Singer and European Championship fan Rainhard Fendrich describes the fact that “I Am From Austria”, the Austrian fan anthem, is currently so popular as “a great honor”.
The Austrian national football team advanced to the European Championship round of 16 on Tuesday (25 June) as group winners. One more reason for players and fans to sing Rainhard Fendrich’s (69) hit “I Am From Austria” again.
The Viennese native is delighted that the song by the Austrian songwriter, presenter and actor from 1989 is still so popular and is currently closely linked to the European Football Championship as a fan anthem. “It is a great honour for me that this song is sung so passionately by the fans and thus supports our national team,” he tells spot on news.
Rainhard Fendrich: “I’m excited about every game”
The Austrian team’s sporting success at this European Championship also delights the artist, who also wrote hits such as “Strada del Sole” (1981), “Es lebe der Sport” (1983), “Weus’d a Herz hast wia a Bergwerk” (1983) and “Macho, Macho” (1988). “I am fascinated by the playing and mental strength of our team,” he enthuses, adding euphorically: “After we defeated the feared Dutch in an incredibly exciting and nerve-racking game, more than just the quarter-finals is possible.”
Rainhard Fendrich also reveals to the news agency that he is a passionate event fan. “I’m not really a die-hard football fan, but you just can’t escape this enthusiasm. I’m excited about every game.” His tip for the European Championship is correspondingly optimistic. “Well, as I said, anything is possible. As far as I can tell, Spain is a clear favorite for the European Championship title,” says Fendrich. “But as we saw at this European Championship, many predictions have not come true and everything is still up in the air – including for Austria.”
The Austrian national football team’s next big appearance is on July 2nd – then “I Am From Austria” will surely be heard in the stadium again.
Round birthday and stage anniversary
And Rainhard Fendrich also has some big performances coming up. Next year he will not only celebrate his 70th birthday (February 27), but also his 45th stage anniversary. Both will be duly celebrated with the new studio album “Wimpernschlag” and a big live comeback.
The anniversary tour “45 Years of Rainhard Fendrich Live – Just a Blink of an Eye” will take the artist and his band through Germany, Austria and Switzerland from April 2025. Tickets are available from Friday (June 28th, 10 a.m.) in the exclusive presale at eventim.de, oeticket.com or ticketcorner.ch and from Tuesday (July 2nd, 10 a.m.) at all known ticket outlets.
Until the brand new music and the joint musical concert tour, fans can at least shorten the time with the live album “Symphonic in Schönbrunn”. The record has been available since May 31st.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
