The Spanish national anthem, the “Marcha Real” or “Royal March, has no official lyrics. The original version had lyrics, but they are no longer used. The lyrics which were said to have fascist overtones were scrapped in 1978 when Spain embraced democracy after nearly 40 years of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship.
The usual practice for audience members is to hum or ‘na na na’ along to the tune, while the players stand and listen in silence.When World Cup fever took over in the summer of 2018, a wildly amusing Twitterstorm broke out in the run-up to Spain’s game against Iran on 20 June. ‘Marcha Real’ was composed in 1761 by Manuel de Espinosa de los Monteros, who wrote the tune as a military march for the Spanish Infantry. In the 1770s, Charles III declared it the official march of Spain, and it later became the country’s national anthem.
There have been a number of attempts to set words to the ‘Marcha Real’, some of which have been used at past events. However, none of the suggested lyrics have been officially approved by the Spanish government. In 2008, Spain’s Olympic Committee tried to set lyrics to the anthem, but their suggestion was widely criticised due to its opening line of ‘Viva España’, an expression associated with Franco’s dictatorship.
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