What role does music play at the Olympics? Audiences are usually aware of the moods music can evoke during emotionally heightened moments, like national anthems at medal ceremonies. Yet we rarely consider the Olympic theme music used by major media networks as something that helps to frame sports coverage. It’s the theme music that fills our ears before and after commercials and quietly accompanies their intimate athlete profiles. That theme music can actually have an impact on the way we view sports.

Music was a feature at all Greek games. The festivals attracted large crowds of spectators and were, therefore, an ideal occasion for musicians, writers and other artists to present their talents to the world. The cooperation of some musicians was necessary for a smooth conduct of the games: trumpeters and heralds addressed the spectators. Best known for musical contests were the Pythian Games, honouring Apollo, the god of the arts. 

By 1984, John Williams’ film music was familiar to audiences the world over and it was only natural that the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee would turn to the city’s most famous composer of popular instrumental music when they decided to commission a fanfare to be used during the Games. Leo Arnaud’s “Bugler’s Dream” fanfare (from his Charge Suite) had become synonymous with the Olympics since ABC began using it for its televised coverage of the Games in 1968. At the same time, the opening fanfare was to be played by herald trumpets at all of the medal ceremonies and official Olympic events, so it had to be based on the harmonic overtones these instruments were able to produce.