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Chris Wright, writer to poke
You’d be forgiven for assuming there wasn’t any direct link between the UK’s imminent coronation of King Charles III and UEFA’s creation of the Champions League in 1992, but the two events do share a common theme – quite literally.
Eager to emphasize the glamor of the major club competitions, UEFA relaunched the European Cup ahead of the 1992-93 season and sought to solidify its elite credentials with a sleek modern branding and an elegant classical soundtrack.
Inspired by The Three Tenors bringing classical music to the football field with their spine-tingling performance of “Nessun Dorma” at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, UEFA was keen to capitalize on this advantage as it prepared to usher in a new era of European competition. and the receipt of a contract tarnished by riots to the past.
As a result, the Champions League was handed over Bespoke creative anthem which is still played before every game to this day.
UEFA Champions League anthem> #UCL pic.twitter.com/2ZEdkVSfP2
Champions League September 7, 2022
The song is a rousing piece written by English composer Tony Britten and features choral lyrics sung in all three of UEFA’s official languages (English, French and German) and a soaring arrangement based on a famous work by German-born composer George Frideric Handel titled “Zadok the priest.“
Britten’s Champions League anthem has become one of the most popular sports songs in the world with its famous multilingual refrain (“Die meister, die besten, les grandes equipesChampions”) will be instantly familiar to soccer fans the world over.
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After Britten submitted to UEFA a selection of existing classic pieces to ascertain the specific feel that European football’s governing body wanted for the UEFA Champions League theme, “Zaddock the Priest” was chosen as the model.
“UEFA wanted this competition to be about the best of football, not the worst,” Britten told the BBC in a 2020 interview. “Some say the melody is from Handel, but it’s not. It’s just the first string sentence I write, and the rest is me.”
Zadok the Priest was first composed by Handel to be performed at the coronation of King George II in 1727, and it has been used at the coronations of every British monarch since.
It’s hard to think of a more appropriate piece of music than one with lyrics like:
And all the people rejoiced
He rejoiced and rejoiced and said:
God save the king
Long live the king
God save the king
May the king live forever
Amen, amen, hallelujah, hallelujah
Amen Amen Hallelujah Amen…
The royal family has confirmed that “Zadok the Priest” will once again form part of the repertoire when King Charles III is formally crowned in London on Saturday.
It is strange, then, to think that when Real Madrid and Manchester City meet in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, the same tensions will reverberate around the rafters at the Bernabeu just before kick-off as those we heard at Westminster Abbey three days later. previously.
