The Lost Art Of Theme Songs

As Botswana prepares to host the world at the World Athletics Relays, the question isn’t just about medals, it’s about mood. Where is the music to carry the moment? There’s a peculiar silence hanging over Gaborone and it has nothing to do with the calm before the storm.

As the country gears up to host the world for the Debswana World Athletics Relays in early May, the stadium is ready, the athletes are locked in, and the flags are poised to rise. Because here’s the uncomfortable truth: Botswana has no defining theme song for this moment. There was a time when major events, even global sporting events didn’t just arrive; they sounded like something.

When Shakira droppedWaka Waka (This Time for Africa)during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, it wasn’t just a hit it was a cultural ignition. The song outlived the tournament, embedding itself into memory as the unofficial pulse of a continent. Today, Botswana stands on the brink of its own global spotlight.

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The world’s fastest athletes are heading to Gaborone, Botswana, for the historic Debswana World Athletics Relays Gaborone on Saturday, 2 May, and Sunday, 3 May 2026—but without a unifying sound to bottle the energy. “Music is not decoration for an event; it’s the emotional engine,” Botswana Musicians Union President Papi Rakhudu toldTime Out. “Without it, you’re asking people to feel something you haven’t sonically defined.” The irony is hard to ignore.

Botswana has the athletes, the infrastructure, and the moment. What it lacks is the feeling, the sonic glue that binds audiences, from stadium seats to street corners. A theme song does more than hype, it travels.

It turns a local event into a global memory. It gives broadcasters something to loop, fans something to chant, and a nation something to rally behind. “Musicians are influenced by the hype around them to create, and there hasn’t been any information shared to involve and engage artists.

But it’s important to have songs that define the moment,” Rakhudu said. “We do need a theme song, even if it’s a direct appointment, to create the buzz around the event and it’s never too late to release a song.”

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