Alex Marshall, a freelance journalist specializing in music, tracked down every one of the 205 national anthems that might be heard at this year's Olympic Games, and sat through four-and-a-half hours of listening to them before ranking them by musical quality. Marshall's choice of the best 10 national anthems that could make their countries proud has Bangladesh coming second .

1) Uruguay: National anthem:
One of the most euphoric pieces of classical music I've ever heard. Banks of trumpets play crescendos to false endings - for five minutes. But somehow it works.

2) Bangladesh: My Golden Bengal
A wonderful anthem that sounds like it was written for a stroll along the Seine. It really needs Jacques Brel. Which is probably not what the Bangladeshi composer had in mind.

3) Tajikistan: National anthem
Written when the country was part of the USSR, it sounds like the music that plays in James Bond films when a Russian spy is about to cut off Bond's manhood. It doesn't try to soar, but frighten, and it's all the better for it.

4) Mauritania: National anthem
A trip into the heart of the souk, albeit a menacing one. The melody is so unusual that most Mauritanian's can't sing along to it, so pretend it doesn't have any words.

5) Dominica: Isle of Beauty, Isle of Splendour
A simple, spiralling melody stuck on repeat for 47 seconds, but there's such movement and elegance to it. Don't confuse with the Dominican Republic's, which is wretched.

6) US Virgin Isles: Virgin Islands March
It's Mary Poppins! One of the few anthems to literally pull out all the bells and whistles. This should be a soundtrack to a kid's film. wretched.

7) Senegal: Strum Your Koras, Strike Your Balafons
How can an anthem that name checks two local instruments in its title - a harp and a xylophone - be any less than brilliant? It's really two tunes - the first twinkles, the second strolls. But both are amazing.

8) Nigeria: Arise O Compatriots, Nigeria's Call Obey
Written in 1978 by the Nigerian Police Band, this should be an awful march. Fortunately it features relentless afrobeat percussion, which makes any tune outstanding.

9) Nepal: Hundreds of Flowers
Adopted last year, when Nepal's House of Representatives threw out the old, western-style anthem. This folk melody on strings and hand drums sounds like slowed-down bhangra. Shame it's probably unplayable by brass, so unlikely to be heard outside Nepal.

10) Japan: May Your Reign Last Forever
Solemn. So much so, it'll have you thinking of everyone you've lost for its duration. Rarely does an anthem carry such weight.

 [পেছনের পাতা]