Would YOU stand for the National Anthem?

[Beef Oven!]

Coincidentally, I haven't seen a similar screen myself in the last couple of days...

[MickyD]

Thanks for all your thoughts on the iplayer, folks. I have heard talk that the BBC are soon going to offer it outside the UK - but with a subscription charge, natch! I have no idea how much they are thinking of charging.

[Beef Oven!]

Thanks for all your thoughts on the iplayer, folks. I have heard talk that the BBC are soon going to offer it outside the UK - but with a subscription charge, natch! I have no idea how much they are thinking of charging.

Hopefully, those of us that have a TV licence will get a discount. 100% feels right.

[jean]

Since Vasily's arrival, they've resumed the practice - but only for the first concert of the season, I think. He must like it.

From the programme notes to the concert I'm going to this coming Thursday,which is indeed the first of the season:

The National Anthem

It is thought that the first performance of the National Anthem, with the melody and words more or less as they are today, was in 1745. Thomas Arne (1710 - 78) is given credit for standardising the words and music at this time, and he is sometimes cited as the composer of the melody. However, the melody itself draws on elements of earlier tunes, including music by John Bull (1563 - 1628) and Henry Purcell (1659 - 95), while Handel used a variant of the tune in the Sarabande of his Suite No.4 in E minor, composed before 1720. Other theories about its origin abound, including a widespread 19th century belief that an old Scots carol, ‘Remember O Thou Man’, was the source of the
tune.

The words go back much further: as early as 1545, the phrase ‘God save the King’ and its response ‘Long to reign over us’ were watchwords of the Royal Navy, according to the research of Percy Scholes. Many variants exist, with verses written to emphasise a particular political standpoint – verses were written in 1745 to rally support both for and against the Jacobite Rising – or to commemorate an event.

[MickyD]

Fascinating - thank you Jean.

[jean]

I've heard the connexion with Remember O thou man suggested before - I probably read the same programme note last year! - and perhaps if you make that a bit more major, it's more convincing. Or is it just the rhythm? Still, comments on this video seem to agree:

[David-G]

At the Last Night of the Proms, the whole audience stood for the National Anthem. Of course, we in the Arena didn't have much choice in the matter.

[Dave2002]

India

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-38155630

[Serial_Apologist]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-38155630

At the present rate the world is descending into authoritarianism, it won't be long before breathing will be made compulsory.

[DracoM]

Ref: OP: Yes.

[jean]

...it won't be long before breathing will be made compulsory.

Isn't it already, unless you want to die?

[P. G. Tipps]

Of course I would stand for the NA ... why would any decent, tolerant individual who respects democracy do otherwise?

What, of course, others do is entirely up to them ... that is of absolutely no significance in my own personal judgement in such matters.

In a free country such as ours people can do what the hell they like.

[Warlock]

Of course I would stand for the British National Anthem.

[P. G. Tipps]

Actually, I would stand proudly for many anthems ... Flower of Scotland (or whichever other happens to be flavour of the day!), God Save The Queen, Ode to Joy, and last, but certainly not least, the incomparably universal Auld Lang Syne ...

[french frank]

Actually, I would stand proudly for many anthems ...

Yes, on the whole I'd probably stand for any national anthem I'm likely to hear. I wouldn't put my hand over my heart, though. And I probably wouldn't sing.