Olympic opening ceremonies unthinkable without music

By Sarah Marsh

LONDON (Reuters) - Imagine the Olympics Games void of music - the raising of the Olympic flag without the Olympic hymn, the parade of nations in a hushed stadium and synchronized swimming to the sounds of silence.

Music has helped turn the Olympics opening ceremony into one of sport's great occasions and Beijing organisers have already released pre-Olympic jingles, including the theme song for the 100-day countdown celebration featuring vocals by Hong Kong film hero Jackie Chan.

The musical lineup for the Beijing Games, which start on Friday, remains secret although the Olympics Cultural Festival, from June 23 to September 17, will include performances by Italian pop tenor Andrea Bocelli and British soprano Sarah Brightman.

The founding father of the modern Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, felt the Games needed to integrate sport and the arts and his zeal led to the creation of competitions in music, sculpture, painting, literature and architecture in 1912.

Winners of the so-called "Pentathlon of the muses" were, like their athletic counterparts, awarded gold, silver and bronze medals.

"He wanted (to include) the arts pretty much from the start and this was all part of his vision," said Olympic historian Phillip Barker.

"It was a nice idea to try and make out that everybody wasn't just a muddied oaf."

The competitions suffered, however, because judges deemed many of the entries substandard and refusing to award medals.