"Throw wreaths of fadeless flowers to the victors

In the race and in the strife!

Create in our breasts, hearts of steel!"

Kostas Palama, extract from the Olympic anthem.

The Olympic anthem was composed by Spiros Samara, based on the words of Kostas Palama, for the Games of the I Olympiad in Athens in 1896. It was played again in 1906, but subsequently replaced by anthems specially commissioned for the Olympic ceremonies. In 1954 the IOC held an international competition won by Polish composer Michael Spisiak, who had put a poem by Pindar to music.It was played in Melbourne in 1956, but the composer demanded such a large fee that it was subsequently abandoned. When the Japanese played the piece by Spiros Samara at the 55th IOC Session in Tokyo in 1958, everyone enjoyed it so much that it was unanimously adopted as the official anthem, at the proposal of IOC member Prince Axel of Denmark.

-- Prince Pierre of Monaco, IOC member, offered the sum of US$ 1,000 to the winner of the competition for an Olympic anthem launched by the IOC in 1954.

-- The IOC received 392 entries from composers from 40 different countries. At its 51st Session, the IOC chose Michael Spisiak's composition.

-- The current Olympic anthem was adopted at the 55th Session of the IOC in Tokyo in 1958.

-- The Olympic anthem was played for the first time in Athens in 1896 and again in Rome in 1960.www.cooyu.net.

-- The Olympic anthem was played for the first time at the Olympic Winter Games in Squaw Valley in 1960.

The Olympic Anthem
Immortal spirit of antiquity,

Father of the true, beautiful and good,

Descend, appear, shed over us thy light

Upon this ground and under this sky

Which has first witnessed thy unperishable fame

Give life and animation to those noble games!

Throw wreaths of fadeless flowers to the victors

In the race and in the strife!

Create in our breasts, hearts of steel!

In thy light, plains, mountains and seas

Shine in a roseate hue and form a vast temple

To which all nations throng to adore thee,

Oh immortal spirit of antiquity!

　　会歌（Olympic Song）1896年在雅典第1届奥运会的开幕式上，国王乔治一世宣布奥运会开幕以后，合唱队唱起了一首庄严而动听的歌曲《奥林匹克圣歌》。这是一首古希腊歌曲,由希腊人萨马拉斯作曲，帕拉马斯作词，但当时并未确定其为奥运会会歌。此后的历届奥运会均由东道主确定会歌，未形成统一的会歌形式。如1936年柏林奥运会的会歌是施特劳斯特意为这届奥运会所作的《奥林匹克之歌》；1948年奥运会则选用奎尔特作曲、基普林作词的《不为自己而为主》作为会歌。20世纪50年代以后有人建议重新创作新曲,作为永久性的会歌,但几经尝试都不能令人满意。

　　于是，国际奥委会在1958年于东京举行的第55次全会上最后确定还是用《奥林匹克圣歌》作为奥林匹克会歌。其乐谱存放于国际奥委会总部。从此以后,在每届奥运会的开、闭幕式上都能听到这首悠扬的古希腊乐曲。

这首歌歌词内容如下：

　　古代不朽之神，

　　美丽、伟大而正直的圣洁之父。

　　祈求降临尘世以彰显自己，

　　让受人瞩目的英雄在这大地苍穹之中，

　　作为你荣耀的见证。

　　请照亮跑步、角力与投掷项目，

　　这些全力以赴的崇高竞赛。

　　把用橄榄枝编成的花冠颁赠给优胜者，

　　塑造出钢铁般的躯干。

　　溪谷、山岳、海洋与你相映生辉，

　　犹如以色彩斑斓的岩石建成的神殿。

　　这巨大的神殿，

　　世界各地的人们都来膜拜，

　　啊!永远不朽的古代之神。