EL Himno De La Alegría Song Of Joy

 The melody used to symbolize the EU comes from the Ninth Symphony composed in 1823 by Ludwig Van Beethoven, when he set music to the "Ode to Joy", Friedrich von Schiller's lyrical verse from 1785.

The anthem symbolises not only the European Union but also Europe in a wider sense. The poem "Ode to Joy" expresses Schiller's idealistic vision of the human race becoming brothers - a vision Beethoven shared.

In 1972, the Council of Europe adopted Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" theme as its anthem. In 1985, it was adopted by EU leaders as the official anthem of the European Union. There are no words to the anthem; it consists of music only. In the universal language of music, this anthem expresses the European ideals of freedom, peace and solidarity.

However, the music became enormously popular once again in 1970 when Spanish singer, Miguel Ríos,  had a worldwide hit with a rock song set to the tune of the ninth symphony by Ludwig Van Beethoven entitled Himno De La Alegría   'Come Sing A Song Of Joy'