the spanish national football team


Did you know that spanish sportsmen cannot sing their national anthem. You maybe asking yourself, why? Well, because it's an anthem without lyrics. Surprising as it may seem, from the beginning the spanish national anthem has just been a beautiful mute melody which never had official lyrics to fit it. The oldest version of the "March of the Grenadiers" was written in 1761 and officially became the national anthem from the end of the 19th century.

Although many songwriters have put forward their lyrics for the spanish anthem, none have managed to get through the consensus and obtain official recognition. Furthermore, due to Spain's painful and current history (Monarchy, Franco's dictatorship) and the revitalization of regionalism, people in Spain are sometimes very oversensitive about nationalism and patriotic pride. Consequently, it's often difficult to promote a sense of national pride without creating tension.

But nowadays, this mute anthem is a real problem for the national sportsmen and women who feel frustrated not being able to sing along to the "March of the Grenadiers" as it resonates through the stadium. They want an "normal" anthem with lyrics like all the other national anthems. That's why, Alejandro Blanco, the president of COE (Comite olimpico español) has organised a contest to give appropriate lyrics to the spanish anthem. The deadline for sending proposals was on october 26th. At least 5000 texts have been sent to the Olympic Comittee and a jury of specialists are studying all the submissions. At last, as it was planned, the winner will be announced on december 19th. But to obtain national aproval, the text has to be checked over and approved by the Spanish assembly. Once this procedure has been completed, the winning song will be able to embark on its historical, national journey.

So, we will see if the president of the Spanish Olympic Comittee will complete his mission and if spanish sportsmen and women will be able to sing their national anthem during the Olympic Games in Beijin 2008. Stay tuned...

Les sportifs espagnols veulent avoir un hymne à chanter

Spanish Anthem to Get Words