BRITISH Airways’ singing pilot Stuart Beech from Oldham will play to his largest ever live audience on Saturday (August 24) when he takes to the pitch at Twickenham to sing ‘Jerusalem’ at the England v Ireland International.
Stuart will take centre stage with the British Airways’ Centenary Choir, to sing the iconic anthem in front of 82,000 rugby fans from both nations.
He will also perform "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" as the players enter the pitch before joining the choir to support Soprano Faryl Smith who will sing both national anthems.
British Airways is the first "Principal Partner" to Twickenham Stadium, the home of England Rugby.
The match is part of the Quilter Internationals and is a warm-up for the Rugby World Cup 2019 being held in Japan in September. British Airways will be flying the England team out to Tokyo.
Stuart rose to fame after being surprised on Michael McIntyre’s BBC1 "Big Show", when he was invited to sing the closing song at London’s Theatre Royal.
A lifelong musical theatre fan, who already has a huge following of loyal fans, Stuart was a natural choice to start the celebrations on Saturday.
Born and bred in Oldham, where many of his family members still live, Stuart, a first officer on the Airbus A380, regularly goes home to Manchester to sing at charity functions and for friends and family.
Joining Stuart and the Centenary Choir on the pitch at Twickenham, will be British Airways’ ambassadors. During the game fans will have chance to win one million Avios to celebrate the airline’s 100th birthday.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here