Single cover created by myself, based on a photo by Simon Fowler

Single cover created by myself, based on a photo by Simon Fowler

Single cover created by myself, based on a photo by Simon Fowler

Single cover created by myself, based on a photo by Simon Fowler

http://www.stockaitkenwaterman.com/articles/sa031.htm

THE SONG will be cheerful, tuneful and over the top. Some of the world's best-known divas, led by Barbra Streisand and Sarah Brightman, are lining up to perform the anthem for a new age to be sung during the royal opening of the Millennium Dome. The competition to perform the song, already being compared with Coca-Cola's global hit I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing, is set to be as intense as the battle between Hollywood's golden era film stars to play Scarlet O'Hara in Gone With The Wind. The BBC hopes that the opening ceremony in 537 days' time could reach an audience of hundreds of millions. "It could overshadow the numbers watching both today's World Cup final and the Live Aid concert of 1985: that is serious exposure," said a BBC source last week. The New Millenniium Experience company, which runs the dome, is preparing to launch a national competition for the anthem over the next few weeks, but it has already been overwhelmed by composers eager to get onto the first bandwagon of the next century.

Matt Aitken and Mike Stock, the composers behind the pop hits of Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley, have written their submission called Bird In Flight. In a similar Style to Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On, the hit ballad from the film Titanic, the climax of the big-scale orchestrated number are the words:

It seems like a new world is about to start
There is so much love in my heart
I feel like a bird in flight.

Sarah Brightman, the former Lloyd Webber musical star, has recorded a demo version of Bird in Flight but she may have been scooped by Barbra Streisand. "Yes, Ms Streisand has requested a copy of the song, which she might sing on the appropriate occasion," confirmed a source in the singer's New York office.

Other superstars are being offered gigs at the dome. Paul McCartney is considering a request to reprise his symphonic work Standing Stone. Chris Smith, the culture secretary, has asked the dome organisers to try to book Elton John. Yet the anthem may spring from more humble origins. Amateur composers up and down the country have already made submissions. Many lyrics contain references to "new dawn", an image that dominates the logo designed for the Millennium Commission. Matthew Webster, the penname for a respected graduate from the Royal College of Music and university academic, recorded his offering with the Eton College choir last week. "I'm keeping a low profile to avoid mickey-taking. I wrote the music in a day, which is Elgarian with a trumpet fanfare, but the words took me months," he said. The first verse is:

O Land of freedom and shores of peace
Our purpose strengthens, our love increase
New dawn arising, bring hope and light
Far voices, gath'ring, in song unite:
Long live Britannia, land of the free
Forever flourish in liberty.

East London University, which is near the dome, is asking students to come up with their own millennial contenders. "It could be in the form of an African praise song, or an Indian raga, or a tune that combines such multicultural influences to reflect modern Britain," said Phil Cohen, the organiser.

Peter Mandelson, minister responsible for the dome, is close to ruling on the musical format for the celebrations. Plans include the anthem being played amid fireworks, and even an RAF fly-past to mark the opening.

It will be released initially as a single and then as the highlight of an album, Live at the Dome, to be recorded during musical events at Greenwich during the year 2000. Michael Nyman, the classical composer, said Mandelson had told him he was looking for something "musically serious". "But we shall see," Nymad said.

"We have some very good composers around at the moment, including Gavin Bryars and Mark-Anthony Turnage, whose work will last longer than the pop names that obsess the current government. It's our music that stands a chance of surviving into the next millennium."