In 1990 the International Olympic Committee commissioned me to compose a symphonic work for the 1992 Olympic games in Barcelona (1992). I thought that content and form of a piece of music which is dedicated to millions of sports fans all over the world should be as simple as possible and should resemble a song, because song is at the root of the musical culture in modern societies. Therefore the ''Canto Olympico'', which is what I ended up calling the work, is a symphonic oratorio in the form of a suite in six movements. As in the ''Canto General'' the choir plays an important role.' (Mikis Theodorakis, Athens, 1992)