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anthem was accidentally played, sung or performed, including playing the anthem of the wrong country, playing an outdated anthem, and playing a non-anthem piece in place of a national anthem.
| Event and host | Location affected | Incident | Type | Occasion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 visit of Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer to Chicago, United States | A band performed the carnival song "". West Germany had readopted the "Deutschlandlied" in 1952.[1] | non-anthem | Politics | |
| 1959 Friendly, United Kingdom | The Royal March of the Kingdom of Italy was played.[2] [3] | outdated | Football | |
| 1977 Austrian Grand Prix, Austria | A misconception[4] states that "Happy Birthday to You" was played for winning driver Alan Jones.[5] However, "Advance Australia Fair" was actually played,[6] different from what Jones remembered. | non-anthem | Auto racing | |
| 1985 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, Italy | The anthem of the German Democratic Republic was played for West German Markus Wasmeier.[7] | wrong country | Giant slalom | |
| 1986 FIFA World Cup OFC qualifiers | The West German national anthem was played by mistake, however, the Australian national anthem was played. | Football | ||
| 1986 FIFA World Cup, Mexico |  Belgium | The West German national anthem was played rather than the Belgian one.[8] | ||
| 1986 FIFA World Cup, Mexico |  Brazil | The Brazilian Flag Anthem was played instead of the Brazilian National Anthem for Brazil.[9] | wrong anthem | |
| 1991 friendly match against Brazil, Uberlândia |  Bulgaria | A Brazilian military band played Shumi Maritsa, the national anthem of the Kingdom of Bulgaria rather than Mila Rodino. | outdated | |
| 1995 visit of Federal President Roman Herzog to Porto Alegre, Brazil[10] |  Germany | A police band performed the anthem of the former German Democratic Republic. | outdated | Politics |
| 1998 Belgian Grand Prix, Belgium | The anthem of the United Kingdom was played for winning manufacturer Jordan.[11] | wrong country | Auto racing | |
| 2003 Davis Cup, Australia | The "Himno de Riego", Spain's obsolete anthem, was played.[12] | outdated | Tennis | |
| 2004 African Cup of Nations, Tunisia | Zimbabwe's former anthem "Ishe Komborera Africa" was played.[13] | Football | ||
| 2004 African Championships in Athletics, Congo | Zimbabwe's former anthem "Ishe Komborera Africa" was played.[14] | Athletics | ||
| 2004 African Cup of Nations, Tunisia |  Nigeria | Liberia's anthem, "All Hail, Liberia, Hail!" was played instead of "Arise O Compatriots", the Nigerian national anthem.[15] [16] | wrong country | Football |
| 2006 FIFA World Cup, Germany | The anthem of South Korea was played.[17] | |||
| 2007, Inauguration of the National Cricket Stadium, Grenada | The National Anthem of the Republic of China (ROC) was played in front of the ambassador of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The stadium was funded by the PRC.[18] | wrong country/outdated | Cricket | |
| When asked by the interviewer to sing a part of "La Brabançonne", the Belgian national anthem, the then-prime minister of Belgium started singing "La Marseillaise" instead, which is the national anthem of France.[19] [20] [21] [22] [23] | wrong country | Interview | ||
| 2007 Tour de France, France | The anthem of Denmark was played at the podium ceremony for winning Spaniard Alberto Contador.[24] | Cycling | ||
| 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships, Spain | The anthem of Chile was played during Liu Xiang's medal ceremony.[25] | Track and field | ||
| 2009 Chinese Grand Prix, PR China | The anthem of the United Kingdom was played. | Auto racing | ||
| 2011 Giro d'Italia, Italy | The Franco-era version of the Marcha Real was played.[26] | outdated | Cycling | |
| 2011 FIFA World Cup qualifying, Bermuda | The anthem of the United States was played.[27] | wrong country | Football | |
| 2012 6th Kostanay regional ski festival, Kazakhstan | "Livin' la Vida Loca", a Latin pop song by Ricky Martin, was played.[28] | non-anthem | Skiing | |
| 2012 International Shooting Grand Prix, Kuwait | "O Kazakhstan", a parody anthem in the movie Borat, was played during Mariya Dmitriyenko's medal ceremony.[29] | Shooting | ||
| 2012 London Cup, United Kingdom | The former South African anthem "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" was played.[30] | outdated | Field hockey | |
| 2012–13 Men's FIH Hockey World League, Netherlands | The anthem of New Zealand was played.[31] | wrong country | ||
| 2013 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Lithuania | The anthem of Yugoslavia was played.[32] | outdated | Football | |
| 2013 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships, Ukraine | The anthem of Russia was played.[33] | wrong country | Gymnastics | |
| 2014 Friendly, Slovakia | The first few seconds of Linkin Park's "Numb" was played.[34] | non-anthem | Football | |
| 2014 Friendly, Slovakia | The State Anthem of the Soviet Union's Stalinist version was played.[35] | outdated | Ice Hockey | |
| 2015 Women's Youth Hockey World Championship, U.S.A. | Russia's former anthem, "Patrioticheskaya Pesnya", was played.[36] [37] | |||
| 2015 FIL World Luge Championships, Latvia | Germany | The anthem of the former German Democratic Republic was played for Tobias Arlt and Tobias Wendl at their award ceremony in Sigulda.[38] | Luge (Double) | |
| 2015 Friendly, U.S.A. | The anthem of the Isle of Man was played.[39] | wrong country | Football | |
| 2016 Copa América Centenario, U.S.A. | The anthem of Chile was played.[40] | |||
| 2016 Olympics, Brazil | The anthem of Niger was played.[41] [42] | |||
| 2017 Biathlon World Championships, Austria | Russia's former anthem, "Patrioticheskaya Pesnya", was played.[43] | outdated | Biathlon | |
| 2017 Fed Cup, U.S.A. | The original first stanza of the "Deutschlandlied" was sung, which is not part of the official anthem and is usually avoided due to its associations with the Nazi era.[44] | Tennis | ||
| 2017 IIHF World Championship, Germany and France | The anthem of Slovenia was played.[45] | wrong country | Ice Hockey | |
| 2017 European Athletics U20 Championships, Italy | The anthem of Bosnia and Herzegovina was played during Viyaleta Skvartsova's medal ceremony.[46] | Track and field | ||
| 2017 Jerez Formula 2 round, Spain | The anthem of France was played during Charles Leclerc's podium ceremony.[47] | Auto racing | ||
| 2018 Rugby Europe Championship, Germany | The State Anthem of the Soviet Union was played.[48] | outdated | Rugby | |
| 2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship, Netherlands | "Patrioticheskaya Pesnya" was played during Nikita Troitskiy's podium ceremony.[49] | Auto racing | ||
| 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, Armenia | The anthem of Liechtenstein was played.[50] | wrong country | Football | |
| 2018 AFC U-19 Championship, Indonesia | The anthem of North Korea was played.[51] | |||
| 2018–19 UEFA Nations League D, Macedonia | "God Save the Queen" was initially played before "Gibraltar Anthem" was played correctly.[52] | |||
| 2018 Mega Hockey Games, Norway | "Kasiu Yas' kanushynu", a song by Belarusian folk rock band Pesniary, was played.[53] | non-anthem | Ice Hockey | |
| 2019 Spanish state visit to Italy | The Franco-era lyrics of the Marcha Real were performed[54] | outdated | Politics | |
| 2019 end-of-year rugby union internationals, Scotland | The former Georgian anthem "Dideba" was played.[55] | Rugby union | ||
| 2020 UEFA Euro qualifying, France | The anthem of Andorra was played.[56] | wrong country | Football | |
| 2020 ATP Cup, Australia | The anthem of Romania was played (it was also used as the Moldovan anthem from 1991 to 1994).[57] | Tennis | ||
| 2020 Summer Paralympic Games, Japan | 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.[58] | Track cycling | ||
| 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, United Arab Emirates | The anthem of Malaysia was played.[59] | Football | ||
| 2021–22 KHL, Finland | "Belau rekid", the anthem of Palau, was misidentified and played due to the title’s resemblance to the word "Belarus".[60] | Ice Hockey | ||
| 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon | The former anthem of Mauritania was played.[61] | outdated | Football | |
| 2022 Tournoi de France, France | The anthem of Albania was played.[62] | wrong country | ||
| 2022 Cetin vs Voraberger, Turkey | The anthem of Austria-Hungary was played.[63] [64] | outdated | Boxing | |
| The anthem of Nepal was played.[65] | wrong country | Politics | ||
| 2022 Asia Rugby Sevens Series, South Korea | "Glory to Hong Kong" was played.[66] | non-anthem | Rugby sevens | |
 Hong Kong | "Glory to Hong Kong" was played, and after around 15 seconds, the winner signalled that there was a problem. Organisers then played the "March of the Volunteers" correctly.[67] | Powerlifting | ||
| 2023 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships, Bosnia and Herzegovina | Hong Kong | "Glory to Hong Kong" was played. Some Hong Kong players signalled that there was a problem. After 90 seconds, the organisers correctly played the "March of the Volunteers".[68] | Ice Hockey | |
| UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying tournament, Brussels, Belgium |  Azerbaijan | The anthem of Sweden was played.[69] | wrong country | Football |
| 2024 World Triathlon Cup, Hong Kong |  United Kingdom | The anthem of Spain was played. | Triathlon | |
| 2024 Olympics, France | The anthem of Sudan was played. | Basketball |