# List of wrong anthem incidents

This is a list of incidents when an incorrect national anthem was accidentally played, sung or performed, including playing the anthem of the wrong country, playing an outdated anthem, and playing a non-anthem piece in place of a national anthem.

## List

| Event and host | Date | Location affected | Incident | Type | Occasion |
| Opening ceremony for the Kiel Canal, Rendsburg, Germany | 21 June 1895 | Ottoman Empire | When the Turkish ship "Fuad" sailed past the band during the ship parade, the band noticed that they did not have the sheet music for the Turkish anthem. Instead, they played the German folk song "Guter Mond" (engl. "Good Moon") as a reference to the Turkish crescent moon flag. | Non-anthem | Politics |
| 1920 Summer Olympics, Antwerp, Belgium | 18 August 1920 | Kingdom of Italy | The band which was unable to find the score of the anthem of Italy after Ugo Frigerio won the gold medal in the 10km walk decided to play "'O sole mio," one of the most popular Italian songs of the time. The music was so well known by the public that the crowd all sang it together | Non-anthem | Athletics |
| 1952 Summer Olympics, Helsinki, Finland | 26 July 1952 | Luxembourg | The band improvised a tune in lieu of the anthem of Luxembourg after Josy Barthel unexpectedly won gold at the 1500 metres, as they did not have the sheet music. | Non-anthem | Athletics |
| State visit of Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer to the USA | April 1953 | West Germany | During Adenauer's visit to Chicago, a band performed the carnival song "Heidewitzka, Herr Kapitän [de]". | Non-anthem | Politics |
| State visit of President Camille Chamoun to São Paulo, Brazil | May 1954 | Lebanon | A military band performed the national anthem of Israel upon Chamoun's arrival at the airport, as the band leader had mistakenly distributed the wrong sheet music. | Wrong country | Politics |
| 1957 Ice Hockey World Championships, Moscow, USSR | 5 March 1957 | Sweden | Sweden unexpectedly won the tournament against the Soviet Union, and the host country did not have a recording of their national anthem ready to play. The players agreed to sing the anthem in place of a recording, but as they did not know the full lyrics, they instead sang the drinking song "Helan Går". | Non-anthem | Ice hockey |
| Friendly match between Italy and England, Wembley, United Kingdom | 6 May 1959 | Italy | "Marcia Reale", the anthem of the Kingdom of Italy, was played ahead of the match. | Outdated | Football |
| 1967 South African Grand Prix, Midrand, South Africa | 2 January 1967 | Mexico | Not having sheet music for the national anthem of Mexico, a brass band performed "Jarabe Tapatío" for winning driver Pedro Rodríguez during the podium ceremony. | Non-anthem | Auto racing |
| Friendly match between Czechoslovakia and Spain, Prague, Czechoslovakia | 1 October 1967 | Spain | A military band played "Himno de Riego", the anthem used during the Second Spanish Republic, rather than the anthem in use at the time. The Czechoslovak Football Association apologised to the Spanish Football Federation with a letter stating that a functionary of the Czechoslovak football body provoked the mistake, specifying that "it was the only score they had at hand". | Outdated | Football |
| State visit of Chairman of the RCC Muammar Gaddafi to Paris, France | 23 November 1973 | Libya | During Gaddafi's welcoming ceremony, the band of the Republican Guard played "Libya, Libya, Libya", the country's former national anthem under King Idris, instead of "Walla Zaman Ya Selahy", the anthem in use at the time. | Outdated | Politics |
| 1977 Austrian Grand Prix, Spielberg, Austria | 14 August 1977 | Australia | A misconception states that "Happy Birthday to You" was played for winning driver Alan Jones. However, "Advance Australia Fair" was actually played, different from what Jones remembered. | Non-anthem | Auto racing |
| State visit of President Nicolae Ceaușescu to Washington, D.C., USA | 13 April 1978 | Romania | During Ceaușescu's reception at the White House, the United States Army Band performed "Fatherland Romania", variously referred to as an anthem "from capitalist days" or the predecessor anthem to "Trei culori", Romania's anthem at the time. | Outdated | Politics |
| Opening of the World Chess Championship between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi, Philippines | 17 July 1978 | Soviet Union | At the opening ceremony of the duel between Karpov and Korchnoi, the latter had planned to sit down in protest during playing of the State Anthem of the Soviet Union. However the organisers mistakenly played The Internationale, a well-known communist song instead. | Non-anthem/outdated | Chess |
| 6th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, Havana, Cuba | 3 September 1979 | Iraq | At the opening ceremony, a brass band played the anthem of Egypt for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. | Wrong country | Politics |
| Football match West Germany - Yugoslavia, Luxembourg | 7 June 1983 | Yugoslavia | Before the match, the band played the anthem of the pre-World War II Yugoslav monarchy. The Yugoslav players refused to begin the game for nearly 90 minutes until the correct anthem was performed. | Outdated | Football |
| 1985 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, Bormio, Italy | 7 February 1985 | West Germany | At the awards ceremony, the East German national anthem was played for West German gold medallist Markus Wasmeier. | Wrong country | Giant slalom |
| 1986 FIFA World Cup OFC qualifiers, Melbourne, Australia | 20 October 1985 | Australia | Ahead of a match between Australia and Israel, the West German national anthem was initially played for the Australian team. | Wrong country | Football |
| 1986 FIFA World Cup, Mexico | 1986 | Belgium | The West German national anthem was played for Belgium. | Wrong country | Football |
| 1986 FIFA World Cup, Guadalajara, Mexico | 1 June 1986 | Brazil | Ahead of the opening game of Group D between Brazil and Spain, the Brazilian Flag Anthem was played instead of the Brazilian National Anthem. | Non-anthem | Football |
| Moscow Bears–Tacoma Express, Tacoma, Washington, USA | 2 July 1990 | Soviet Union | The Turkish national anthem was played for the Moscow Bears, who were touring the United States as the Soviet national American football team. The Tacoma Dome crew realized the mistake while the "The Star-Spangled Banner" was being performed for the hosting Express, then played the Soviet anthem afterward. | Wrong country | American football |
| 1991 Five Nations Championship, Paris, France | 19 January 1991 | Scotland | Marche des Soldats de Robert Bruce (the air of "Scots Wha Hae") was played by a Gendarmerie band for the Scottish team ahead of a game against France, as the score for "Flower of Scotland" was not available at the time. | Non-anthem | Rugby union |
| Friendly match between Brazil and Bulgaria, Uberlândia, Brazil | 28 May 1991 | Bulgaria | A Brazilian military band played "Shumi Maritsa", the national anthem of the Kingdom of Bulgaria, allegedly misunderstanding that the anthem has changed after fall of communism in the country. | Outdated | Football |
| State visit of Federal President Roman Herzog to Porto Alegre, Brazil | 23 November 1995 | Germany | During a reception for Herzog, a police band performed the anthem of the former German Democratic Republic. | Wrong country/outdated | Politics |
| 1998 Belgian Grand Prix, Francorchamps, Belgium | 30 August 1998 | Republic of Ireland | The anthem of the United Kingdom was also played for the winning Irish-licensed Jordan team, despite being correctly played for their winning driver Damon Hill. | Wrong country/outdated | Auto racing |
| 1999 World Men's Handball Championship, Cairo, Egypt | 3 June 1999 | Spain | Ahead of a match between Argentina and Spain, the anthem of Morocco was played for the latter. | Wrong country | Handball |
| 2001 World Aquatics Championships, Fukuoka, Japan | 29 July 2001 | Spain | | Non-anthem | Waterpolo |
| State visit of President Milan Kučan to Bucharest, Romania | 11 July 2002 | Slovenia | The anthem of Slovakia was played upon Kučan's arrival at the airport. | Wrong country | Politics |
| 2003 Davis Cup, Melbourne, Australia | 28 November 2003 | Spain | Ahead of the final between Australia and Spain the "Himno de Riego", the anthem used during the Second Spanish Republic, was played. The mistake provoked a reaction from then-Secretary of State for Sport Juan Antonio Gómez-Angulo, who was present and left the stadium in protest, and then instructed the Spanish team not to begin until an apology had been issued. | Outdated | Tennis |
| 2004 African Cup of Nations, Sfax, Tunisia | 25 January 2004 | Zimbabwe | Ahead of a match between Egypt and Zimbabwe "Ishe Komborera Africa", the Zimbabwean national anthem until 1994, was played. | Outdated | Football |
| 2004 African Cup of Nations, Radès, Tunisia | 11 February 2004 | Nigeria | Ahead of the semi-final match between Nigeria and Tunisia, the national anthem of Liberia was played. | Wrong country | Football |
| State visit of President Ricardo Lagos to Asunción, Paraguay | 14 May 2004 | Chile | During a reception for Lagos, a military band performed a verse of the national anthem of Chile that had been discarded due to its associations with the country's former military dictatorship. | Outdated | Politics |
| 2004 African Championships in Athletics, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo | 18 July 2004 | Zimbabwe | During the award ceremony "Ishe Komborera Africa", the Zimbabwean national anthem until 1994, was played. After several minutes' delay, gold medallist Lloyd Zvasiya took a microphone and sang the correct anthem himself. | Outdated | Athletics |
| 2006 FIFA World Cup, Frankfurt, Germany | 13 June 2006 | Togo | During a match between South Korea and Togo, the national anthem of South Korea was initially played a second time. | Wrong country | Football |
| Inauguration of the National Cricket Stadium, St. George's, Grenada | 4 February 2007 | China | During the inauguration ceremony of the stadium, which was funded by the People's Republic of China (PRC), the national anthem of Taiwan, officially called the Republic of China (ROC), was played before the PRC's ambassador Qian Hongshan. | Wrong country/outdated | Cricket |
| RTBF television interview with Minister-President of Flanders Yves Leterme, Brussels, Belgium | 21 July 2007 | Belgium | When asked by an interviewer if he could sing a part of the Belgian national anthem, the then-Minister-President of Flanders and future Prime Minister of Belgium Leterme began singing the French one instead. | Wrong country | Interview |
| 2007 Tour de France, Paris, France | 29 July 2007 | Spain | The national anthem of Denmark was initially played for winning Spaniard Alberto Contador at the podium ceremony. | Wrong country | Cycling |
| 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships, Valencia, Spain | 9 March 2008 | China | The national anthem of Chile was played for gold medallist Liu Xiang during the award ceremony. | Wrong country | Track and field |
| Friendly international football match, Prague, Czech Republic | 27 May 2008 | Lithuania | By mistake, national anthem of Latvia was played instead. | Wrong country | Football |
| 2008 Valencia GP2 Series round, Valencia, Spain | 23 August 2008 | Russia | "Patrioticheskaya Pesnya", the former Russian national anthem used between 1991 and 2000, was played at the podium ceremony for winner Vitaly Petrov. | Outdated | Auto racing |
| 2008 AFL semi-final, Melbourne, Australia | 12 September 2008 | Australia | Ahead of a Western Bulldogs–Sydney Swans game, AC/DC's "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" was briefly played instead of the Australian national anthem. | Non-anthem | Australian rules football |
| 2009 Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai, China | 19 April 2009 | Austria | The national anthem of the United Kingdom was played for the winning Austrian-licensed Red Bull team. | Wrong country | Auto racing |
| 2010 United States motorcycle Grand Prix, Monterey, California, USA | 25 July 2010 | Spain | The national anthem of Italy was initially played at the podium ceremony for winning Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo, before the anthem of Spain was played correctly. | Wrong country | Motorcycle racing |
| State visit of President Doris Leuthard to Oslo, Norway | 14 October 2010 | Switzerland | During the opening ceremony of Leuthard's visit, a band performed what was variously reported as "a piece composed in the early 1960s" and "a traditional folk-song." | Non-anthem | Politics |
| 2011 Giro d'Italia, Milan, Italy | 29 May 2011 | Spain | A version of the Spanish national anthem with lyrics, which are no longer included and generally associated with Francoist Spain, was played for race winner Alberto Contador. | Outdated | Cycling |
| 2011 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, Szeged, Hungary | 19 August 2011 | Germany | The original first stanza of the German national anthem, which is not part of the official anthem and is usually avoided due to its associations with the Nazi era, was played during the award ceremony for gold medallists Anne Knorr and Debora Niche. | Outdated | Canoe sprint |
| 2011 FIFA World Cup qualifying, Devonshire Parish, Bermuda | 7 October 2011 | Bermuda | Ahead of a game between Bermuda and Trinidad and Tobago, the national anthem of the United States was played. | Wrong country | Football |
| 6th Kostanay Regional Festival of Skiing, Kostanay, Kazakhstan | 5 March 2012 | Kazakhstan | At the opening ceremony, the first seconds of "Livin' la Vida Loca", a Latin pop song by Ricky Martin, was played. | Non-anthem | Skiing |
| Amir of Kuwait International Shooting Grand Prix, Kuwait City, Kuwait | 21 March 2012 | Kazakhstan | "O Kazakhstan", a parody anthem from the movie Borat, was played during gold medallist Mariya Dmitriyenko's award ceremony. The ceremony was later rerun with the correct anthem. | Non-anthem | Shooting |
| 2012 Women's Hockey Investec Cup, Chiswick, United Kingdom | 5 June 2012 | South Africa | Ahead of a match between South Africa and Great Britain, the former, apartheid-era South African national anthem "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" was played. | Outdated | Field hockey |
| 2012–13 Men's FIH Hockey World League, Rotterdam, Netherlands | 14 June 2013 | Australia | Ahead of a match between Australia and Belgium, the national anthem of New Zealand was initially played. | Wrong country | Field hockey |
| Friendly match, Brazil | 13 July 2012 | Spain | | Wrong country | Basketball |
| 2013 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Alytus, Lithuania | 29 July 2013 | Serbia | Ahead of the semifinal between Serbia and Portugal, the national anthem of Yugoslavia was played. | Outdated | Football |
| 2013 FIA WTCC Race of Argentina Termas de Río Hondo, Argentina | 4 August, 2013 | Germany | The original first stanza of the national anthem of Germany, which is not part of the official anthem and is usually avoided due to its associations with the Nazi era, was played for the winning constructor during the award ceremony. | Outdated | Auto racing |
| 2013 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships, Kyiv, Ukraine | 28 August 2013 | Ukraine | The national anthem of Russia was initially played for gold medallist Hanna Rizatdinova during the award ceremony. | Wrong country | Gymnastics |
| Friendly match between Malta and Slovakia, Žilina, Slovakia | 4 September 2014 | Malta | Prior to the match, the first few seconds of Linkin Park's "Numb" were played. | Non-anthem | Football |
| 2014 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Nanning, China | 12 October 2014 | Ukraine | The national anthem of Uzbekistan was played for gold medallist Oleg Verniaiev during the award ceremony. | Wrong country | Gymnastics |
| 2014 Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup | 4 November 2014 | Morocco | An instrumental version of the National Anthem of Russia was played instead of the Cherifian Anthem for Morocco ahead of the match between the United Arab Emirates and Morocco. | Wrong country | Beach soccer |
| 2014–15 Kontinental Hockey League, Bratislava, Slovakia | 25 November 2014 | Russia | Ahead of a match between Lokomotiv Yaroslavl and HC Slovan Bratislava, the State Anthem of the Soviet Union was played. | Outdated | Ice hockey |
| 2015 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship, Buffalo, New York, USA | 5 January 2015 | Russia | Ahead of a match between Russia and the Czech Republic "Patrioticheskaya Pesnya", the former Russian national anthem used between 1991 and 2000, was played. | Outdated | Ice hockey |
| 2015 King's Cup, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand | 1 February 2015 | Honduras | Prior to a match between Honduras and Thailand, the national anthem of Uzbekistan was played. | Wrong country | Football |
| 2015 FIL World Luge Championships, Sigulda, Latvia | 14 February 2015 | Germany | The national anthem of the former German Democratic Republic was played for gold medallists Tobias Arlt and Tobias Wendl at the award ceremony. | Outdated | Luge (Double) |
| Friendly match between Argentina and El Salvador, Landover, Maryland, USA | 28 March 2015 | El Salvador | Prior to the match, the anthem of the Isle of Man was played. | Wrong country | Football |
| 2015 World Deaf Basketball Championship, Taiwan | 12 July 2015 | Lithuania | The anthem of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic was played during the award ceremony, during which the Lithuanian team won gold medals. | Outdated | Basketball |
| 2015 BWF World Championships, Jakarta, Indonesia | 16 August 2015 | Spain | During the award ceremony a version of the Spanish national anthem with lyrics, which are no longer included and generally associated with Francoist Spain, was played for the gold medallist Carolina Marín. | Outdated | Badminton |
| Skeleton America Cup, Calgary, Canada | 13 November 2015 | Spain | After Ander Mirambell won the stage in Calgary, the anthem didn't sound and he had to play it on his phone. | Non-anthem | Skeleton |
| Copa América Centenario, Glendale, Arizona, USA | 5 June 2016 | Uruguay | Prior to a match between Mexico and Uruguay, the national anthem of Chile was played. | Wrong country | Football |
| Qualifier for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Manila, Philippines | 6 July 2016 | New Zealand | Prior to a basketball match between New Zealand and the Philippines, the national anthem of Canada was played. | Wrong country | Basketball |
| 2016 Summer Olympics, Manaus, Brazil | 4 August 2016 | Nigeria | Ahead of a football match between Japan and Nigeria, the national anthem of Niger was played. | Wrong country | Football |
| Skeleton America Cup, Calgary, Canada | 14 November 2016 | Spain | After Ander Mirambell won the stage in Calgary, the "Himno de Riego", the anthem used during the Second Spanish Republic, was played. | Outdated | Skeleton |
| 2017 Fed Cup, Maui, Hawaii, USA | 12 February 2017 | Germany | Prior to a match between Andrea Petković and Coco Vandeweghe, the original first stanza of the national anthem of Germany was sung, which is not part of the official anthem and is usually avoided due to its associations with the Nazi era. Petković was disturbed by the incident, and called it "the worst experience that has ever happened to me." | Outdated | Tennis |
| 2017 Biathlon World Championships, Hochfilzen, Austria | 18 February 2017 | Russia | "Patrioticheskaya Pesnya", the former Russian national anthem used between 1991 and 2000, was played during the award ceremony for the gold medalists Alexey Volkov, Maxim Tsvetkov, Anton Babikov, and Anton Shipulin. | Outdated | Biathlon |
| 2017 IIHF World Championship, Cologne, Germany | 6 May 2017 | Slovakia | After a match where Slovakia beat Italy, the national anthem of Slovenia was played. | Wrong country | Ice hockey |
| 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Suwon, South Korea | 24 May 2017 | Uruguay | The Chilean national anthem was played incorrectly during the Uruguayan part, drawing criticism. The Uruguayan coaches immediately protested, and eventually the Uruguayan national anthem was played after the Japanese national anthem, making a total of three national anthems played during the match. The World Cup organizing committee later admitted the mistake and apologized. | Wrong country | Football |
| 2017 European Athletics U20 Championships, Grosseto, Italy | 23 July 2017 | Belarus | The national anthem of Bosnia and Herzegovina was played during Viyaleta Skvartsova's medal ceremony, prompting her to walk away from the proceedings. | Wrong country | Track and field |
| 2017 Jerez Formula 2 round, Jerez de la Frontera, Spain | 7 October 2017 | Monaco | The national anthem of France was initially played during Charles Leclerc's podium ceremony. | Wrong country | Auto racing |
| 2017 World Weightlifting Championships, Anaheim, USA | 4 December 2017 | Spain | | Wrong country | Powerlifting |
| 2018 Rugby Europe Championship, Cologne, Germany | 18 March 2018 | Russia | Prior to a match between Germany and Russia, the State Anthem of the Soviet Union was played. | Outdated | Rugby |
| 2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship, Zandvoort, Netherlands | 15 July 2018 | Russia | "Patrioticheskaya Pesnya", the former Russian national anthem used between 1991 and 2000, was played during Nikita Troitskiy's podium ceremony. | Outdated | Auto racing |
| 2018 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics, Trujillo, Peru | 25 August 2018 | Spain | A version of the Spanish national anthem with lyrics, which are no longer included and generally associated with Francoist Spain, was played for winner of hammer throw event Javier Cienfuegos. | Outdated | Athletics |
| 2018 World Masters Athletics Championships, Málaga, Spain | 5 September 2018 | Germany | The original first stanza of the national anthem of Germany, which is not part of the official anthem and is usually avoided due to its associations with the Nazi era, was played for the German gold medalists during the award ceremony. | Outdated | Marathon |
| Oktoberfest celebration in Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA | 6 October 2018 | Germany | The original first stanza of the national anthem of Germany was played, which is not part of the official anthem and is usually avoided due to its associations with the Nazi era. | Outdated | Oktoberfest |
| 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, Yerevan, Armenia | 13 October 2018 | Gibraltar | Ahead of a match between Gibraltar and Armenia, the national anthem of Liechtenstein was played. | Wrong country | Football |
| 2018 AFC U-19 Championship, Bekasi, Indonesia | 22 October 2018 | South Korea | Ahead of a match between South Korea and Jordan, the national anthem of North Korea was played. | Wrong country | Football |
| 2018–19 UEFA Nations League D, Skopje, Macedonia | 19 November 2018 | Gibraltar | Ahead of a match between Gibraltar and Macedonia, "God Save the Queen" was initially played before "Gibraltar Anthem", Gibraltar's territorial anthem, was played correctly. | Wrong country | Football |
| 2018 Meca Hockey Games, Lørenskog, Norway | 13 December 2018 | Belarus | Ahead of a match between Belarus and Norway, "Kasiu Yas' kanushynu", a song by Belarusian folk rock band Pesniary, was played. | Non-anthem | Ice hockey |
| Murcia, Spain | 28 April 2019 | Spain | | Outdated | Politics |
| Cotec Europe Forum, Naples, Italy | 7 May 2019 | Spain | During a visit by King Felipe VI and former King Juan Carlos I, a choir of schoolchildren welcomed them with a version of the Spanish national anthem with lyrics, which are no longer included and generally associated with Francoist Spain. | Outdated | Politics |
| 2020 UEFA Euro qualifier, Paris, France | 7 September 2019 | Albania | Ahead of a match between Albania and France, the national anthem of Andorra was played. The kick-off was delayed as the Albanian side refused to begin until the correct anthem was played. French President Emmanuel Macron apologized for the mistake. | Wrong country | Football |
| 2019 Rugby World Cup warm-up match, Sydney, Australia | 7 September 2019 | Argentina | At the ceremony before a match between the Argentine national rugby team and Australian team Randwick DRUFC, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2 was initially played instead of the Argentine national anthem. | Non-anthem | Rugby union |
| 2020 ATP Cup, Sydney, Australia | 2 January 2020 | Moldova | Ahead of Moldova's opening tie with Belgium, the national anthem of Romania, which was also used as the Moldovan anthem from 1991 to 1994, was played. | Wrong country/outdated | Tennis |
| 2020 Copa do Brasil, Novo Hamburgo, Brazil | 13 February 2020 | Rio Grande do Sul | Prior to the match between Novo Hamburgo and Ponte Preta, the first few seconds of "Arrocha Funk" were played incorrectly before the anthem of Rio Grande do Sul. | Non-anthem | Football |
| 2020 Baja Ha'Il, Saudi Arabia | 17 December 2020 | Spain | A version of the Spanish national anthem with lyrics, which are no longer included and generally associated with Francoist Spain, was played for race winner Carlos Sainz Sr. | Outdated | Racing |
| 2022 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 11 June 2021 | Indonesia | Ahead of a match between Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates, the national anthem of Malaysia was initially played. | Wrong country | Football |
| UEFA Euro 2020, United Kingdom | 30 June 2021 | Germany | The original first stanza of the national anthem of Germany was subtitled by Dutch broadcaster NPO, which is not part of the official anthem and is usually avoided due to its associations with the Nazi era. | Outdated | Football |
| 2020 Summer Paralympic Games, Tokyo, Japan | 26 August 2021 | RPC (Russian Paralympic Committee) | At the awards ceremony for gold track cycling medalist Mikhail Astashov, the anthem of the International Paralympic Committee was played instead of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, which had been agreed on as the anthem for the RPC during Russia's suspension from official Paralympic participation. After the mistake was noticed, a decision was taken to hold the victory ceremony again, with the correct anthem. | Wrong country | Track cycling |
| 2021–22 Kontinental Hockey League, Helsinki, Finland | 22 December 2021 | Belarus | Ahead of a match between HC Dinamo Minsk and Jokerit, "Belau rekid", the anthem of Palau, was misidentified and played due to the title’s resemblance to the word "Belarus". Jokerit, who hosted the match, was subsequently fined 100 000 rubles by the KHL. | Wrong country | Ice hockey |
| 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, Limbé, Cameroon | 12 January 2022 | Mauritania | Ahead of a match between Gambia and Mauritania, the country's former national anthem was played; two attempts were made to correct the mistake but failed, as the former anthem repeatedly played. | Outdated | Football |
| 2022 Tournoi de France, Le Havre, France | 16 February 2022 | Finland | Ahead of a match between Finland and France, the national anthem of Albania was played. | Wrong country | Football |
| Night boxing in Wrocław, Poland | 20 February 2022 | Germany | The original first stanza of the German national anthem, which is not part of the official anthem and is usually avoided due to its associations with the Nazi era, was played before the boxing match between Nikodem Jeżewski and Artur Mann. | Outdated | Boxing |
| 2022 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships, Istanbul, Turkey | 13 May 2022 | Austria | Ahead of a boxing match between Eva Voraberger and Seren Cetin, the national anthem of Austria-Hungary was played. | Outdated | Boxing |
| 2022 Asia Rugby Sevens Series, Incheon, South Korea | 13 November 2022 | Hong Kong | Ahead of a match between Hong Kong and South Korea, "Glory to Hong Kong", a protest anthem from the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, was played. The incident led the Hong Kong government to demand an investigation. | Non-anthem | Rugby sevens |
| 2022 elections in India | 16 November 2022 | India | At a political meeting of Bharat Jodo Yatra, the anthem of Nepal was played. When attempting to correct the mistake, "Vande Mataram", India's national song, was played instead of the Indian national anthem. At a third attempt, all five stanzas of Rabindranath Tagore's hymn "Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata" were played; the anthem only uses the first stanza. | Wrong country/non-anthem | Politics |
| 2022 Asian Classic Powerlifting Championship, Dubai, United Arab Emirates | 2 December 2022 | Hong Kong | "Glory to Hong Kong" was initially played. After around 15 seconds, gold medal winner Susanna Lin signalled that there was a problem, and organisers then played the "March of the Volunteers" correctly. The incident led the Hong Kong government to demand an investigation. | Non-anthem | Powerlifting |
| 2023 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina | 28 February 2023 | Hong Kong | Ahead of a match between Iran and Hong Kong, "Glory to Hong Kong" was played. Some Hong Kong players signalled that there was a problem, and after 90 seconds, the organisers correctly played the "March of the Volunteers". | Non-anthem | Ice Hockey |
| Indonesia International Basketball Invitational, Jakarta, Indonesia | 2 August 2023 | United Arab Emirates | The national anthem of Saudi Arabia was played for United Arab Emirates ahead of their match against Lebanon. | Wrong country | Basketball |
| UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying tournament, Brussels, Belgium | 19 November 2023 | Belgium | The national anthem of Sweden was initially played ahead of a match between Belgium and Azerbaijan at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels. | Wrong country | Football |
| 2024 World Triathlon Cup, Hong Kong | 24 March 2024 | United Kingdom | The national anthem of Spain was played for the British gold medal winner Sian Rainsley. | Wrong country | Triathlon |
| Jaca, Spain | 15 June 2024 | Spain | | Outdated | Inline hockey |
| 2024 Summer Olympics, Paris, France | 28 July 2024 | South Sudan | Ahead of a basketball game between Puerto Rico and South Sudan, the national anthem of Sudan was initially played. | Wrong country/outdated | Basketball |
| 2024 Saturday’s Hispanic Heritage Match, Austin, Texas | 12 October 2024 | Panama | Ahead of a football/soccer match between Panama and the United States, when the Panamanian national anthem was set to be played, the Himno Istmeño was mistakenly replaced by the song 'Zumba' by Puerto Rican singer Don Omar. | Non-anthem | Football |
| 2026 European Men's Handball Championship qualification, Varaždin, Croatia | 7 November 2024 | Belgium Croatia | Ahead of a handball match between Croatia and Belgium, when the Belgian national anthem was set to be played, a Croatian fan song "Malo nas je, al' nas ima" by Dino Dvornik and Boris Novković started playing instead. What came next was approximately 30 seconds of silence, followed by a Microsoft Windows error sound. After another few seconds of silence, La Brabançonne finally started playing. However, when it was time for the Croatian anthem to be played, the Belgian anthem played again for a brief moment, until it was switched to Lijepa naša domovino. | Non-anthem/wrong country | Handball |
| WBA World Heavy Championship, Sofia, Bulgaria | 7 December 2024 | Germany | The original first stanza of the German national anthem, which is not part of the official anthem and is usually avoided due to its associations with the Nazi era, was played before the boxing match between Kubrat Pulev and Mahmoud Charr. | Outdated | Boxing |
| 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, Lahore, Pakistan | 22 February 2025 | Australia | The national anthem of India was briefly played ahead of a match between England and Australia. | Wrong country | Cricket |