Buffalo Bills to present Canadian and US anthems at home season opener
American National Football League club the Buffalo Bills will present the national anthems of the United States and Canada before the home season-opening game against the Detroit Lions. The game will take place at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, near the Canadian border.
Anthem performers
Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies will perform “O Canada.” Actress and singer Auliʻi Cravalho, who voiced the main character in Disney’s animated films “Moana,” will sing the US anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner.
As Channel NewsAsia reports, citing Reuters, the club described the performance of the two anthems as a historic event for Highmark Stadium. The stadium opened this year, and the upcoming game will be the first NFL game at the Buffalo Bills’ new home venue.
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Links with Canada
The club did not explain its decision to hold a ceremony with two anthems and did not say whether it would become a permanent tradition. Team representatives did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment on whether the move was intended to express solidarity with Canada or ease tensions in bilateral trade relations.
The Buffalo Bills played some of their games in Toronto from 2008 to 2013 in an effort to expand their Canadian fan base. The Buffalo Sabres hockey club had also previously performed the anthems of both countries. Fans’ reaction on social network X to the Bills’ announcement was mixed.
