Folk music and sports events

Normally, the electric guitar and the keyboards have been the instruments of awesome music for a while now. This is why I love the same sounds coming from the slots when I redeem my Cozino coupon code – I am happy to hear the familiar notes of an online slot machine.

That being said, there is a lot of sports festivals and events where one can find folk music and enjoy it. It is a symbol of culture and national identity. It yells out to guests and newcomers that the country in question is proud and old, that it will not lose. Because of this, there are some nations that have cast away their relative obscurity and gained popularity – usually due to one catchy song.

This isn’t to say that this is the purpose of folk songs. Folk songs are a big part of national identity and legacy throughout the ages. It is just that we associate certain things with certain countries. For example, the playful violin and step dance are things we put together with Ireland, while kozachok is known internationally as Russian.

The Olympic Games

These games are as old as European civilizations, as their birthplace is ancient Greece. Athletes from all over the world come to compete and represent their nation on the world stage. Where does folk music fit in? You see, the Olympics are a very old and renowned sports festival. As such, there are numerous ceremonies. Let us focus for a moment on the opening and closing ceremonies. During the opening ceremony, the anthem of the host country is played, followed by folk music and dances that represent the country’s culture. The closing ceremony is not as elegant as the opening, but we get a taste of the culture of the host for the next games – again with singing and dancing.

Highland games

Highland games are games that celebrate Scottish and Celtic culture in general. They feature burly athletes, big crowds and, of course, kilts. There are plenty of, to put it delicately, somewhat exotic disciplines, most popular of which is the caber toss. For those of you who are not familiar with this athletic skill, it consists of a person holding a trimmed tree log and trying to throw it as far as possible. There are variations in skill, difficulty and the size and weight of the logs, but that’s essentially it.

Now, as for music, the thunder of bagpipes can be heard throughout these games in the majority of songs played, especially Scotland the Brave. Many local bands and solo artists perform at the Highland games, and some of them participate in music competitions.

In other words

It could be an exaggeration to say that folk music is an integral and inseparable part of sporting events. The fact of the matter is that, with globalization in place, major sporting events will feature a few anthems at the most, and then move on to playing latest hits from the charts. But the local competitions and events are still going strong.