Christiaan Steenekamp
The organisers of the Rugby World Cup 2023, hosted in France, decided that 7000 students from different choirs would sing the national anthems before each match. The students learned and sang 20 national anthems, some performed live in the stadium and others pre-recorded. The organisers of the Rugby World Cup 2023, hosted in France, decided that 7000 students from different choirs would sing the national anthems before each match. The students learned and sang 20 national anthems, some performed live in the stadium and others pre-recorded.
Well, it has been mediocre at best, with some critics describing it as butchered and awful. The main reason is that the anthems seemed out of sync and difficult to sing along to due to the choirs adding their own twists to the anthems. Fans like ourselves appreciated the raw emotion streaming out of spectators and players as they sang their anthem with pride, but it was dampened by high-pitched choirs singing to their own rhythm. A lot of nations take great pride in their anthems and use them as motivation before they take to the field. A prime example is Argentina. Most players cry during their anthem, but with the recorded versions, little emotion was shown.
In the opening match between host nation France and New Zealand, this quality, or lack thereof, debuted. In an 80 000-seat Stade de France, fans wanted to hear the home crowd belt out La Marseillaise, not a choir singing their own rendition. While choirs are beloved for their vocal prowess, nothing says national pride like the citizens belting their anthem, and if it is not broken… do not remix it.
