“Алтын күн аспаны,

Алтын дән даласы,

Ерліктің дастаны,

Еліме қарашы!

Ежелден ер деген,

Даңкымыз шықты ғой.

Намысын бермеген,

Қазағым мықты ғой!……...” Kazakhstan National Anthem

“Kazakhstan’s shooting team was taken by surprise when a spoof national anthem from the film Borat was used at a medal ceremony in Kuwait. The team demanded an apology after Maria Dmitrienko was played the obscene song, which features lyrics about prostitutes and potassium exports, as she received her gold medal……. The blunder apparently occurred after the event’s organisers downloaded the parody from the internet by mistake. They also got the Serbian anthem wrong. An apology was issued and the ceremony staged again. The incident was the second in the space of a few weeks involving a slip-up over Kazakhstan’s anthem at a sporting event. Earlier this month, stunned officials opening a ski event in northern Kazakhstan were blasted with a few bars of Ricky Martin’s Livin’ la Vida Loca instead of the national tune……….”


No big deal, but it is funny, straight out of a film by you know who.
It’s a good thing the Israelis don’t compete on the Gulf. Some meshugenah in Bahrain might mistakenly play “Deutschland Über Alles”. An uber faux pas. Apparently the Kazakhs are having trouble getting their national anthem played properly, and not just in Kuwait; even at home. These things happen, it happens.
I recall some years ago back home when the national television surprised everybody one night by playing a bunch of Israeli dancers and singers doing a hearty rendition of “Hava Nagila”. It was not supposed to have been broadcast, but at least it wasn’t “Hatikvah”. There were a few lame explanations by the media, including that Mossad may have been behind it. In retrospect, they could have done worse, sometimes they did.
Cheers
mhg


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