90 Fun Facts About National Anthem

Which country was the first to adopt an official national anthem, by decree in 1795?

La Marseillaise then lost its status under Napoleon and was banned by later kings before being reinstated for good in the 1870s.

Francis Scott Key wrote The Star-Spangled Banner after watching the British bombard which fort?

The poem was originally titled Defence of Fort M'Henry and describes the Battle of Baltimore in September 1814.

John Stafford Smith wrote The Star-Spangled Banner's tune for a gentlemen's club in which city?

The Anacreontic Society's song was already popular in America with various sets of words before Key's poem was attached to it.

Which US president signed the 1931 law making The Star-Spangled Banner the official national anthem?

Congress passed the joint resolution on March 3, 1931, more than a century after the song was written.

How many stanzas does Francis Scott Key's original poem have?

Only the first is normally performed, though the US Code makes all of them the official anthem.

The flag Francis Scott Key saw flying over the fort in 1814 had how many stars and stripes?

Mary Pickersgill sewed it in her Baltimore home; the flag itself now hangs in the Smithsonian.

Besides Whitney Houston, which performer is the only one whose national anthem charted on the Hot 100?

Feliciano's slow, bluesy 1968 World Series version caused a national uproar but opened the door for every interpretation since.

In his instrumental Star-Spangled Banner, Jimi Hendrix used distortion and the vibrato arm to imitate what?

He played it regularly from 1968 until his death in 1970, most famously at Woodstock.

Roseanne Barr's notorious 1990 anthem performance took place before a home game of which baseball team?

The screeching rendition at Jack Murphy Stadium drew loud boos and a week of national outrage.

During which part of Game One of the 1918 World Series was the anthem famously played?

Evidence shows it was actually performed as early as 1897 at Opening Day ceremonies in Philadelphia.

The British national anthem's melody is also the anthem of which small European country?

Its version is titled Oben am jungen Rhein; Switzerland used the tune too until 1961, and Americans know it as My Country, 'Tis of Thee.

The UK national anthem's author is unknown, but which composer has sometimes been credited?

A 1619 keyboard piece by Bull has some similarities to the modern tune, and it may have begun life as a plainchant.

Beethoven wrote a set of seven piano variations on which national anthem?

Johann Christian Bach had already used the tune in a keyboard concerto around 1763, and Haydn was so impressed by it in London that he wrote Austria its own emperor's hymn.

Which song is used as England's anthem in cricket instead of the British national anthem?

The Blake-and-Parry hymn is a rare exception; for most sports England simply uses God Save the King.

La Marseillaise was written in 1792 in which city?

Its nickname came later, when volunteers from Marseille sang it while marching to Paris.

What was La Marseillaise originally titled?

Rouget de Lisle wrote it in a single evening after the mayor of Strasbourg asked for a song to rally soldiers.

Which restored Bourbon king banned La Marseillaise outright?

Charles X kept the ban; the anthem returned briefly after the July Revolution of 1830 and for good during the Franco-Prussian War.

O Canada was commissioned for the 1880 celebration of which holiday?

Calixa Lavallée wrote the music and Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier the French words; it was first performed at a banquet in Quebec City on June 24, 1880.

In which year did O Canada officially become Canada's national anthem?

It had been the de facto anthem since 1939; the National Anthem Act took effect on July 1, 1980.

In which language were the lyrics of O Canada originally written?

The English words are not a translation; the French text has never changed, while the English has been revised three times, most recently in 2018.

Advance Australia Fair became the national anthem in 1984 under which prime minister?

A 1977 plebiscite had already shown Australians preferred it over Waltzing Matilda and God Save the Queen.

The lyrics of Japan's Kimigayo, the oldest of any national anthem, come from a poem of which form?

The unnamed poet wrote it in the Heian period (794–1185); it was not set to music until 1880.

In which year did Japan's Act on National Flag and Anthem officially recognize Kimigayo?

Its use had been customary for more than a century; the law prompted fierce debate over what the word kimi meant.

A bandmaster from which country wrote the first, unpopular tune for Japan's anthem in 1869?

John William Fenton, stationed in Yokohama, noticed Japan had no anthem and suggested one; his tune was replaced in 1880.

The Wilhelmus, the oldest national anthem still in use, belongs to which country?

It was first attested during the siege of Haarlem in 1573, but was not officially adopted until 1932.

The first letters of the fifteen stanzas of the Wilhelmus form an acrostic spelling what?

It works as a hidden signature for William of Orange, the leader of the Dutch revolt the song is written about.

India's Jana Gana Mana was written by Rabindranath Tagore in which language?

It was first sung publicly at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress in December 1911.

Rabindranath Tagore wrote the national anthems of India and which other country?

Sri Lanka's anthem was written by his student Ananda Samarakoon, so his influence stretches to a third.

A formal rendition of India's national anthem takes approximately how many seconds?

A 20-second short version using only the first and last lines is also staged occasionally.

Haydn's melody for the German anthem was written in 1797 for the birthday of which Habsburg ruler?

Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser served the Austrian Empire before Hoffmann von Fallersleben fitted new words to it in 1841.

Since German reunification, which stanza of the Deutschlandlied is the national anthem?

The third stanza's call for unity, justice and freedom was reconfirmed as the sole anthem in 1991.

Hoffmann von Fallersleben wrote the German anthem's words in 1841 on which North Sea island?

The island was British at the time and only became German through the Heligoland–Zanzibar Treaty of 1890.

In which year did Italy's Il Canto degli Italiani finally gain legal status as the national anthem?

It had been the provisional anthem since October 1946, surviving several failed attempts to make it official.

Goffredo Mameli, who wrote the words of Italy's anthem in 1847, was a young patriot from which city?

Michele Novaro set it to music; the newly unified kingdom snubbed it in 1861 for the House of Savoy's Marcia Reale.

Spain's Marcha Real is one of three national anthems with no official lyrics. Which is another?

Kosovo's wordless anthem, titled Europe, is the third; Bosnia's political factions have failed repeatedly to agree on words.

What was the result of Spain's 2007 national competition to write lyrics for its anthem?

Unofficial words were used under earlier regimes but were dropped after successive changes of government.

In which year did Charles III of Spain declare the Marcha de Granaderos the official Honor March?

The tune was first printed in a 1761 book of fife and drum calls, making it one of the oldest anthems in the world.

South Africa's national anthem uses how many of the country's official languages?

Xhosa, Zulu, Sesotho, Afrikaans and English each get their turn, and everyone sings all of them regardless of mother tongue.

South Africa's 1997 anthem splices Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika together with which apartheid-era anthem?

Die Stem chronicled the Voortrekkers and the Great Trek; new English lyrics were added to close the hybrid.

Enoch Sontonga composed Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika in 1897 at a Methodist mission school near which city?

The Xhosa hymn became a pan-African liberation song and was adopted, in various forms, by five countries.

The melody of Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika is still the national anthem of Tanzania and which other country?

Zimbabwe and Namibia once used it too but have since switched to anthems with new melodies.

Greece's Hymn to Liberty is the longest anthem by text. How many stanzas did Dionysios Solomos write?

Only the first two are used as the anthem, which Greece adopted in 1864.

Greece's national anthem is also the anthem of which other country?

Cyprus adopted it by order of its Council of Ministers in 1966.

Who locked poet Francisco González Bocanegra in a room until he wrote an entry for Mexico's 1853 anthem contest?

Guadalupe González del Pino got her way: his poem won, and Jaime Nunó set it to music the next year.

Russia's anthem since 2000 reuses the melody of the Soviet anthem, composed by whom?

Sergey Mikhalkov, who wrote the 1944 Soviet lyrics, wrote the new Russian words too, at age 87.

Russia's lyric-free anthem from 1990 to 2000, the Patriotic Song, was composed by whom?

Yeltsin confirmed it in 1993; Putin replaced it soon after taking office in 2000.

The State Anthem of the Soviet Union, adopted in 1944, replaced which song?

The switch followed the dissolution of the Comintern in 1943 to reassure the wartime Allies.

In which year did the wordless post-Stalin Soviet anthem get new, Stalin-free lyrics after two decades?

Mikhalkov rewrote his own text; the wordless years led to the anthem being nicknamed the song without words.

The melody of Israel's Hatikvah is based on La Mantovana, a 16th-century song from which country?

The tune spread across Renaissance Europe under many names, and Smetana used a version of it in Vltava.

Hatikvah was Israel's de facto anthem from 1948. In which year was it officially adopted?

The words come from an 1878 poem by Naftali Herz Imber, who read it to farmers in the earliest Jewish villages of Ottoman Palestine.

China's March of the Volunteers was written in 1935 for what?

It appears at the climax of Children of Troubled Times; the melody is by Nie Er, who died the same year aged 23.

Tian Han, lyricist of China's anthem, died in prison in 1968 during which upheaval?

His anthem was played without words for years while its author was in disgrace.

The European anthem is adapted from the final movement of which Beethoven symphony?

The Council of Europe adopted it in 1972 and the European Union in 1985; it is played without Schiller's words.

The Olympic Hymn by Spyridon Samaras was first performed at which Games?

The IOC did not declare it the official anthem until its 1958 session in Tokyo.

Evan James and his son James James, who wrote the Welsh anthem in 1856, lived in which town?

James James was a harpist who played in the pub he ran; the song was first performed in a chapel vestry in Maesteg.

Wales first sang its anthem at a sporting event before a 1905 rugby match against which touring team?

The crowd sang it in answer to the All Blacks' haka, and Wales won.

Flower of Scotland was written in the mid-1960s by Roy Williamson of which folk group?

Scotland's rugby team adopted it after winger Billy Steele got his team-mates singing it on the 1974 Lions tour.

Flower of Scotland celebrates Robert the Bruce's victory over the English at which 1314 battle?

It has been Scotland's usual sporting anthem since the 1990s, replacing Scotland the Brave.

Who translated Ireland's anthem into Irish, producing the version almost always sung?

The Executive Council adopted The Soldier's Song in July 1926, though the Irish version was never formally adopted.

In which language is the first verse of God Defend New Zealand usually sung first?

Thomas Bracken wrote it as a poem in the 1870s; a newspaper competition with a ten-guinea prize chose the music in 1876.

When Emilio Aguinaldo commissioned the Philippine anthem in 1898, what form did it take?

Julián Felipe's march was first played at the proclamation of independence in Kawit; José Palma's Spanish words came a year later.

Nepal officially adopted its anthem Sayaun Thunga Phulka in which year?

It replaced Shriman Gambhir, the royal anthem in use since 1962, as the monarchy was on its way out.

In May 2024, lawmakers in Abuja readopted which anthem, the one used at independence in 1960?

Its lyrics were written by Lillian Jean Williams, a British expatriate, and the composer turned out to be a London piano teacher using a pen name.

South Korea's Aegukga was originally sung to the tune of which Scottish song?

Ahn Eak-tai composed the current melody in 1935, and it was adopted by the Korean exile government.

Thailand's national anthem is broadcast nationwide every day at 8 a.m. and at what other time?

The two broadcasts match the raising and lowering of the flag, and people are expected to stop and stand.

Which country's anthem is the longest in the world by duration, running 105 bars and up to six minutes?

Mercifully, only the chorus is normally sung before sporting events.

Kenya's national anthem is based on a traditional tune of which people?

The tune was a lullaby that Pokomo mothers sang to their children; a special commission turned it into an anthem in 1963.

Where did Perucho Figueredo write the words of Cuba's anthem, La Bayamesa, in 1868?

Jubilant crowds in Bayamo surrounded him after the Spanish surrender and demanded words for the melody they were humming.

Algeria's anthem, Kassaman, was reportedly written by Moufdi Zakaria on his prison cell wall using what?

He had no paper or pen in Barberousse Prison; the Egyptian composer Mohamed Fawzi later set it to music.

The music of the Vatican's Pontifical Anthem was composed in 1869 by which composer?

It was written for the golden jubilee of Pius IX's ordination and only became the papal anthem in 1949.

Slovenia's anthem, Zdravljica, is a poem by the Romantic poet Prešeren whose title means what?

It is a drinking song in shape, and its stanzas are printed to look like wine glasses.

Which country's grand ducal anthem is De Wilhelmus, distinct from its national anthem Ons Heemecht?

Ons Heemecht was written in 1859 and only made the official anthem in 1993.

Which monarch suggested Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance No. 1 trio would make a great song?

A. C. Benson supplied the words in 1902, and the song is now a fixture of the Last Night of the Proms.

What was the title of the Pierre-Jean de Béranger melody that became Malaysia's national anthem?

Britten, Walton and Menotti were all invited to submit anthems for the new nation and all were rejected.

By law, Singapore's anthem Majulah Singapura may only be sung in which language?

The constitution declares Malay the national language, even though it is a minority language in Singapore.

Austria's anthem, Land der Berge, Land am Strome, is sometimes credited to which famous composer?

Very few anthems have world-famous composers; Germany's Haydn melody is the other great exception.

Kosovo's wordless national anthem is titled what?

It was chosen in 2008 to avoid favouring any one ethnic group's language.

Which folk song replaced both anthems when the Koreas marched together at the 2018 Winter Olympics?

The song is beloved on both sides of the border and is treated as a symbol of Korea as a whole.

Like the UK, which Nordic country has only a de facto national anthem, never formally adopted?

Du gamla, Du fria fills the role, and Sweden also has a separate royal anthem, Kungssången.

Blas Parera, who composed the music of Argentina's anthem, was a musician from which country?

The words are by Buenos Aires politician Vicente López y Planes, written three years after the May Revolution.

The Olympic Charter of which year introduced the ritual of playing the gold medallist's national anthem?

That single rule pushed many countries without an official anthem to finally adopt one.

In which year was 'God Save the King' first performed?

It remains the royal anthem of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms.

Malaysia's national anthem uses the tune that was already the anthem of which constituent state?

A committee had invited Benjamin Britten, William Walton and others to submit compositions, but none was judged suitable.

Which composer invited to write Malaya's anthem later composed Singapore's 'Majulah Singapura'?

None of the invited composers' submissions was deemed suitable for the Federation of Malaya.

The lyrics of Colombia's national anthem were written by which former president?

The poet-president also wrote the country's first constitution.

Brazil's first anthem, today the Hino da Independência, was composed by whom?

Malta's anthem was likewise written by a national figure, the poet Dun Karm Psaila.

The 'Swiss Psalm' has different lyrics in how many official languages?

French, German, Italian and Romansh each get their own words.

Mexico's anthem was composed in 1854; in which year was it officially adopted?

Switzerland similarly adopted its Swiss Psalm only in 1981, 140 years after it was composed.

Which Latin American country defined a national anthem in 1813, first of the independence era?

Peru followed in 1821 and Brazil in 1831; in Europe, Belgium adopted its anthem in 1830.

In Tanzania, to whom is the national anthem played each day as an exercise in patriotism?

In other countries the anthem is played in theatres before a play or in cinemas before a film.