<p>London: Tune into a majority of the top sporting events in the United Kingdom and there’s no way one would miss Laura Wright. An English mezzo-soprano singer, she actually sets the tone for the action with her soulful renditions of the national anthems, be it England’s or of other countries. </p><p>She was there in Headingley and Edgbaston, and had the honour at Lord’s too, stoking the passion of the fans with high-octane presentations of “Jana Gana Mana” and “God Save The King”.</p>.<p>“Lord’s holds such history here, has such significance for the sport, and you know the Test series is such a huge part of everyone’s lives, it’s such an exciting thing to be part of,” Wright told <em>DH</em> on the opening day of the third Test at the so-called ‘Home of Cricket’.</p>.<p>“There are definitely moments that for me carry more weight and are more special, particularly if it’s a sport I love or I play. I’m obviously pretty excited to be part of it, but for me it’s just a unique opportunity and one that I take really seriously and absolutely adore it. My late dad loved cricket and he’ll be proud of me.”</p>.Will England's 'Bazball' template change at Lord's?.<p>England Rugby’s first official anthem singer, the immensely gifted and multi-talented 35-year-old Wright has sung the national anthems and performed in a wide variety of sporting events — the British Grand Prix, FA Cup final, Carling Cup final, the Carnegie Challenge Cup final, WSB Boxing, Championship play-off final and the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. But the crowning moment for her was becoming the first official singer to sing “God Save The King”, two days after the passing away of Queen Elizabeth II, at a sporting event when England took on South Africa at the Oval in September 2022. </p>.<p>While the change may be just replacing ‘Queen’ with ‘King’, Wright felt it was nerve-wracking for her considering Queen Elizabeth reigned for 70 years.</p>.<p>“Luckily, I had had a lot of performing experience prior to that moment, but actually, it was really special because we weren’t sure whether it was appropriate to perform the version of the anthem with King instead of Queen. It was all kind of hanging in the balance as to what would have been right for that moment.</p>.<p>“So when they asked me and said, look, this is important, we need to do this today, it’s respectful, we’re still in mourning for the Queen, but we want to have a moment where we hear the anthem, it was incredibly nerve-wracking. I was really nervous going out there, I really was, and I just remember you could hear a pin drop within the crowd, and because it was a cricket crowd, I feel like they were so respectful as well,” added Wright, who was loved by the Royal Family and had performed for the late Queen Elizabeth II on multiple occasions.</p>
<p>London: Tune into a majority of the top sporting events in the United Kingdom and there’s no way one would miss Laura Wright. An English mezzo-soprano singer, she actually sets the tone for the action with her soulful renditions of the national anthems, be it England’s or of other countries. </p><p>She was there in Headingley and Edgbaston, and had the honour at Lord’s too, stoking the passion of the fans with high-octane presentations of “Jana Gana Mana” and “God Save The King”.</p>.<p>“Lord’s holds such history here, has such significance for the sport, and you know the Test series is such a huge part of everyone’s lives, it’s such an exciting thing to be part of,” Wright told <em>DH</em> on the opening day of the third Test at the so-called ‘Home of Cricket’.</p>.<p>“There are definitely moments that for me carry more weight and are more special, particularly if it’s a sport I love or I play. I’m obviously pretty excited to be part of it, but for me it’s just a unique opportunity and one that I take really seriously and absolutely adore it. My late dad loved cricket and he’ll be proud of me.”</p>.Will England's 'Bazball' template change at Lord's?.<p>England Rugby’s first official anthem singer, the immensely gifted and multi-talented 35-year-old Wright has sung the national anthems and performed in a wide variety of sporting events — the British Grand Prix, FA Cup final, Carling Cup final, the Carnegie Challenge Cup final, WSB Boxing, Championship play-off final and the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. But the crowning moment for her was becoming the first official singer to sing “God Save The King”, two days after the passing away of Queen Elizabeth II, at a sporting event when England took on South Africa at the Oval in September 2022. </p>.<p>While the change may be just replacing ‘Queen’ with ‘King’, Wright felt it was nerve-wracking for her considering Queen Elizabeth reigned for 70 years.</p>.<p>“Luckily, I had had a lot of performing experience prior to that moment, but actually, it was really special because we weren’t sure whether it was appropriate to perform the version of the anthem with King instead of Queen. It was all kind of hanging in the balance as to what would have been right for that moment.</p>.<p>“So when they asked me and said, look, this is important, we need to do this today, it’s respectful, we’re still in mourning for the Queen, but we want to have a moment where we hear the anthem, it was incredibly nerve-wracking. I was really nervous going out there, I really was, and I just remember you could hear a pin drop within the crowd, and because it was a cricket crowd, I feel like they were so respectful as well,” added Wright, who was loved by the Royal Family and had performed for the late Queen Elizabeth II on multiple occasions.</p>