Fijian athletes ‘sing like the ocean’ in Olympic village during overheard worship service

31 July 2024, 12:57

A moment of breathtaking musical harmony cut through amid the fierce competition of the Olympic Games in Paris.

Imagine – you’re staying in the Olympic village in Paris, participating in one of the most exciting Olympic Games in recent history. You’ve just woken up, and are about to start your stretches to prepare for your event... when all of a sudden, you hear a swell of voices, singing in sublime harmony, just around the corner.

This was the setting for Matilda Kearns, an Australian water polo player competing in the Olympics this summer. She heard the heavenly echoes of athletes, coaches and staff participating in a worship service on a Sunday afternoon, and couldn’t believe her ears.

She quickly grabbed her phone to record the magical moment of music unfolding in the Oceania building of the Olympic village, and the Internet went wild. Watch the heart-stirring video below...

Read more: When Lang Lang played piano for 2 billion people at the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony

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The athletes, coaches and staff from Team Fiji came together to sing ‘Mo Ravi Vei Jisu’, a Fijian hymn, which translates to, ‘Put your trust into the Lord and he will guide your way’. For many Fijian people, religion is a large part of everyday life and culture, and worship through song is a regular fixture of that practice.

In fact, just listening to the video, you might think you’re overhearing a rehearsal by a professional choir. The harmonies, rhythms, musicality and sheer beauty of their resonant voices make it hard to believe these aren’t formally trained musicians.

One Instagram user (@gwenz10) even commented, “Honestly, is music a mandatory subject in Fijian schools?? They know harmonies and stick to them so well!!!” Another (@bestjuliawest) said, “The ebb and flow of their voices together is otherworldly. Islanders sing like the ocean.”

Here’s a full video of the deeply moving hymn sung in Sunday’s service:

Is there a portal to heaven in the Olympic village? Alas, it’s just the Fijians gathering to worship – when they’re not scoring medals, that is.

The Olympic village might be the last place you’d expect to hear such powerful music-making. But here, we see a live demonstration of music’s power to transcend time, place and expectation to bring people together, even on an unsuspecting Sunday afternoon at the world’s greatest sporting competition.

One Instagram user (@happydudeyoga) said it best. “That feeling that it brings up, maybe of wholesome feeling sweetness in the heart or a sense of human connection, appreciation and belonging… that is the teaching.

“Just many different and unique humans coming together meaningfully as humans: one voice, one song, one family.”