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===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.<ref>{{Cite news |last=McNeil |first=Donald G. Jr. |date=28 March 1996 |title=Johannesburg Journal; Will Rugby Embrace, or Crush, a Dainty Flower? |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/28/world/johannesburg-journal-will-rugby-embrace-or-crush-a-dainty-flower.html |url-status=live |access-date=6 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612230250/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/28/world/johannesburg-journal-will-rugby-embrace-or-crush-a-dainty-flower.html |archive-date=12 June 2018}}</ref> This was rectified when South Africa's dual national anthems were merged in abridged forms in early 1997<ref name="Siemon">{{Cite web |last=Allen |first=Siemon |date=15 October 2013 |title=The South African National Anthem: A History on Record |url=http://flatint.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-south-african-national-anthem.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180330042026/http://flatint.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-south-african-national-anthem.html |archive-date=30 March 2018 |access-date=17 April 2018 |website=flatint}}</ref> to form the current national anthem. The new national anthem was performed at an opening of the South African parliament in February 1997,<ref>{{Cite web |title=South African Parliament Opening |url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?78694-1/south-african-parliament-opening |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115220115/https://www.c-span.org/video/?78694-1%2Fsouth-african-parliament-opening |archive-date=15 January 2021 |access-date=30 December 2021 |website=C-SPAN}}</ref> and was published in the South African ''Government Gazette'' on 10 October 1997.<ref name=Siemon/> 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).<ref name=Siemon/> The new English lyrics were adapted from the last four lines of the first stanza of "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" ({{Langx|en|"The Call of South Africa"}}), with the changes made to reflect hope in [[History of South Africa (1994–present)|post-apartheid South African]] society. Lines borrowed from the two previous national anthems were modified to be more inclusive, omitting overt reference to specific groups of the country's population groups. Thus, lines from the apartheid-era national anthem's first stanza referencing the [[Voortrekkers]]' [[Great Trek]] were omitted, as "this was the experience of only one section of" South African society.<ref name="Samro">{{Cite web |date=17 June 2012 |title=The National Anthem Is Owned by Everyone |url=http://www.samro.org.za/node/298 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313093626/http://www.samro.org.za/node/298 |archive-date=13 March 2013 |access-date=13 March 2013 |website=South African Music Rights Organisation}}</ref><ref name=Siemon/> Likewise, the words "Woza Moya", used in "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" were also omitted, as the phrase is a specifically Christian reference, rather than a generically religious one,<ref name="Samro" /> and thus not acceptable to South Africans of other religions, particularly Muslim South Africans.<ref name=Siemon/> A new verse found in neither song was also added. The English version of "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika" was less prominent than the Afrikaans version and thus could be changed with little objection or controversy.<ref name=Siemon/> As such, the English portion of the new South African national anthem was the one that had its lyrics changed from the previous version.<ref name=Siemon/>
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