Olympic race begins for London to strike the right note in 2012

The latter, a lung-bursting aria from the final act of Puccini's opera Turandot, stirred the emotions of fans and has now become synonymous with Italia 90. It helped make Luciano Pavarotti a household name in the UK and proved that music could capture the spirit of great sporting drama.

A couple of years later, Queen frontman Freddie Mercury teamed up with opera star Montserrat Caballe to sing Barcelona for the 1992 Olympics. However, memorable sporting soundtracks don't necessarily have to revolve around classical music. The BBC, for instance, is currently using the opening bars of Michael Bubl's Cry Me a River! to plug its TV coverage of the Winter Olympics.

Which leads us on to London 2012. This will be the biggest sporting competition held in the UK since the World Cup in 1966 and, according to a recent survey, we need an anthem to get people going. The Association of British Orchestras (ABO) said that 69 per cent of the 2,000 people it spoke to wanted to have a Nessun Dorma-style piece of music, while nearly half thought any Olympic theme should be played by a British orchestra.

ABO director Mark Pemberton believes that music and sport go hand-in-hand. "The Olympics should be a celebration of the best of British culture – and orchestras can play a central part in that."

Some people may feel that old favourites like Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance march and Jerusalem are too Anglo-centric and out of sync with Britain's youth – who will be a key audience for London 2012 organisers. "Clearly we understand you cannot take a piece of music and expect it to fit. You would need to find an exciting piece of music which has the requisite passion and is evocative of Britain and London – or just go the other way and write a new work. Either would be great but I can see merit in trying to find a sound of today," says Pemberton.

Peter Shilton, England's goalkeeper during Italia 90, says whenever he hears Nessun Dorma it takes him back to the drama of the World Cup 20 years ago. "It just seemed to go with Italia 90 and people's emotions as the England team were going further and further in the competition.

"Other songs have been used (for sports events) and you can't remember them as much as Nessun Dorma. It is probably the best remembered song and I just think that sometimes a song and an event go together. It was an emotional song for an emotional sport and it seemed to gel just right. When I talk to people about 1990, I start by asking, 'Do you remember Nessun Dorma?' It always gets people talking about it."

Different sports tend to attract different types of music. English

rugby fans, for instance, have adopted hymns like Swing Low Sweet Chariot and Jerusalem. Football fans usually prefer the raucous, sing-along chanting of pop songs like Vindaloo and Frank Skinner and David Baddiel's 1996 anthem Three Lions.

Leeds University music lecturer, Simon Warner, says the right music for the right occasion, regardless of whether it's pop or classical music, can help drive people's passion for a sporting event. "One of the few places they feel comfortable singing is on the sporting terraces. It is a place where people feel able to raise their voices," he says.

"The success of Nessun Dorma, Barcelona and also Skinner and Baddiel's Three Lions are indications that if you get the right music and song, it can have a lasting impression and also provide part of a patriotic support system. I think if we are talking about driving passion and unity (in the Olympics) music can play a powerful role in achieving

those ambitions."

Scots tenor Nicky Spence, who recently recorded the Scottish segment of the Rugby World Cup Anthem, reckons the idea of a special London

Olympic song is a good one. "The power of classical music can stir energies from beyond our realm of imagination – from Purcell to Wagner over hundreds of years, the nation has clung to classical music in times of heightened emotion, triumph and tragedy.

"It seems the only appropriate gesture there is – a classical theme song, played by a British orchestra backing a British artist."