Close
Back
Download NATO’s broadcast-quality video content free of charge
Log in
No account?
Forgot your password?
NATO MULTIMEDIA ACCOUNT
Access NATO’s broadcast-quality video content free of charge
Create an account
Check your inbox and enter verification code
We have sent a verification code to your email address.
.
Enter the code to verify your account. This code will expire in 30 minutes.
You have successfully created your account
From now on you can download videos from our website
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would also like to subscribe to the newsletter and receive our latest updates, click on the button below.
Reset password
Enter the email address you registered with and we will send you a code to reset your password.
Reset password
We have sent a verification code to your email address.
Enter the code to verify your account. This code will expire in 30 minutes.
Create a new password
The password must be at least 12 characters long, no spaces, include upper/lowercase letters, numbers and symbols.
Your password has been updated
Click the button to return to the page you were on and log in with your new password.
Did you know that NATO's official anthem, the NATO Hymn, was only officially adopted in 2018?
Until the NATO Hymn received this stamp of approval from the North Atlantic Council, several pieces of music vied to become the Organization's official anthem over the decades.
The first attempts
The earliest proposals for a NATO hymn can be traced back to the late 1950s, when various composers began eagerly submitting music in the hope of seeing it officially crowned in time for the 10th anniversary of the Alliance in 1959. NATO politely turned down these offers.
In 1958, Thomas Hildebrand Preston – a British diplomat who famously saved hundreds of Lithuanian Jews from the Holocaust by issuing them (often illegal) travel documents – composed a "NATO ceremonial march" originally meant to accompany visitors to NATO Headquarters at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris.
The following year, Captain Hans Lorenz (Germany) composed a “NATO Song,” (not to be confused with the "The NATO Song", created by Bing Crosby in the same year) with lyrics by Captain Stephanus van Dam (Netherlands) and Leon van Leeuwen (United States). This song was presented by an orchestra and a chorus at the NATO 10th anniversary pageant.
The most democratic proposal for a NATO anthem came in 1960, when Air Marshal Sir Edward Chilton (United Kingdom) suggested a NATO anthem arranged by Squadron Leader J.L. Wallace, which merged all the national anthems of the then 15 member countries. Unfortunately, no further record of this hymn exists in our archives.
The birth of the NATO Hymn
To celebrate NATO’s 40th Anniversary in 1989, a large NATO choir sang "The Atlantic Hymn" by José Ludovice (Portugal).
At the same event, the Luxembourg Military Band played a separate “NATO Hymn,” composed by its director, Captain André Reichling.
This composition proved to be the most successful of all the various NATO anthems. It was played at many NATO events, becoming NATO’s de facto hymn for nearly 30 years. It finally became the official "NATO Hymn" when the North Atlantic Council approved it on 3 January 2018.
The NATO Hymn has no lyrics, and is scored for twenty musical instruments: piccolo, flute, oboe, three clarinets, three saxophones, two cornets, two trumpets, horn, baritone horn, three trombones, tuba, and snare drum.
Listen to the NATO Hymn below, performed by a Bundeswehr military band at NATO Headquarters in Brussels to celebrate Germany's 70th anniversary in NATO (6 May 2025).
