- Controversy Surrounds Pre-Match National Anthems at Rugby World Cup
- Organizers Respond to Anthem Criticism with Simplified Versions
- Challenges Beyond Anthems: Entry Issues and Refreshment Demands in Stadiums
The organizers of the men’s Rugby World Cup in France have agreed to re-record the pre-match national anthems that supporters found “disturbing” in response to widespread criticism.
La Mêlée des Choeurs, an initiative involving 7,000 schoolchildren from diverse backgrounds, featured choirs singing each nation’s anthem without accompaniment; however, the response from inside the stadiums was overwhelmingly negative.
Friday’s inaugural match between France and New Zealand in Paris was marred by difficulties. While the students sang in canon, the host nation’s players were out of sync and garbled La Marseillaise. The problems intensified over the course of the remaining seven matches of the opening weekend, including a “butchering” of God Save the King before England played Argentina.
Tuesday, tournament organizers abruptly reversed course and promised new, simplified variants. If approved by all 20 competing nations, minors will perform pre-recorded songs.
Jacques Rivoal, chairman of France 2023, stated on Wednesday, “We received feedback after eight games that these anthems were disturbing or surprising to our supporters. We are here to prioritize the fan experience, so we were quite alarmed by this negative feedback… It is a sensitive question because it is a very significant point for all teams.
Today, we have proposed new versions, simplified versions, while retaining the children’s vocals.
These variants will not… disturb the supporters and will provide a more uplifting musical performance.
Michel Poussau, the tournament director, stated that the competing nations would be consulted regarding the new variants. “We understand that it didn’t work, or that it hasn’t worked as well as we had hoped,” he admitted. “We can have anthems that will be closer to expectations, but will still have that touch from these students, who I want to say have been amazing, have been working very hard, and who deserve to be part of this tournament. This is what we have been working on, and we anticipate that all unions will approve the new version.”
Former Ireland and British & and Irish Lions captain Brian O’Driscoll was among those who criticised the singing, stating on the Off the Ball podcast, “The anthems have been awful, haven’t they? La Marseillaise and the Italian anthem are the two major anthems if we’re being honest. They both feel as if they have been butchered.”
Lesley Garrett, a soprano, informed the organizers that they had “misunderstood the vital connection between the anthems, the players, and the fans.”
Many choirs are pre-recorded, and I believe the essence of the relationship between singing and sports is that it’s all live, everyone is singing together, and it unites the people who will be playing and watching.
As well as the anthem problems, organizers promised to tackle problems for fans entering the stadiums. On Saturday evening, there were tumultuous scenes outside the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille before England’s match against Argentina. Due to the limited number of entry points and turnstiles, inadequate personnel, and extensive security checks, thousands of ticket holders were unable to attend the opening match of Pool D. Before Ireland’s match against Romania in Bordeaux on the same day, comparable issues arose.
“We knew the first weekend didn’t go as planned. It’s always difficult to begin,” said Poussau.
In addition, there were difficulties satisfying the supporters’ demands for refreshments. Julien Collette, the chief executive officer of France 2023, remarked, “September has never before experienced a heat wave.” “The fans consumed significantly more.
“Based on prior records, we believed we had sufficient supplies, but those records were broken. For example, the previous record was 50,000 glasses [of beer], but we sold 90,000, exceeding all previous records by a significant margin. The second consequence is that it has been challenging to keep the containers refrigerated. It wasn’t so much the supplies that caused lines, but rather how cold the containers were.”
