Leading arts organisations of five continents have come together to launch the Global Ode to Joy (GOTJ). At a time when fear, isolation and division dominate so much of our world, this crowd-sourced video project invites us all, as an international community, to unite and celebrate Beethoven’s 250th birthday by flooding the digital sphere with positivity, hope and joy. Created in collaboration with YouTube and Google Arts & Culture, with support from Germany’s official Beethoven anniversary campaign, the project draws inspiration from the composer’s beloved “Ode to Joy” chorus and its uplifting message of joy and unity for humankind. A diverse array of the most joyous video submissions will be selected for an official GOTJ playlist, and the project will culminate in early December, the month of Beethoven’s birth, with a grand video finale: a GOTJ highlight reel, set to a performance of the “Ode to Joy” itself.

Over the next six weeks, artists, organisations and members of the public will be invited to post joy-filled videos to social media with the hashtag #GlobalOdeToJoy. At Google Arts & Culture’s YouTube channel, many of these will appear alongside professionally produced videos by the project’s official partners (see below) on the official GOTJ playlist. Led by conductor Marin Alsop, the “Ode to Joy” from Beethoven’s Ninth “Choral” Symphony will be performed on the video finale by Austria’s ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, members of GO: The Global Orchestra, and the international Stay at Home Choir. Participating virtually from all over the world, this choir of thousands will premiere a new English adaptation of Friedrich Schiller’s original Ode to Joy poem, commissioned from former U.S. poet laureate Tracy K. Smith by New York’s Carnegie Hall.

GOTJ’s growing list of official partners includes the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (Afghanistan), Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (USA), Beethoven-Haus Bonn (Germany), Boston Symphony Orchestra (USA), Carnegie Hall (USA), Cité de la musique – Philharmonie de Paris (France), Cleveland Orchestra (USA), Community Arts Network (Austria), Czech Philharmonic (Czech Republic), El Sistema USA (USA), Europa Nostra (Belgium), European Union Youth Orchestra (Europe), Gateways Music Festival (USA), Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne (Germany), Jakarta Simfonia Orchestra (Indonesia), Konzerthaus Berlin (Germany), Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Germany), Munich Philharmonic (Germany), National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (UK), National Youth Orchestra of the USA (USA), New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (New Zealand), NYO-2 (USA), ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra (Austria), Philadelphia Orchestra (USA), São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (OSESP) (Brazil), Southbank Centre (UK), Stay at Home Choir (UK; international), Sydney Symphony Orchestra (Australia), Taipei Music Academy & Festival (Taiwan) and The Orchestra of the Americas (USA, Costa Rica, Canada, Brazil & Venezuela.).

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