Earth anthem

On the request of the United Nations Secretary-General, a Hymn to the UN was performed on the occasion of its 26th anniversary, on October 24, 1971, by Pablo Casals, the lyrics to which were penned by the poet W.H. Auden.[1][2] The then UN Secretary-General U Thant had expressed his hope that this hymn would become the de facto UN anthem over the years, but it did not.

There are a number of songs about the planet which could be regarded as anthems, reflecting rising planetary consciousness among people across the world. One is "World Anthem" by the Mindshare Institute and Foundation.[3] Other songs on the same theme include "Earth Anthem" by The Turtles (later covered by Dan Fogelberg,[4]) "Mother Earth (Natural Anthem)" by Neil Young, "Earth Song" by Michael Jackson,[5] "Earth Hour Anthem" by Andrew Huang and "Earth Anthem" by Abhay Kumar.[6][7] The "Earth Day Anthem" lyrics by William Wallace (and sometimes the original lyrics by Barbara George) are widely sung to the tune of "Ode to Joy" by Ludwig van Beethoven to celebrate Earth Day.[8][9][10]

The call for an official Earth Anthem was made by the Permanent Delegation of India in Paris to UNESCO in January 2014.[11]

We find that the idea of having an Earth Anthem is a creative and inspiring thought which would contribute to bringing the world together.

— UNESCO[12]

Vedas – the first book of universal knowledge and wisdom says, 'Bhumi Mata Putroaham' – which means 'Earth is my mother, I am her son'. This is one of the essences of ancient Indian philosophy. Every effort to protect and respect mother earth is an effort to protect ourselves and our generations to come. The Earth Anthem is a beautiful effort in this direction.

— Kailash Satyarthi[13]

... a global consciousness has certainly begun to emerge. To tap into this nascent consciousness and give it form and focus, we need to establish a common language and common icons. In time, then, emerging generations of global citizens would come to rally around these, in realizing their debt to and in paying tribute to the planet that sustains us all. What better icon, then, than our planet itself, and what more universal language than music! ... an Earth Anthem shared and sung by all the peoples of the world.

— Dr. Shashi Tharoor [14]

• Global citizenship
• Flag of Earth
• 90 Pound Suburban Housewife, anthem of fossil fuel conscious environmentalists in 2006.
• World Environment Day
• Earth by Lil Dicky, a song celebrating Earth.