anthem of Europe

{{Main article|Ode to Joy|Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)}}

File:Joseph Karl Stieler's Beethoven mit dem Manuskript der Missa solemnis.jpg]]

Friedrich Schiller wrote the poem "An die Freude" ("To Joy") in 1785 as a "celebration of the brotherhood of man".{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xJiPF-PPodwC&pg=PA267 |title=A Musical Life: Writings and Letters |chapter=Beethoven's An die Freude and Two Mysterious Footnotes |first1=Max |last1=Rudolf |author1-link=Max Rudolf (conductor) |first2=Michael |last2=Stern |author2-link=Michael Stern (conductor) |first3=Hanny Bleeker |last3=White |year=2001 |publisher=Pendragon Press |pages=267–268 |isbn=9781576470381 |access-date=2008-07-10}} 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.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/correspondences00krgoog|quote=ode-to-joy schiller bad-poem.|title=Correspondence of Schiller with Körner|author=Schiller and Körner|translator=Leonard Simpson|year=1849|publisher=Richard Bentley|location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/correspondences00krgoog/page/n252 221]|access-date=2008-07-09}} After Schiller's death, the poem provided the words for the choral movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's 9th Symphony.

In 1971 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe decided to propose adopting the prelude to the "Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's 9th Symphony as the anthem, taking up a suggestion made by Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi in 1955.{{cite web |url=http://www.coe.int/t/dgal/dit/ilcd/Historical_Content/hymn/kalergi1.pdf |title=Letter to Paul Levy, 3 August 1955 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402165322/http://www.coe.int/t/dgal/dit/ilcd/Historical_Content/hymn/kalergi1.pdf |archive-date=2 April 2009 |url-status=dead }} Beethoven was generally seen as the natural choice for a European anthem. The Committee 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.

Conductor Herbert von Karajan was asked to write three instrumental arrangements{{snd}}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, using crotchet (quarter note) = 120 whereas Beethoven had written minim (half note) = 80.Story of the European Anthem: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2021/690568/EPRS_BRI(2021)690568_EN.pdf{{Cite book |last=Buch |first=Esteban |url=http://archive.org/details/beethovensninthp0000buch |title=Beethoven's Ninth: a political history |date=2003 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-226-07812-0 |pages=241 |language=en |translator-last=Miller |translator-first=Richard}}

The anthem was launched via a major information campaign on Europe Day in 1972, without a public holiday, since it is close to May Day.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}} In 1985, it was adopted by EU heads of state and government as the official anthem of the then European Community{{snd}}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 their unity in diversity. It expresses the ideals of a united Europe: freedom, peace, and solidarity.{{cite web |url=http://www.coe.int/T/E/Com/About_Coe/emblems/emblemes.asp |work=Council of Europe |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091030181843/http://www.coe.int/T/E/Com/About_Coe/emblems/emblemes.asp |access-date=4 August 2022 |archive-date=30 October 2009 |title=The Council of Europe: Guardian of Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law for 700 million citizens }}

It was to have been included in the European Constitution along with the other European symbols; however, the treaty failed ratification and was replaced by the Treaty of Lisbon, which does not include any symbols.{{cite web|last=Beunderman|first=Mark|title=MEPs defy member states on EU symbols|work=EUobserver|date=11 July 2007|url=http://euobserver.com/9/24464|access-date=2007-07-12|archive-date=10 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210093334/http://euobserver.com/9/24464|url-status=live}} A declaration was attached to the treaty, in which sixteen member states formally recognised the proposed symbols.{{cite web|url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2007:306:0231:0271:EN:PDF|title=Official Journal of the European Union, 2007 C 306–2, p. 267|access-date=12 September 2008|archive-date=15 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190815060321/http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2007:306:0231:0271:EN:PDF|url-status=live}} In response, the European Parliament decided that it would make greater use of the anthem, for example at official occasions. 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.{{cite web|first=Lucia|last=Kubosova|title=No prolonged mandate for Barroso, MEPs warn|work=EUobserver|date=9 October 2008|url=http://euobserver.com/9/26899|access-date=2008-10-09| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081010125604/http://euobserver.com/9/26899| archive-date= 10 October 2008 | url-status= live}}

"Ode to Joy" is the anthem of the Council of Europe (CoE) and the European 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 President Hans-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.

The German public radio station Deutschlandfunk has broadcast the anthem together with the {{Lang|de|Deutschlandlied|italic=no}} shortly before midnight since New Year's Eve 2006. The two anthems were specially recorded by the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra in versions characterized by "modesty and intensity".{{cite news |url=https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/wer-d-singt-muss-auch-e-singen-100.html |title=Wer D singt, muss auch E singen |work=Deutschlandfunk |first=Matthias |last=Sträßner |trans-title=Whoever sings D, must also sing E |language=de|access-date=1 November 2018}}

At the 2007 signing ceremony for the Treaty of Lisbon, the plenipotentiaries 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.{{YouTube|ljK58EK8vxI|Signing ceremony of the Treaty of Lisbon (Full) 1/6}}

In 2008 it was used by Kosovo as its national anthem until it adopted its own, and it was played at its declaration of independence, as a nod to the EU's role in its independence from Serbia.{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-02-17-kosovo-independence_N.htm|title=Kosovo declares independence|work=USA Today|date=17 February 2008|access-date=2008-03-12|archive-date=11 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090511045607/http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-02-17-kosovo-independence_N.htm|url-status=live}}

"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 the European Research Council to represent achievements of European research.{{YouTube|0qnTaAz-xtQ|Machine Learning Techniques for Reorchestrating the European Anthem}}

"Ode to Joy" is used as the theme song to the 2016 UEFA Euro qualifying and the European qualifying of the 2018 FIFA World Cup football competition at the introduction of every match.{{YouTube|_fgdXBEhNNc|European Qualifiers Intro – UEFA EURO 2016}}

In 2017, members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from the Scottish National Party first whistled and then sang "Ode to Joy" during a vote at the House of Commons to protest against Brexit.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/snp-mps-parliament-ode-to-joy-ludwig-van-beethoven-european-union-article-50-brexit-a7570486.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/snp-mps-parliament-ode-to-joy-ludwig-van-beethoven-european-union-article-50-brexit-a7570486.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=The SNP staged a musical protest as MPs voted on whether to trigger Article 50|website=Independent.co.uk|date=8 February 2017}}{{cbignore}}

In 2018, the anthem of Japan and the anthem of the EU were performed in Tokyo during the official signing of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement.{{Cite web|date=17 July 2018|title=Official welcome ceremony, EU-Japan summit, Tokyo|url=https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/media-galleries/international-summit/20180717-eu-japan/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-30|website=www.consilium.europa.eu|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018064716/https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/media-galleries/international-summit/20180717-eu-japan/ |archive-date=18 October 2018 }} 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 Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to the EU parliament.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• Anthems of international organizations

• [http://press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/078124.html Beethoven's Ninth: A Political History], Esteban Buch (Trans. Richard Miller), {{ISBN|0-226-07824-8}} (University of Chicago Press)
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070630220248/http://www.delidn.ec.europa.eu/en/eu_guide/eu_guide_4.htm Delegation of the European Commission] (mp3 available there)
• [http://www.cvce.eu/obj/european_anthem-en-4b6e5671-a0fc-45fa-8368-f84e4817dc14.html European anthem] – CVCE website
• [http://europa.eu/abc/symbols/anthem/index_en.htm The European anthem] – European Commission website

{{EU symbols}}

{{National anthems of Europe}}

{{Symphony No. 9}}

{{Portal bar|Europe}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Symbols of the European Union

Category:Council of Europe

Europe

Category:Anthems of organizations

Category:Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)

Category:Arrangements of compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven