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The project was laudable: getting choirs selected from a group of 7,000 French schoolchildren from diverse backgrounds to sing each country’s national anthem before Rugby World Cup matches.
However, less than a week after the tournament, the plan was scrapped.
After a backlash from fans and commentators and the uncomfortable sight that the players were not completely synchronized with the choruses, organizers bowed to pressure Thursday by saying that the children’s voices from “Melee des Choeurs” They will be driven by “instrumental elements” when the hymns play. around the stadiums in the second week of the World Cup.
France, which plays Uruguay on Thursday, is among the nations that have already accepted the modified version of its anthem. The organizers hope that “final confirmation of all teams can be achieved in the next 48 hours.”
A passionate rendition of a national anthem can be seen as a final rallying cry by rugby teams before matches, with players seen shaking and even crying while singing them over the years. At least one Chile national team player cried after singing his country’s anthem before his World Cup debut against Japan on Sunday.
The use of children’s choirs has had the opposite effect for some: former Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll said the anthems have been “terrible” and that France’s “La Marseillaise” and Italy’s “Song of the Italians” were “butchered”. .”
“The perceptions we had and the response we got after the eight games was that these national anthems were more surprising or disturbing for our fans who were used to hearing a different version of these national anthems,” Jacques Rivoal, World Cup president. Cup organizing committee said through a translator at a tournament news conference on Wednesday.
“We are here to prioritize the fan experience and we were quite concerned about this negative response, considering the fact that the artistic quality of the national anthem was not being questioned.”
Rivoal said the teams felt it was “a very important point that we sing the national anthem correctly.”
Hence the retreat of the organizers and the use of what they now call “remixed anthems.”
“We would also like to thank the teams for their full support and hope that the fans will support their teams while the anthems are played,” the organizing committee said.
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AP Rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
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