articles / Pop Culture

The Olympic Theme Explained


If you’re watching the Olympics on NBC or its affiliates, you’re hearing a lot of the NBC Olympic Theme, written for the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics by John Williams. It was NBC’s idea to incorporate the already popular Bugler’s Dream music into the beginning of Williams’ fanfare, with ear-worm-inducing results! So how does the theme breakdown exactly? Here’s the best explanation I’ve read of what you are actually hearing almost constantly these days on NBC.

If you really want to dive into the history and implications of the theme, look no further.

And if you really just want to hear the theme like you’ve never heard it before, we have you covered too:

Written by:
Dianne Nicolini
Dianne Nicolini
Published on 02.15.2018