[Sports Day Cheer Songs] A roundup of classic cheer songs and recommended tracks for parody versions
Cheer songs and background music are essential for sports days and athletic festivals! Classic staples that make you want to start running the moment you hear them are a given, but it’s also long been common to rewrite the lyrics of popular J-pop songs and sing them as parodies.
In this article, we’ll introduce plenty of Japanese songs that are perfect for cheering at school sports events! Of course, we’ve also picked out songs that will hype up the crowd even if you sing them as-is.
Be sure to read through to the end!
- Top Songs to Hype Up Sports Day and Athletic Festivals [2026]
- Cheer songs to hype up the sports day! A collection of motivational tracks recommended for kids
- Recommended cheer songs for elementary school students: popular tracks to listen to when you want a boost
- Songs that hype up Sports Day and Athletic Festivals: Japanese Music / J-Pop Artist Rankings [2026]
- Carefully selected J-pop to liven up sports days and athletic festivals! Also great as entrance songs.
- Get hyped! A collection of Vocaloid songs to energize your sports day and athletic festival
- [Dance Songs] Recommended for school sports days and athletic festivals! A curated selection of popular tracks that are fun to dance to
- Sports Day/Athletics Festival: Crowd-Pleasing Cheer Battle Ideas and Performances
- [Youth Songs] Songs that liven up sports days and athletic festivals. Music that adds color to the event.
- Recommended cheer-up songs for middle schoolers: Classic Japanese hits that will empower student life
- [To All Athletes] Inspirational Sports Anthems & Empowering Theme Songs
- Before a match or when you feel like giving up! Cheer songs to keep you going in club activities
- Let's send our teammates a powerful cheer! A roundup of cheer calls for sports day.
[Sports Day Cheer Songs] A roundup of classic cheer anthems and recommended tunes for parody versions (91–100)
Everyone is free.Half time Old
Many of you have probably heard it as the song used in the au mobile carrier’s Santaro series commercials.
In this series, there’s an original song that gets arranged for the ads, and the past commercials have featured incredibly catchy tunes—once you hear them, they really stick in your head.
The title is “Everyone Is Free,” which I think is perfect for events like school sports festivals.
The lyrics are good, and the tempo is great too, making it a track that will really lift your energy even outside of sports.
BON VOYAGEBON BON BLANCO
Because it was used as the opening theme for the popular anime ONE PIECE, many children know it.
Its bright melody and lively rhythm create a festive mood, making it perfect for energizing events like school sports days and athletic festivals!
[Sports Day Cheering Songs] A roundup of classic cheering tunes and recommended tracks for parody versions (101–110)
The One and Only Flower in the WorldSMAP
It’s SMAP’s “Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana,” a song so well-known across generations that it hardly needs an introduction.
It’s also widely known that Noriyuki Makihara wrote and composed it.
How about using it as a unifying anthem to boost morale—more of a cheer song to rally everyone together?
BOW AND ARROWYonezu Kenshi
The exhilarating melody and powerful drum patterns brilliantly capture the sensation of sprinting forward.
Crafted by Kenshi Yonezu, this piece portrays the courage and passion of taking on figure skating through the metaphor of a bow and arrow.
It vividly depicts both the challenger striving to surpass themselves and the bonds with those who support them, achieving a fine balance between the allure of sports and human drama.
Released in January 2025, it was selected as the opening theme for the TV anime “Medalist.” Yonezu, a fan of the original work, personally requested to create the anime’s theme song—a background that is reflected in the work’s high level of polish.
From brisk exit scenes to dynamic performances at school sports days, the song’s tone complements the powerful movements of children and stands out as one of its key charms.
Soul RevolutionSuperfly
This is a Superfly single known for its powerful melody right from the start.
Its unusually powerful melody for a female vocalist can lift your spirits and help you face forward again, even if you’re feeling a bit down, so I think it’s perfect for sports events, not just school sports days or athletic festivals.
If you use it at a sports day or athletic festival, it will be especially motivating when played during competitions that determine winners and losers rather than for dances.
Youthful AmigoShūji to Akira
A truly luxurious track performed by Kazuya Kamenashi and Tomohisa Yamashita under their drama character names.
The duo of these two stars sparked a huge boom, and many people from the generation that watched the show might even know the dance.
Its appeal lies in the distinctive choreography and lyrics that sing about youthful friendship in harmony with the drama.
HappinessAI
Released in 2011, AI’s “Happiness” was also featured in a Coca-Cola commercial.
The Coca-Cola CM image is really strong, isn’t it? But if you listen closely, the lyrics are great and it’s a very uplifting, encouraging song.
Perfect for uniting everyone at a sports day! How about using it as a cheer song?