Although the Olympic games have been around in one form or another for centuries, however, it wasn’t until a 1981 British film called “Chariots of Fire” came out that the Olympics had its own theme song. The movie is a historical drama based on the true story of two athletes competing during the 1924 Olympic games. In the movie, Harold Abrahams is an English jew running to overcome anti-semantic prejudice, while Eric Lidell is a devout Scottish Christian running to glorify God. The title track of the movie was written and recorded by Vangelis, a Greek composer and musician. The song became a smash topping the Billboard Hot 100 charts in May of 1982.
Since then, the song has been used in countless movies, and TV shows often represented a character’s struggle in a comedic way. Plus, there are plenty of folks who exercise, especially runners and bikers, who love to listen to the song as they work out. The song features a rather unique underlying note that plays throughout the song on which other notes seem to build, crest, and fall from. The song was first used as theme music at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games that took place in Los Angeles, California, then again at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. In this video of the 2012 Olympic games in London, England, Mr. Bean (played by British comedian Rowan Atkinson) plays the role of a pianist with only one job during the playing of “Chariots of Fire.”
Image via YouTube
As the video begins, we see a beautiful shot of the stadium where the games are being held. The announcer welcomes world-renowned orchestra conductor, Sir. Simon Rattle to the center stage as begins directing the London Symphony Orchestra in a performance of “Chariots of Fire.” Rattle goes around shaking hands and greeting the musicians, before starting up the music. The camera then pans over to Mr. Bean wearing his typical droll expression as he starts to play the vital underlying note that ties the song together. However, early on and throughout the performance, Bean becomes bored and finds ways to amuse himself while still keeping beat and pressing the one key he has to keep pressing throughout the song. This is by far one of my favorite Mr. Bean moments, as it shows off Aktikson’s comedic brilliance without him uttering a single word.
Image via YouTube
Watch Mr. Bean delivering his one-note along with plenty of laughs in the video below.