Wales, Team GB and the National Anthem

One of the most depressing things of recent days has been the anthem debate on Twitter - and elsewhere. And, of course, a sensible person would just totally ignore it but...

So where are we?  

Team GB are currently competing in the London 2012 Olympics. The team is made up of English and Welsh players. There are no players from Northern Ireland and Scotland. Stuart Pearce would have us believe that this is because he doesn't rate players from those two nations whereas some of us believe that the pressure from those two associations on their players was also a motivating factor.  I've blogged extensively on the team's politics previously.

A team that causes so much hand-wringing was always going to create more as soon as they walked onto the pitch. One of the obvious flashpoints was always going to be the anthem.

When any other Team GB sporting star wins they hum along to 'God Save The Queen'. Be it an Englishman like Sir Steve Redgrave, a Welshwoman like Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson or a Scotsman like Sir Chris Hoy.

Football as always is different. Rarely will other athletes at the game compete for England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales bar, perhaps, at the Commonwealth Games. For many athletes competing for their home nation rather than Great Britain is a rarity.

In football the players have never represented Great Britain for nor are they likely to do again. In fact, the Welsh players will have played numerous games against a team which sings 'God Save The Queen' as their anthem. It is, therefore, an anomalous and odd situation.

With that background, lots of people who should know better are getting very exercised about the Welsh players not singing ''God Save The Queen''. Their choice is understandable even if we don't agree with it.

So, let's kill three birds with three stones.

1. The last time I checked, and even with the various assaults on our civil liberties by the last few governments in our minds, we are still a largely democratic state. If an individual doesn't want to sing the national anthem at a sporting event then he or she shouldn't have to do so.
   
   Plenty of England players over the years haven't sung 'God Save The Queen' and have done so, no doubt, for numerous reasons. It is a personal choice.
   
   We really don't want to live in a country where we force people to sing the national anthem. Do we? If you do, consider what you are really asking for.
2. Non-singing doesn't equate to non-supporting or not showing a desire to play - clearly. There are plenty of people across these Isles who would not sing 'God Save The Queen' (for instance, some individuals who represent Northern Ireland in football may not sing it). Those people may still be proud to support and play for their country. This may be down to some level of anti-monarchist sentiment, it may be a protest at the song, it may be for many reasons. Ultimately, it is their choice. It is your right, of course, to criticise but you shouldn't force them to do it.
3. 'God Save The Queen' is the anthem of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Some people - republicans, nationalists, anti-monarchists and others beside - might not like that. It is, for the moment, the case. They can campaign to change it, they can complain but anyone claiming that this is just the English anthem is talking utter rot. Too many people have trotted this nonsense out in recent days.
   
   It is the anthem of the UK but it also happens to be used by both England and Northern Ireland use the song in that fashion.

Learning from Ireland

A friend of mine always says the quality of debate and discussion on BBC Question Time when it is in Northern Ireland is always much higher than when it is in England, Wales or Scotland. The reason? Because people in Northern Ireland understand just how important politics is, how it can affect their lives, and how it can shape their communities. The audience, and panellists, are always better than their 'mainland' counterparts.

So with politics as with sport. The Irish rugby team is one of the few sporting teams that spans both sides of the Irish border drawing players, and support, from the North and South alike. When the Irish rugby team play in Dublin, the team sings both Amhrán na bhFiann (the Irish national anthem) and Ireland's Call (a relatively new song which belongs to both countries). When playing away from home, they only play Ireland's Call.

Ulstermen, like Rory Best, Andrew Trimble and so forth, aren't expected to sing Amhrán na bhFiann and they do not. They stand silently and, as soon as the song finishes, play their hearts out for Ireland. I'm sure this sticks in the craw of some people south of the border but most people accept why people from Northern Ireland - particularly unionists from Northern Ireland - might not want to sing the song.

So, perhaps, Team GB could learn something from Irish rugby. Next week in Wales, Team GB should sing God Save The Queen and Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau. 

There are obvious positives to this.

Firstly, the Welsh public would love it - and I think the players would be touched by the gesture. We think that Team GB will be a one-off because we are hosting the Olympics. The worry about Welsh people booing 'God Save The Queen' would be mitigated rather a lot by this gesture.
Secondly, it would show that Britain is made up of constituent parts and that each is important to Team GB. It would show that the game are not only being held in Wales but also showing the important part the Welsh are playing in them. England gets its anthem - which happens to be the UK anthem across the UK - but Wales gets its anthem in Wales. 

Thirdly, we've already seen in the Opening Ceremony a number of different songs from around these islands - Londonderry Air, Flower of Scotland, Bread of Heaven - and this would continue that theme. This is a British games and we should pay more than lip-service to that. (NB: Any Scotsman who thinks Flower of Scotland is a better song than Scots Wha Hae either have no brain, no heart, or are tone deaf).

Fourthly, because of the upcoming independence referendum in Scotland making us all re-examine what it means to be British and how the constituent parts of Britain interact with each other and with the concept of British. That may mean that England need to consider, in due course, what they sing.

After the games...

So what should we do? I've long thought England (and Northern Ireland, for that matter) should use a different anthem. We still could have a UK anthem for UK teams but it would, as part of our ongoing development as a country, and as nations, be part of the ongoing examination of England's relationship with Britain and the other parts of Britain.


There are obvious contenders for a replacement anthem - 'Jerusalem', 'Land of Hope and Glory', 'I vow to thee my country' and - even - 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot'. England could even follow the Spanish route by having an anthem with no words - something by Elgar for instance.


By England changing their anthem it would be a step - a small step but a step nonetheless - to ending the conflation of England and the UK that infuriates so many people. It might also mean that when UK athletes compete together they could unite behind ''God Save The Queen'' without worrying about it being an English song especially as the troublesome ''rebellious Scots'' lyrics isn't in the standard version and hasn't been for some time.


RCM