Inception The practice of having two national anthems proved to be a cumbersome arrangement as performing both of them took as much as five minutes. This was rectified when South Africa's dual national anthems were merged in abridged forms in early 1997 to form the current national anthem. The new national anthem was performed at an opening of the South African parliament in February 1997, and was published in the South African Government Gazette on 10 October 1997. During the drafting of the new national anthem, it was requested by South African president Nelson Mandela that it be not more than one minute and 48 seconds in length (which was the average length of other countries' anthems being used for reference). The new English lyrics were adapted from the last four lines of the first stanza of "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" (), with the changes made to reflect hope in post-apartheid South African society.
Inception The practice of having two national anthems proved to be a cumbersome arrangement as performing both of them took as much as five minutes. This was rectified when South Africa's dual national anthems were merged in abridged forms in early 1997 to form the current national anthem. The new national anthem was performed at an opening of the South African parliament in February 1997, and was published in the South African Government Gazette on 10 October 1997. During the drafting of the new national anthem, it was requested by South African president Nelson Mandela that it be not more than one minute and 48 seconds in length (which was the average length of other countries' anthems being used for reference). The new English lyrics were adapted from the last four lines of the first stanza of "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" (), with the changes made to reflect hope in post-apartheid South African society.