Wavin' Flag

Did You Know?

• A Chinese version of the song featuring Jacky Cheung and Jane Zhang reached #1 on the China Music Chart.
• K'naan published a children's book about the song in 2012, titled "When I Get Older: The Story Behind Wavin' Flag".

Original single

The original single of "Wavin' Flag" was the second official single from Troubadour, produced by Kerry Brothers Jr. and Bruno Mars. K'naan first performed the song acoustically on Q TV before the album's release. Its lyrics address the struggle of refugees displaced by war, with references to Somalia, contrasting with the more celebratory tone of the later World Cup version.

Young Artists for Haiti

In 2010, a group of Canadian musicians came together under the name Young Artists for Haiti to rework "Wavin' Flag" as a charity single. The project was led by producer Bob Ezrin, with Mike Fraser handling engineering. The new version featured lyrics tailored to the Haiti earthquake and included a rap verse from Drake. Released on March 12, 2010, all proceeds were directed to Free the Children, War Child Canada, and World Vision Canada.

The single immediately hit number one in Canada. The roster of soloists was extensive: K'naan, Nelly Furtado, Sam Roberts, Avril Lavigne, Pierre Bouvier, Tyler Connolly, Kardinal Offishall, Jully Black, Lights, Deryck Whibley, Serena Ryder, Jacob Hoggard, Emily Haines, Hawksley Workman, Drake, Chin Injeti, Ima, Pierre Lapointe, Elisapie Isaac, Esthero, Corb Lund, Fefe Dobson, Nikki Yanofsky, Matt Mays, Justin Nozuka, and Justin Bieber. The chorus was performed by Arkells, Lamar Ashe, Broken Social Scene, Torquil Campbell, Canadian Tenors, Aion Clarke, City and Colour, Tom Cochrane, Jim Cuddy, Jim Creeggan, Kathleen Edwards, Dave Faber, Jessie Farrell, Colin James, Pat Kordyback, Brandon Lehti, Colin MacDonald, Jay Malinowski, Stacey McKitrick, Suzie McNeil, Stephan Moccio, Kevin Parent, Josh Ramsay, Red 1, Hayley Sales, James Shaw, Shiloh, and Tim Baker.

Students from Lord Byng Secondary and Magee Secondary in Vancouver volunteered to play together as an orchestra. The music video was filmed at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver. In March 2011, the single won the Juno Award for Single of the Year.

Coca-Cola Celebration Mix

Coca-Cola chose a remix of "Wavin' Flag," called the "Celebration Mix," as its promotional anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The track topped charts in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, and reached number two in Italy, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. The company said the remix was "inspired by the joyous dance celebrations familiar to Africa." Coca-Cola wove its own jingle into the song and added football-themed lines like "let's rejoice in the Beautiful Game" and "see the champions take the field."

The music video, which features a cameo by Damian Marley, shows people playing soccer and celebrating goals. It was filmed at Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, where the first World Cup final took place in 1930. The remix was played throughout the tournament, appeared in all worldwide Coca-Cola campaigns, and was used during the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour. K'naan performed this version live for the first time at a Trophy Tour event, and also sang it at the World Cup kick-off concert.

The song appears on the Champion Edition of his album Troubadour. The remix adds a new pre-chorus that gives the song a more uplifting and inclusive feel. Darker lyrics from the original were cut. According to Billboard, Coca-Cola liked the song but felt that references to "a violent prone, poor people zone" and people "struggling, fighting to eat" did not match the campaign's message.

Celebration Mix

A remix featuring French producer David Guetta and American rapper will.i.am was made for international release outside Canada. will.i.am's solo parts were written exclusively for this version, and some of K'naan's lyrics were amended. The mix was engineered by Dylan "3-D" Dresdow. This version was later released as the B-side to the Celebration Mix. The maxi-single CD also included a Spanish adaptation with verses written by Rafael Vergara and interpreted by David Bisbal.

A separate music video was made for this version, with the artists performing in front of a large black flag, though some scenes were taken from the original Canadian music video and from K'naan's "Wavin' Flag" (The Celebration Mix) music video. Many bilingual versions of the Celebration Mix were produced for different countries. The initial bilingual version was recorded by K'naan and David Bisbal, sung in English and Spanish, targeting Spanish-speaking markets; it was titled the "Spanish Celebration Mix" and made available for digital download in February 2010, with its own music video.

Another version sung in English and Arabic, featuring Nancy Ajram, was released in all Middle Eastern countries as the "Arabic Celebration Mix", with scenes filmed in Denmark, Portugal, Brazil, Lebanon and South Africa. A Chinese version featuring Jacky Cheung and Jane Zhang reached number one on the China Music Chart, and a Thai version featuring Tattoo Colour charted at number three there. Other country-specific versions under Coca-Cola sponsorship included a Brazilian version with Skank singing in Portuguese, a French version with Féfé, and a Greek version with Professional Sinnerz featuring Komis X.