It is one of the most recognisable anthems in sport – but where did the Champions League anthem come from?
The anthem was written by British composer Tony Britten in 1992 to mark the Champions League rebrand from the European Cup.
Britten was inspired by George Frideric Handel’s Zadok the Priest, which is traditionally played at the coronation of British monarchs.
The inspiration helped him create the iconic football anthem, sung by the Academy of Saint Martin and performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
“Uefa wanted this competition to be about the best of football rather than the worst and said they must have an anthem,” Britten told the BBC in 2020.
“The World Cup in Italy had just had the three tenors so classical music was all the rage.”
The full anthem is around three minutes long and includes two short verses and a chorus. It is played before every match after both teams have lined up.
“At the time we made this we had no idea it was going to become as big as it has,” Britten said.
The Champions League anthem has over 24 million streams on Spotify.
