Music softens manners, it seems ... While Russia is banned from the Olympic Games in Tokyo (July 23 to August 8), Russian athletes allowed to participate (those who have never been implicated in matters of doping) who will win a gold medal will not hear their national anthem… but an excerpt from the first piano concerto by Russian composer Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky. The announcement of the choice of the work, composed in 1874, was made by the Russian Olympic Committee, which explains having received the authorization of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). According to the Russian Committee, the IOC must "send in the near future the appropriate letters to the international Olympic sports federations" to notify them of this decision. The same work will represent Russia at the Beijing Winter Games in February 2022.The opening of the first concerto for piano and orchestra by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, the most famous of Russian composers, had already been used in March for the Russian podiums at the World Figure Skating Championships in Stockholm.
Giant of world sport, Russia was excluded last December for two years from major international competitions, after a cascade of cheating.
Its athletes will be able to compete under a neutral banner, if they have never been convicted of doping.
In its decision confirming the exclusion of Russia, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) also specified that “the Russian national anthem (or any anthem linked to Russia) will not be played or sung officially”.
The Russian authorities had hoped to play instead “Katyusha”, a famous patriotic song often used during military parades, but this choice had been refused because it was too closely linked to Russia.
Last week, Russia presented the “neutral” outfits that its athletes will wear, approved by the IOC. If the Russian flag does not appear, the three colors chosen (white, blue, red) are those of the country and the outfit differs little from those of the previous Olympics.