Pindaric Ode

Dr Armand D'Angour, Fellow in Classics at Jesus College, who has been commissioned by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, to compose a "Pindaric Ode" for the London Olympics 2012, was interviewed on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 on Monday 28 May.

The full text of the new Ode, which consists of six stanzas in Greek alcaic metre, is still secret. However, it is easily translated into English rhyming couplets, and is rumoured to contain puns on the names of several athletes, with the intention, Dr D'Angour says, of injecting "an element of scholarly fun into the opening ceremony".

The interview can be heard on the BBC Radio 4 website, commencing at 2:55:10.