Next anthem breakdown at the 2023 Biathlon World Cup in Oberhof. After the Norwegians complained about the version of their national anthem played when the medals were awarded on Wednesday, the Swedes also complained the next day.
“It was an incredibly strange version. I could hardly sing along,” said individual world champion Hanna Öberg, amazed at what she heard at the medal ceremony on Wednesday evening in Oberhof’s Kurpark.
Silver medalist Linn Person couldn’t believe her ears either when suddenly a very unusual version of “Du gamla, du fria” was heard. “You could say it was very special. It had a different direction than we had actually imagined,” said the 28-year-old, who described singing along as “a bit difficult”.
Sebastian Samuelsson, who was also there, explained: “I really don’t know anything about music, but I really struggled to find the right lyrics to sing along. They have to find a better version for the weekend.”
The Norwegians had already complained about the played version of their anthem the day before. “Ja, vi elsker dette lands” also sounded completely different from what you know from the World Cup and other major events.
Sturla Holm Lægreid then joked that it must be the “German version” of the Norwegian anthem. And both Johannes Thingnes Bø and Marte Olsbu Røiseland complained that the song was just too slow and they kept getting out of step.
Eirik Os Simonsen, music journalist at “NRK Klassisk”, even went one step further and called on the organizers in Oberhof to take action. “This version really shouldn’t be used. It has a completely different harmony than the variant played in Norway. It’s a very big break with the tradition of our national anthem,” he said.