Ode to Joy is adopted as the anthem of the European Union and the Council of Europe. It is based on the final movement of Beethoven's 9th Symphony composed in 1823 and played on official occasions by both organisations

Friedrich Schiller wrote the poem An die Freude or To Joy in 1785. It expresses his idealistic vision of the human race becoming brothers (and sisters), and became the basis for the Ode to Joy movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's 9th Symphony.

In 1971 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe decided to propose adopting the prelude to the Ode To Joy from Beethoven's 9th Symphony as the European anthem. The Council of European Ministers officially announced the European Anthem on January 19, 1972 at Strasbourg: the prelude to "The Ode to Joy", 4th movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's 9th symphony.
Conductor Herbert von Karajan was asked to write three instrumental arrangements - for solo piano, for wind instruments and for symphony orchestra and he conducted the performance used to make the official recording
The anthem was launched via a major information campaign on Europe Day in 1972. In 1985, it was adopted by EU heads of State and government as the official anthem of the the European Community - since 1993 the European Union. It is not intended to replace the national anthems of the Member States but rather to celebrate the values they all share and their unity in diversity. It expresses the ideals of a united Europe: freedom, peace, and solidarity.
It was going to be included in the European Constitution along with the other European symbols, however the treaty failed ratification and was replaced by the Treaty of Lisbon which will not include any symbols. In response, the European Parliament decided it would make greater use of the anthem, for example at official occasions. Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering stated he was moved when the anthem was played for him on his visit to Israel and ought to be used in Europe more often.

Friedrich Schiller wrote the poem An die Freude or To Joy in 1785. It became the basis for Beethoven's composition. The German lyrics are not official to the EU due to the multilingualism of the Union. Due to the large number of languages used in the European Union, the anthem is purely instrumental and the German lyrics Friedrich Schiller wrote and Beethoven based the melody upon, have no official status.

Austrian composer Peter Roland has written suggested lyrics in Latin, but these have not been accorded official status, and are not used by the EU. Former Commission president and current Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi has expressed the wish that this version may become a second national anthem to all European citizens. The anthem has been sung many times outside official EU occasions, notably by the Spanish singer Miguel Ríos in 1970 and by Austrian a cappella choir Wiener Singverein