Songs that hype up Sports Day and Athletic Festivals: Japanese Music / J-Pop Artist Rankings [2026]
Sports days and athletic festivals are some of the most festive school events where all grades come together, so you really want to get the crowd excited.
Music, in particular, is a key factor in boosting the energy!
I’ve put together a ranked list of recommended hype songs for sports day—hope you find it helpful!
- Top Songs to Hype Up Sports Day and Athletic Festivals [2026]
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- Cheer songs to hype up the sports day! A collection of motivational tracks recommended for kids
- [Sports Day] A roundup of exhilarating, fast-paced tracks perfect for relay race BGM!
- [Elementary School Students] Popular Song Rankings by Generation [2026]
- Elementary schoolers can dance to it! Recommended dance songs and choreography for sports day
- Coloring the drama of youth! Heartwarming songs perfect for school sports days and athletic festivals
- Perfect for sports day parachute routines! Recommended J-pop songs
- From classics to fan favorites! A catalog of music and BGM to liven up your sports day
- Songs I want to use for a flag dance at a sports day. Recommended songs for a flag dance.
Songs that get the crowd pumped at sports days and athletic festivals: Japanese music/J-Pop artist rankings [2026] (21–30)
Wake Up!AAA26rank/position
A song by the performance unit AAA, specially written as the theme for the anime ONE PIECE, evokes a rising sense of excitement toward embarking on an adventure that reflects the work’s worldview.
With a band sound that incorporates brass timbres, it conjures a grand, bright scene reminiscent of blue skies and the open sea.
It’s a track that conveys joyful emotions—expressing the courage to move toward one’s goals and the happiness of moving forward together with companions.
Brother BeatSnow Man27rank/position
Brother Beat was produced as an upbeat, party-style track.
It’s a song released by Snow Man and is also known as the theme song for the movie Osomatsu-san.
The structure has the nine members taking turns singing their thoughts and feelings.
Overall, it packs in a lot of comedic call-and-response elements that will make you chuckle.
Another hallmark is the abundance of rap parts.
It’s perfect when you want to create a lively, boisterous atmosphere.
Curtain callYuuri28rank/position
This is a song by Yuuri featuring an exhilarating, up-tempo rock melody and lyrics filled with hope as two people strive to understand each other.
It powerfully and directly sings of the protagonist’s strong resolve to keep pursuing the path they believe in, while showing empathy toward those they stand opposed to.
A rousing cheer song that gives you a push to chase dreams together with teammates at sports days and athletic festivals, it was released in July 2024 and chosen as the opening theme for Season 7, Cour 2 of the popular anime My Hero Academia.
It’s a track we especially recommend to everyone competing with friends, helping one another, and giving their all toward their goals.
OH!SHISHAMO29rank/position
“OH!” perfectly matches the image of students dashing across the stage of a fresh, youthful school life.
Released in 2019 by the three-piece rock band SHISHAMO, the song portrays the importance of striving within limited time.
Its lyrics, which encourage not worrying about others’ eyes and diving into sweaty, all-out effort—like running at a sports day—fit the event perfectly.
The passionate vocals of Asako Miyazaki, carried by the band’s exhilarating performance, convey fiery emotion.
Be sure to include this indispensable rock number as a cheer song to hype up your school sports festival!
horizonback number30rank/position
Back number is a rock band famed for poignant love songs that depict the complexities of relationships.
Their 2021 release “Suiheisen” (Horizon) is a song that honors those who worked hard for the day of their sports festival.
It was written for high school students who had aimed for the 2020 Inter-High, which was canceled.
The lyrics, brimming with realism around themes of “dreams” and “goals,” are deeply moving.
With a warm, mid-tempo band sound, it resonates across generations.
It’s the perfect song to applaud not only the athletes who took first place, but everyone who took part.