ancient games. The opera supported the idea of nobility and honor in sport that transcended race and class.
Co-founder of the International Olympic Committee Pierre de Coubertin was greatly inspired by the ideology of L ’Olimpiade. The fusion of music and culture was an important part of the early Olympics. Classical concerts were held at the beginning and end of the first modern games, a small seed that would blossom into today’s opening and closing ceremony spectacles.
Just 14 nations were represented at the first games, but music at the ceremonies became more diverse as more countries participated and hosted in the next decades.
The spirited sound of sport
Beyond exchanging musical traditions, people of the world also come together at the Olympics for the common language of sport. Music reflects these universal feelings – just think of the famous theme from the 1981 film Chariots of Fire, which had such a cultural impact it was used as the official theme of the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. Discover our motivational sports playlist to get people pumped for the highs and lows of the story you want to tell.