IIHF - This year's official hockey song is We live the game

12 May 2023

This year’s official hockey song is We live the game

by Organizing Committee|12 MAY 2023

photo: © Organizing Committee

Brian Allan is a musical entrepreneur behind this year’s biggest hockey song, “We live the game”. Allan's song emphasizes how important community and fun are in all our lives. The same values apply and can be seen in ice hockey. Friends and doing things together, both as a child and as an adult, give meaning to life.

Allan  travels all around the world with his company to teach groups how to sing like a choir and use music to lift their team spirit.

For example, in Poland he started to do workshops with kids all over the nation, helping them to sing like a choir and connecting them with sports.  In November, he was invited to speak at a conference and the keynote presentation he was giving was called “How to awake the superhero in you”. It was about how to help people in need, how anyone can do more.

“In the end, I was telling them about my project with kids and brought 120 kids on stage with me to surprise the audience”, Brian states.

After the conference he connected with a representative, who works at Visit Tampere, and she was deeply affected by Brian’s presentation.

“Then she casually tells me that they’re hosting the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championshipgames in Tampere, maybe I wanted to perform there? I thought this woman may have had an oversight, it’s  only 2,5 months from now. I know how organized the Finns are, surely everything must be done and planned already. She said she would still contact the Finnish Ice Hockey Federation”.

A week later he was on a Zoom call with the Finnish Ice Hockey Federation. It lasted 18 minutes and at the end they gave Brian the ‘go ahead’ to write his own song to the games and perform it with a children’s choir at the opening ceremony.

“So yeah, I had 2,5 months to write a song, find the kids, practice the song, and then perform it live at the Ice Hockey World Championship opening in front of 13 000 people and on live TV. So, no pressure at all”, Brian grins.

“Once in a lifetime experience”

Working with the kids has been fun. In Tampere, we have kids from choirs called Tactus and Pirkanpojat. Hertta Myllymäki, 12, sings with Tactus and Joopi Aatsinki, 11, with Pirkanpojat. Both kids have been having fun practicing the song and working with Brian.

“It’s fun to be a part of something so grand and it’s a once in a lifetime experience”, Hertta smiles.
“It’s cool and maybe a bit exciting to perform at the opening ceremony”, but we’re not afraid, Joopi continues.

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