The Olympics Have Apologized After It Played Sudan’s National Anthem For South Sudan
South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 after decades of civil war.
Paris 2024 Olympics organizers played the wrong national anthem ahead of South Sudan’s Olympic debut in men’s basketball.
South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 after decades of civil war.
Instead of hearing « South Sudan Oyee!” , players and fans heard the national anthem of Sudan being played.
In a clip of the moment, the South Sudanese players can be seen preparing for the anthem before becoming visibly confused.
The audio track is then abruptly cut off to boos from the crowd.
An announcer can then be heard apologizing for a “technical error.”
Spectators can then be seen clapping in support of the South Sudanese players until the correct anthem began to play.
Olympic organizers immediately released a statement, citing human error.
“We fully understand the gravity of the mistake” the officials wrote.
“They have to be better because this is the biggest stage, and you know that South Sudan is playing,” Forward Majok Deng said. « I don’t want to say anything, but to us it didn’t feel right, and that kind of delayed the game.”
Despite the mix-up, South Sudan defeated Puerto Rico 90-79.
“It gave us fuel to the fire,” South Sudan forward Nuni Omot said.
South Sudan next faces Team USA on Wednesday, July 31.
This is the second time Paris organizers have had to apologize for mixing up countries.
During the opening ceremony, organizers introduced the South Korean team as North Korea.
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