Umbro’s England Anthem
Two minutes to kick off, and the players are lined up, facing the crowd, excitement, anxiety and anticipation on their faces. And then, the music kicks in…
The national anthem is as much a part of football culture as the goals, the shirts and the celebrations. It’s something that brings everyone together – the players, the fans in the ground and those watching at home. Regardless of your background, where you’re watching the match or who you’re with, everyone unites to observe, to watch in silence or to sing along.
That’s why we thought the anthem would be perfect for this short film ahead of the action in South Africa. We’ve got 18 everyday people from across England to recreate that moment before kick off, and they all react in different ways, but they’re still all united by the moment. Hopefully, it’ll get both the fans and the players going before we kick off against the USA next Saturday!
On 7 Jun 2010, at 7:24 am Eugene wrote:
Lol Funny guy XD
On 11 Jun 2010, at 2:47 pm Umbro’s stirring anthem for a multicultural England | Kanishk Tharoor | BB SPORT wrote:
[...] I found myself positively stirred by a rendition of God Save the Queen. Ahead of the World Cup, Umbro released an ad featuring its official red England football top. The short TV spot dresses a range of everyday [...]
On 11 Jun 2010, at 3:18 pm Umbro’s stirring anthem for a multicultural England | Kanishk Tharoor #the guardian #world cup 2010 #england | soccer ts wrote:
[...] I found myself positively stirred by a rendition of God Save the Queen. Ahead of the World Cup, Umbro released an ad featuring its official red England football top. The short TV spot dresses a range of everyday [...]
On 11 Jun 2010, at 3:34 pm From the Guardian – Umbro’s stirring anthem for a multicultural England « England Left Forward wrote:
[...] I found myself positively stirred by a rendition of God Save the Queen. Ahead of the World Cup, Umbro released an ad featuring its official red England football top. The short TV spot dresses a range of everyday [...]
On 11 Jun 2010, at 4:46 pm Umbro’s stirring anthem for a multicultural England « Kanishk Tharoor wrote:
[...] that I found myself positively stirred by a rendition of God Save the Queen. Ahead of the World Cup,Umbro released an ad featuring its official red England football top. The short TV spot dresses a range of everyday [...]
On 12 Jun 2010, at 10:39 am Anonymous wrote:
please could you tell me how to download this version of the national anthem
On 14 Jun 2010, at 1:21 pm Paul Ricketts wrote:
I watched the Umbro’s England Anthem advert with interest because I’m doing an Edinburgh show called ‘Kiss The Badge, Fly The Flag’ on our attitude to wearing the shirt and flying the flag of St George.
It’s based on the contradiction that I support England, but as a black Englishman I still feel uncomfortable wearing the football shirt or waving the flag of St George – why? The show is a funny and enlightening look at multi-cultural Englishness with jokes and anecdotes – featuring filmed encounters I’ve had with the BNP, Billy Bragg and the national press. Plus interviews with his family, teenagers, politicians and celebrities – such as comedians Richard Blackwood, Shazia Mirza, Reginald D Hunter and actor Adrian Lester.
What I’ve found so far is that this world cup could be a threshold moment in the creation of a new more inclusive sort of Englishness. The fact that You Tube had to delete racist comments in response to this advert shows that there’s a way to go. But I want to congratulate Umbro on this advert and wished that they sent me a shirt when I told them about my show two months ago – in the end I made my own (red ’66 shirt of course).
Paul Ricketts – Kiss The Badge, Fly The Flag!
- Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2010
Venue: Just The Tonic at the Caves, 253 Cowgate, Edinburgh, EH1 1NN
Room: Just Out Of The Box
Time: 10.40pm (1 hour)
Dates: 5th – 29th August (except 13th & 16th)
“highly accomplished” Time Out