Rome, Italy, Jun 8, 2012 / 09:28 am
Organizers for the 2013 World Youth Day in Rio de Janerio announced that the official song for the event will be released on July 22.
Father Leandro Lenin, a member of the organizing committee, said in a post on the event's official website, "Without a doubt, the face of Rio de Janeiro, and the face of the Church in Brazil will be present in the song."
The "memorable" song will be presented during the July 20 – 22 "Pre-World Youth Day," which will host hundreds of young people at a Rio de Janerio gymnasium.
Judges are now in the final phase of selecting the top 20 lyrical submissions, which were drawn from a field of 180 entries received during a six-month contest.
The lyrics were judged based on their creativity, spiritual values, harmony, composition and connection with the theme of WYD 2013, which is taken from the Gospel of Matthew, "Go and make disciples of the nations."
The jury selecting the winning entry is made up of a variety of music professionals, including professional recording artists and music professors. It also includes members of the World Youth Day committee who will review the religious and doctrinal content of the lyrics.
"Everything that comes to us goes through an evaluation process, mainly in the area of doctrine and matters of faith," Fr. Lenin said, "but the creative process of those who are submitting lyrics is being respected."
Once the World Youth Day lyrics are chosen, they will "go through a process of approval and adjustments for the big debut," he explained.
The winning submission will be put to a melody by the World Youth Day Rio organizers.