Singing of national anthems

[fleabane]

On a mobile podium - winner!

[parvacat]

Just been tuned up in the pits

[CitizenSmiff]

Having a singer makes for better TV pictures and audio as an awful lot of the stirring crowd participation is lost in transposition and I'm not generally against that, but somehow these performers always seem to get the emphasis and cadence wrong. It's very hard to sing along when the melodist with the microphone keeps rushing half a bar ahead.

[fleabane]

You clearly didn't see the ivories being tinkled!

[BJ.]

It's very hard to sing along when the melodist with the microphone keeps rushing half a bar ahead.

More often than not it's the opposite. As I mentioned earlier, Louis Loock (evidently a renowned South African tenor) slowed down his rendition of the Italian national anthem to the extent the team finished before him. Perhaps it was just a psychological way of unnerving the Azzuri - I wouldn't put anything past the Saffas.

[GwrxTiger]

Agree with previous posters that I can't see what having a singer is adding, I'd much rather just hear the crowd, led by a band. If you must have a singer have a singer who is singing in an ordinary way like the crowd, not an opera type singer wailing. I seem to recall seeing a match not long ago where the singing was led by a childrens choir, that was a much better option.

On a related note, also agree with those who don't much care for our anthem, it isn't even about England, it's boring, religious and royalist, none of the other nations who have it as the national anthem use it so why do we have to?

[cidermark]

It has often been muted that English teams in sporting events should have Land Of Hope And Glory or Jerusalem as a specific English anthem whilst still keeping to God Save The Queen at events that involve purely teams from the United Kingdom.

Personally, I believe that an anthem is almost a call to arms and should stir the passions in both the players and the supporters. Unfortunately GSTQ doesn't do that for me.

[DickyP]

I'd be quite happy if we got rid of them all, especially ours which isn't a national anthem at all but a Royalist dirge which I refuse to sing (probably best for everyone anyway that is).

Of course it's national anthem - you may not like the sentiment of the words but that's different matter entirely. Now if you had pointed out that we need a separate English anthem I'd be right behind you. We manage if for the Commonwealth Games so it ain't that difficult!

[BJ.]

At least they managed to sing the anthems properly at today's ABs v Les Bleus match.