Lizzie Jones to perform Abide With Me at 2022 Challenge Cup Final

Lizzie Jones will perform Abide With Me, the traditional hymn that accompanies the build-up to the Challenge Cup Final every year, at this year's final.

Jones, who first sang the hymn at the 2015 final just months after her husband Danny passed away, will be performing at the final for the third time, following on from her performance in the 2020 final between Leeds and Salford, which was most notable for the absence of fans.

But it is 2015 which she is most synonymous with and this year, with the final in a new home at Tottenham Hotspur, Jones has again been asked to perform the hymn.

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“It’s going to be very different this year,” says Lizzie.

“Singing at the Challenge Cup Final is always so special, but it’s the fans who create the atmosphere which makes it such a unique occasion. It just wasn’t the same in 2020, despite the amazing efforts of the players and everyone else involved.

“And of course, this year the final is at a new venue, which looks absolutely amazing – I’m so delighted to have the chance to play my part on a historic day for Rugby League at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.”

Former Rugby AM presenter Alex Simmons will be the DJ for the day, and Mark Foster, the RFL's chief commercial officer, said: “We’re proud to announce that Lizzie Jones MBE and Alex Simmons will both be part of a historic Challenge Cup Final Day at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – which is now less than two months away.

“It will be the first May Final for decades, and the draws for the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup and the semi-finals of the 1895 Cup give us some idea of the exciting line-up of clubs who could be there.

“We’ve already been