A new national anthem

Listen to this interview by Mandia Sami discussing how Switzerland is holding a competition to find a new national anthem and take notes the first time you listen.

Hundreds enter Swiss competition to find a new national anthem

Listen for a second time and answer these questions.

  1. What are the common images of Switzerland?
  2. Do most Swiss people know the lyrics of their current national anthem?
  3. When was the current national anthem composed?
  4. What do they not like about the national anthem?
  5. What percentage of the Swiss population can sing the national anthem without reading the lyrics?
  6. How many people have sent in a tune for the competition?
  7. What are the 4 official languages of Switzerland?
  8. How many people are there in the jury?
  9. How many songs do the public get to vote for?
  10. What will they do with the winning anthem?
Answers:
1. mountains, chocolates, clocks, tradition 2. no 3. 1841 4. too hymn like and old 5. 4% 6. more than 200 7. German, French, Italian, Romansch 8. 30 9. 3 10. submit it as a suggestion to the government

For more activities on National Anthems go to Unit 2 of the Teachers Course.