Dare to Dream (Olympic theme song)

"Dare to Dream" is a song written by Australian songwriters Paul Begaud, Vanessa Corish, and American composer Wayne Tester. The track was performed by Olivia Newton-John and John Farnham during the Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics on 15 September 2000, broadcast to an estimated global audience of 4.5 billion viewers.[1][2][3]

Writing and selection process

"Dare to Dream" was selected from more than 5,000 international submissions received by the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG), as part of a global call for music to represent the 2000 Summer Olympics. The song began as a collaboration between Australian songwriting partners Vanessa Corish and Paul Begaud in their hometown of Sydney, before being completed in Nashville with American composer Wayne Tester.

In the 2020 Channel 7 documentary Towards Tokyo: The Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Sydney 2000: Uncovered, Corish shared how the song's inspiration came from a deep personal reverence for athletes:[4]

"We really love sport, and that's really how 'Dare to Dream' came about. We were noodling around in the studio, and I just sat down at the piano, and I'd really just held in my heart the reverence that we have for athletes — really, genuinely. And the verse just came straight out."

Speaking on ABC Radio, Begaud added: "When you're writing a song, you have no idea that it will ever eventuate into anything significant. It's only a hope and a dream."[5]

In the same Channel 7 special, Begaud recalled submitting the finished demo to SOCOG: "Apparently it landed on a table of 5,000 other songs. We were told, 'We'll call you.'" Corish recalled the exact words of the phone call they received: "Your song's been chosen for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Sydney, and John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John are going to be singing it. And... you can't tell anyone."

Reflecting on the moment they witnessed the song's debut live at Stadium Australia, Corish added on ABC Radio: "It was, and it will always be, one of the greatest joys of my life."

Reception and legacy

Following John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John's performance, Farnham said, "It was an absolute dream and I'll never forget it." Newton-John said, "It was one of the most exciting honours of my life."[6]

"Dare to Dream" made Rolling Stone's list of the "15 Best Olympic Musical Performances".[7] In its retrospective review, the magazine praised the chemistry between the performers:

"In 2000, Olivia Newton-John teamed up with John Farnham for a performance of their inspirational duet 'Dare to Dream' at the Sydney Summer Olympics. What they delivered was palpable chemistry."

Arrangement and production

Malaysian-born Australian-based musical director Chong Lim served as the Orchestrater, Conductor and co-producer for the song, alongside Ross Fraser and John Farnham. Richard Lush, handled the orchestral engineering for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. The song was mixed by Doug Brady.

Album version

The studio version of "Dare to Dream" was included on the official Olympic album, The Games of the XXVII Olympiad: Official Music from the Opening Ceremony, released on 18 September 2000. The album peaked at number one on the ARIA Charts and was certified 2× Platinum in Australia. It was also nominated for Best Original Soundtrack Album at the ARIA Music Awards of 2001.[8]

Notable performances

Following its Olympic debut, "Dare to Dream" has been performed at numerous high-profile events, often in ceremonial or inspirational settings:

The song has become a staple at school graduations and choir events; sheet music publisher J.W. Pepper describes "Dare to Dream" as "a must for concerts, festivals or graduation ceremonies."[12]

Enduring impact on athletes

Australian Olympic athletes have cited the song as a personal source of inspiration. During the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Olympic silver medallist Jaclyn Narracott shared in a televised interview with Channel 7's Andrew Gaze that she listens to "Dare to Dream" as part of her pre-race preparation, stating, "One of the last songs is Dare to Dream, the one by Olivia Newton-John and John Farnham — every time."[13]

Numerous athletes have described the song as deeply meaningful and emotionally empowering throughout their Olympic journeys and beyond.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Olympics end -- the party begins". 2 October 2000.
  2. ^ "ANZ Stadium by POPULOUS".
  3. ^ "Olympic Opening Ceremony".
  4. ^ "Relive the magic of Sydney 2000 as one-year countdown to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 begins". 22 July 2020.
  5. ^ ABC Radio Interview with Paul Begaud
  6. ^ "John Farnham 2000 Olympic Games".
  7. ^ "Olivia Newton-John and John Farnham at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics (Opening Ceremony)". 28 July 2024.
  8. ^ "2001 ARIA Awards Winners".
  9. ^ "Dare To Dream" – Lucy Durack and David Hobson
  10. ^ "Dare To Dream" - Olivia Newton-John and John Farnham Dare to Dream Live
  11. ^ "Dare To Dream", performed by Anthony Callea & Casey Donovan
  12. ^ https://www.jwpepper.com/dare-to-dream-3278017/p
  13. ^ "Instagram".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.