Lizzie Jones to perform Abide with Me for Challenge Cup final

Lizzie Jones will perform the National Anthem live at Wembley for the Challenge Cup final on Saturday, as well as recording a special version of Abide with Me.

Jones will sign the National Anthem live for the few hundred people at Wembley on Saturday after recording a special version of Abide with Me to celebrate rugby league’s 125th anniversary, primarily for the majority who will be watching on BBC One from home.

She performed at Wembley at the 2015 final, months after the heartbreaking loss of her husband Danny, the former Wales and Keighley player.

The RFL have worked with Jones to produce a performance of Abide with Me at a fitting location for rugby league’s 125th anniversary – atop Castle Hill, with its views of the Yorkshire countryside, and high above Huddersfield, where the Northern Union was founded at the George Hotel in August 1895.

Jones said: “The Challenge Cup Final and Wembley will always be special to me with the memories of singing in Danny’s memory five years ago, so I was delighted to be asked to perform again as part of what will be a very different Final this year.

“We enjoyed our day recording Abide with Me on Castle Hill, when we were blessed with some glorious autumn weather to show off the Yorkshire scenery – and while it won’t be the same without the thousands of rugby league supporters joining in at Wembley, hopefully our 2020 version will be something different for the BBC viewers to enjoy, with a link to the history of rugby league in Huddersfield in the sport’s 125th year.

“Singing the National Anthem in a mostly empty stadium will also be a very different experience. But it will still be a special moment for the fans at home and the players and officials of Leeds and Salford, and I am looking forward to being a part of their momentous day.”

To find out more information on the Danny Jones Defibrillator Fund, click here.

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