Olympics Song Competition
Listen to the Double Club Olympics Song – Together in the Language of Sport
We are proud to announce that the brand new Double Club Olympics Song – Together in the Language of Sport, is ready – fresh from the recording studio!
Listen to the multilingual hit, recorded by competition winners who wrote the song’s verses in French, German, Greek, Italian and Spanish, with a chorus in English:
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Download the lyrics here (PDF)
For teachers
Why not use the song in class as part of a cross-curricular language learning activity? Here are some ideas on how you can use the song to bring your pupils together in the language of sport!
- Language detectives: Can your pupils find out what all of the verses mean?
- Translate: See if your pupils can translate the English chorus into the language they are learning. For advanced pupils: translate against the clock.
- Composers: Write a new verse for the song. (You can download the instrumental version of the song here:
Double Club Olympics Song – instrumental version – MP3) - Dance-off: Your pupils create a dance routine for the song, based on the lyrics.
- Album artists: Can your pupils create a cool piece of cover artwork for the song?
- Let the Games commence! What can your pupils find out about Olympians who speak the languages in the song as a first language?
If you have used the song with your pupils, why not let us know how it has been of use to you? Just send us an email with a brief overview of your activities to olympicsong@arsenal.co.uk – we’d be delighted to hear from you!
Coming soon: The Double Club Olympics Song project will culminate in a celebratory event at the Emirates Stadium at the beginning of July, with a video documentary / music video to be launched in time for the end of term and the beginning of the Olympic Games!
Watch this space for more information and updates.
Making a multilingual hit – the project so far
In the autumn of last year, partners of the Arsenal FC Double Club Languages programme set a challenge for secondary school pupils from across the UK to write the lyrics for a multilingual Olympics-themed song in French, German, Greek, Italian and Spanish, with a chorus in English, to accompany the catchy melody penned by the German electro-indie band Fotos.
The response to the competition was astounding, with over 450 children taking part in the competition from over 50 schools throughout the UK. Teachers were delighted by the impact on motivation and behaviour, with pupils choosing to meet up in lunch breaks and after school to hone their lyrics. As one teacher put it, pupils revelled in the opportunity to “stretch themselves as musicians and as linguists, and work together as a team”.
The talented winners from six UK schools were invited to sing their lyrics together as Team Harmony at a recording session in London in March 2012. A celebratory day and music video filming event involving many other schools will follow at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in July.
Winners
- French: King’s School, Ely
- German: Torquay Girls’ Grammar School
- Greek: HECT- Independent Greek School of Finchley
- Italian: Priory Prep School, Banstead
- Spanish: Highbury Fields School, London
- English chorus: St. Anselm’s College, Birkenhead
Funding
The creation of the Double Club Olympics Song and video has been funded by the European Commission Representation in the UK and the Goethe-Institut London.