Official anthem of theCouncil of Europe and theEuropean Union | |
| Music | Ludwig van Beethoven, 1824 |
|---|---|
| Adopted | 1972 and 1985 |
| Audio sample | |
"Ode to Joy" (instrumental) | |
TheEuropean Anthem orAnthem of Europe, also known asOde to Joy, is a piece ofinstrumental music adapted from the prelude of the finalmovement ofBeethoven's9th Symphony composed in 1823, originally set to words adapted fromFriedrich Schiller's 1785 poem "Ode to Joy". In 1972, theCouncil of Europe adopted it as an anthem to representEurope,[3][4] and later in 1985 it was also adopted by theEuropean Union.[1][2]
Its purpose is to honour sharedEuropean values. The EU describes it as expressing the ideals of freedom, peace and solidarity.[2] The anthem is played on official occasions such as political or civil events.[2]
Friedrich Schiller wrote the poem "An die Freude" ("To Joy") in 1785 as a "celebration of the brotherhood of man".[5] In later life, the poet was contemptuous of this popularity and dismissed the poem as typical of "the bad taste of the age" in which it had been written.[6] After Schiller's death, the poem provided the words for the choral movement ofLudwig van Beethoven's9th Symphony.
In 1971 theParliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe decided to propose adopting the prelude to the "Ode to Joy" fromBeethoven's9th Symphony as the anthem, taking up a suggestion made byRichard von Coudenhove-Kalergi in 1955.[7] Beethoven was generally seen as the natural choice for a European anthem. TheCommittee of Ministers of the Council of Europe officially announced the European Anthem on 19 January 1972 at Strasbourg: the prelude to "Ode to Joy", 4th movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's 9th symphony.
ConductorHerbert von Karajan was asked to write three instrumental arrangements – for solo piano, for wind instruments and for symphony orchestra and he conducted the performance used to make the official recording. Karajan decided on a decidedly slower tempo, usingcrotchet (quarter note) = 120 whereas Beethoven had writtenminim (half note) = 80.[8][9]
The anthem was launched via a major information campaign onEurope Day in 1972, without a public holiday, since it is close toMay Day.[citation needed] In 1985, it was adopted by EU heads of state and government as the official anthem of the then European Community – since 1993 the European Union. It is not intended to replace the national anthems of the member states but rather to celebrate the values they all share and theirunity in diversity. It expresses the ideals of a united Europe: freedom, peace, and solidarity.[10]
It was to have been included in theEuropean Constitution along with the otherEuropean symbols; however, the treaty failed ratification and was replaced by theTreaty of Lisbon, which does not include any symbols.[11] A declaration was attached to the treaty, in which sixteen member states formally recognised the proposed symbols.[12] In response, theEuropean Parliament decided that it would make greater use of the anthem, for example at official occasions.[11] In October 2008, the Parliament changed its rules of procedure to have the anthem played at the opening of Parliament after elections and at formal sittings.[13]
"Ode to Joy" is the anthem of theCouncil of Europe (CoE) and theEuropean Union (EU). In the context of the CoE, the anthem is used to represent all of Europe. In the context of the EU, the anthem is used to represent the union and its people. It is used on occasions such as Europe Day and formal events such as the signing of treaties. The European Parliament seeks to make greater use of the music; then-Parliament PresidentHans-Gert Pöttering stated he was moved when the anthem was played for him on his visit to Israel and ought to be used in Europe more often.[11]
The German public radio stationDeutschlandfunk has broadcast the anthem together with theDeutschlandlied shortly before midnight since New Year's Eve 2006. The two anthems were specially recorded by theBerlin Radio Symphony Orchestra in versions characterized by "modesty and intensity".[14]
At the 2007signing ceremony for theTreaty of Lisbon, theplenipotentiaries of the European Union's twenty-seven member states stood in attendance while the "Ode to Joy" was played and a choir of 26 Portuguese children sang the original German lyrics.[15]
In 2008 it was used byKosovo asits national anthem until it adopted its own, and it was played atits declaration of independence, as a nod to the EU's role in its independence from Serbia.[16]
"Ode to Joy", automatically orchestrated in seven different styles, was used on 18 June 2015 during the ceremony celebrating the 5000th ERC grantee as anthem of theEuropean Research Council to represent achievements of European research.[17]
"Ode to Joy" is used as the theme song to the2016 UEFA Euro qualifying and World Cup qualification since theEuropean qualifying of the 2018 FIFA World Cup football competition at the introduction of every match.[18]
In 2017, members of theParliament of the United Kingdom from theScottish National Party first whistled and then sang "Ode to Joy" during a vote at theHouse of Commons to protest againstBrexit.[19]
In 2018, the anthem of Japan and the anthem of the EU were performed in Tokyo during the official signing of theEU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement.[20] The European anthem is often played at the signing of official economic or political agreements with foreign governments.In 2023, it was played after the anthem of Ukraine during President of UkraineVolodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to the EU parliament.[citation needed]
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