If an Olympic gold medal winner comes from a country that has no national anthem, then what music is played during their award ceremony?

looney_tunes

Not a general answer yet, but here's an example. "Not every country has a national anthem. ... Cyprus still doesn't have its own anthem and uses the national anthem of Greece instead." http://www.britannica.com/bps/additionalcontent/18/43396018/Of-Thee-I-Sing-National-Anthems-Around-the-World This site on national anthems suggests that the question is academic. "Interestingly, there is no international law that requires a country to adopt an anthem (or a flag), yet currently every country has realized that this is something that is needed as part of a national identity. An anthem is used to musically express what a country (or other group of people) stand for and what unites them, like a flag or a national motto. In modern times, the only country to not have adopted a national anthem at a particular time was Afghanistan; during the reign of the Taliban (a strict Islamic group) from 1999-2002, music was forbidden in the country, therefore a national anthem would have been against this law. After the Taliban was defeated, the anthem used up to that point was reinstated. (Germany also did not have an anthem from 1945 to 1949, but, legally, there was no German government at the time.)" http://www.nationalanthems.info/faq.html#2.1 Feb 14 10, 11:38 PM

Zbeckabee

I suspect that this is all arranged prior to the competitions and that nobody is uncomfortable at the last minute. •According to Olympic rules, national anthems cannot be longer than 80 seconds in length, which means that some countries have had to create a shortened version of their anthem. •A nation may choose to have another anthem played instead of their national one if they so choose. There have been several examples of this. •At the 1992 Games, the former Soviet republics competed in a united team known as the "Unified Team", with the song "Ode to Joy" played during their medal ceremonies. •Taiwanese athletes receive their medals to the "Flag Raising Song", rather than the Chinese National Anthem. •At the 1980 Games in Moscow, several non-Communist countries that were participating chose to have the Olympic Hymn played instead of their National Anthem. http://www.topendsports.com/events/summer/traditions/anthems.htm Feb 15 10, 1:30 AM