The Olympics are usually one of those few events that draw a lot of viewership since athletes from around the world compete in the myriad of sporting events. This iteration of the Olympics was held in Rio during a time where social media use has become part and parcel of our lives and hence people watched the events on the TV while commenting about them on social media.
One of the more notable events when they present the medals to the winners is the part where the national anthem of the gold medallist ‘s country of origin is usually played. Well, Kenya bagged a gold in the men’s marathon in the last day of the Olympics which meant that the national anthem was the last one to be played. Interesting enough, people from around the world posted about their praise over the Kenya national anthem on Twitter when it was played before the closing ceremony.
It was majestic
https://twitter.com/RunMereRun/status/767530567676100608
It was beautiful
Wow, Kenya has a beautiful national anthem! What a tune! You learn something new every day! #ClosingCeremony
— lindsayince (@lindsayince) August 22, 2016
It was classy
https://twitter.com/jaygee72/status/767520498297237505
My favourite: It’s like a movie score
https://twitter.com/yawtho/status/767716106408718336
Our national anthem made some emotional (which is a good thing)
I just got emotional as Kenya's national anthem played for the world to hear at the closing ceremonies of the Olympics 🇰🇪
— Thrilla 'n' Manila (@prettysince86) August 22, 2016
Gave me goosebumps
https://twitter.com/sarangeh_shila/status/768016287473754112
It was moving
From a musical perspective; the Kenya national anthem is a beautifully moving piece. #ClosingCeremony #Rio2016
— Garrett (@Spottschrift) August 22, 2016
Others wished to hear its vocals
The National Anthem of Kenya is beautiful. I'd love to hear the vocals. #ClosingCeremony #Rio2016 #Olympics
— 12NeeNee (@12NeeNee) August 22, 2016
It is soo cool
Kenya's national anthem is so cool #ClosingCeremony
— ً (@adriisstyles) August 22, 2016
Stirringly beautiful. Interesting adverb choice there
Kenya's national anthem is stirringly beautiful. #ClosingCeremony
— Iris (@Free_Spirit2972) August 22, 2016
As you can see, people love our anthem and it is not the first time it has been played before the closing ceremony. We have been fortunate enough to win the the gold medal in the last day too at previous tournaments where our national anthem was proudly played and it has the potential of being one of our top pop culture references.