Rugby World Cup organisers bow to pressure

As a result of public pressure, the Rugby World Cup organizers re-recorded “disturbing” anthems.

The men’s Rugby World Cup organizers in France have bowed to pressure and agreed to re-record the pre-match national anthems, which they claimed fans found “disturbing,” following a barrage of criticism.

The anthems of each nation were sung by choirs as part of the La Mêlée des Churs project, which involved 7,000 schoolchildren from various backgrounds.
However, the reaction from spectators inside the stadiums was overwhelmingly unfavorable.

I wasn’t a maverick, Danny Cipriani said. I had decision-making abilities.

On Friday, when France played New Zealand, issues were evident in the opening game in Paris. La Marseillaise was garbled as the players from the home country appeared to be noticeably out of time and out of pitch with the schoolchildren singing along in canon.
Over the seven additional matches of the first weekend, the issues grew worse, including a “butchering” of God Save the King prior to England’s match against Argentina.

In a hasty about-face on Tuesday, the tournament’s organizers promised new, streamlined versions.
The pre-recorded songs would still be sung by children rather than being completely eliminated, and each of the 20 competing nations would have to approve them.

Jacques Rivoal, the chairman of France 2023, stated on Wednesday: “We received feedback after eight games that our fans found these anthems to be upsetting or unexpected. We are here to put the fan experience first, and we were very concerned by this negative feedback.
This is a sensitive topic because it affects all the teams greatly.

“Today, we have suggested new, more straightforward versions while retaining the children’s voices.
These new versions won’t disturb the supporters and will instead provide a more upbeat musical performance.

The competing nations would be consulted on the new versions, according to the tournament director, Michel Poussau.
He acknowledged, “We understand it didn’t work, or it hasn’t worked as well as we hoped.
“We can have anthems that are more in line with expectations, but still reflect the spirit of these young athletes, who, I must say, have been amazing, have been working extremely hard, and who deserve to be in this competition.
We have been working on that, and we are hopeful that all unions will approve the updated version.
“.

Former Ireland and British and Irish Lions captain Brian O’Driscoll was one of those who voiced disapproval of the singing, saying on the Off the Ball podcast: “The anthems have been terrible, haven’t they?
The two big anthems, if we’re being honest, are La Marseillaise and the Italian anthem.
They both have a feeling of having been brutally butchered.
“.

The organizers “misunderstood the vital relationship between the anthems, the players, and the fans,” the soprano Lesley Garrett said on Monday’s Today program on BBC Radio 4.

The organizers promised to address issues with fans entering the stadiums, such as those that occurred before England’s match against Argentina.
James Crombie/INPHO/Shutterstock provided the image.

“A lot of the choirs are pre-recorded, but I believe the essence of the connection between singing and sport is that it’s all live, that everyone is participating together, and that it brings together those who will be participating in the activity as well as those who will be watching it.
“.

Organizers promised to address issues with fans entering stadiums as well as the anthem issues.
Before England’s game against Argentina on Saturday night, there were chaotic scenes outside Marseille’s Stade Vélodrome.
Due to the few entry points and turnstiles, insufficient staffing, and thorough security checks, thousands of ticket holders were unable to attend the Pool D opener.
Similar problems existed prior to Ireland’s match against Romania in Bordeaux that same day.

It is evident that not everything went well during the first weekend, and we are not at all surprised by this.
Starting out is always very difficult, Poussau said.

Rugby World Cup starts off shakily as crowds, clashes, and anthems are all in question.

Additionally, it was difficult to satisfy the supporters’ requests for refreshments.
Julien Collette, president and CEO of France 2023, stated that a heatwave had never occurred in September before.
The supporters drank a lot more.

We believed we had enough supplies because of previous records, but those records were surpassed. For instance, we sold 90,000 cups of beer there, far exceeding any previous records, where the previous record was 50,000 cups. The second effect is that it has been challenging to keep the barrels chilled.
There were lines, but it wasn’t so much for the supplies as it was for how cold the barrels were.
“.