‘The groove is infectious’: Bhangra-beat Euro 2024 anthem thrills Germany

Two Indian brothers have scored a Euro 2024 hit in Germany with an earworm ode to the ethnically diverse host team, featuring a playful video that has fans dancing to Punjabi beats in a joyful rebuff of the far right.

Diese EM 2024 (This Euro 2024) by Lovely and Monty Bhangu, who work as taxi drivers in Hamburg, came out before Germany’s 5-1 opener against Scotland. After the victory, the German-language, Bhangra-infused song went viral, with calls for the duo to be invited to perform at one of the Mannschaft’s (national team’s) next matches.

“Diese EM in Deutschland wird sehr farbenfroh” (“This [European championship] in Germany will be very colourful”), the brothers sing, with Monty in a black dastār edged with red and gold, and Lovely in a cowboy hat with matching German colours. They dance together wearing German flags as sarongs next to Alster Lake and later in their Mercedes cab, as a chorus of young Germans chime in with “Punjabi!”.

“We’re pushing for our boys … we’ve been champions three times,” a verse intones, set to the high-pitched twang of a tumbi. “Now we’ve got to repeat it – home advantage.”

The catchy two-tone track marks a liberating break with the schlager style of German chart-toppers that often dominate sporting events. Commentators praised the pair for providing a shot of sweet-natured exuberance for a country in a funk over defeats on the pitch, political malaise and inflation.

Stern magazine said the brothers “may have written the hit of the Euro 2024 … the groove is infectious and leaves almost no one cold”.

Der Spiegel said: “Sometimes you meet people who overwhelm you with so much cheer that you yourself feel like a total git.”

The author Jagoda Marinić said the Bhangu brothers displayed a relaxed love of country that could put the far right to shame after its strong showing in this month’s European elections.

“Some sing ‘Foreigners Out’, others sing like proud patriots and celebrate the German game. Pick your fighters. We can’t allow everything to be ruined,” she wrote on X.

The journalist Marius Mestermann enthused: “The best thing about this is that you don’t have to lose any thought about the people who will be triggered by it and can just enjoy the vibe of this colossal banger.”

The brothers, whose real names are Bharpoor and Jang Bahadur Singh-Bhangu, followed their writer father from northern India to Germany in the 1980s.

Lovely and Monty call their style “Dollywood” (Deutschland + Bollywood). They first created a song for a European championship in 2012 with Oh Germany, We Love You, another anthem in praise of multiculturalism. It was followed by Diesmal …! (This Time …!) for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Lovely told the public broadcaster NDR that their musical tradition derived from farming communities in northern India.

“Our religion also says: every piece of bread is not just for you, it’s for everyone and so you share it. That’s where happiness comes from because when you share, you have – how do you say?” he asked his brother in German. “Inner joy,” said Monty.