Two-time BRIT award-winner and Grammy nominee James Bay has been announced to headline Legends of Football 2022 as it returns to Grosvenor House to celebrate England Manager Gareth Southgate OBE.
Legends of Football is an annual charity event, which has raised £8.5 million for the UK’s largest music therapy charity, Nordoff Robins, over 25 years. Nordoff Robbins music therapists use the power of music to connect with some of the most isolated people in our society – working with children and adults affected by life-limiting illness such as dementia, mental health issues and learning disabilities including autism and physical disability.
This year football royalty Gareth Southgate will be inducted into the Legends of Football Hall of Fame, to join Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Arsene Wenger. Southgate famously played for Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough, and has managed England since 2016, notably coaching them to their first major tournament final in 55 years. Southgate feels it is “an absolute honour to receive the 2022 Legends of Football award…it’s inspiring to see all the amazing work Nordoff Robbins do to help the lives of people living with disability, illness, or isolation through the power of music.”
James Bay won two BRIT awards across 2015-2016, including Best British Male Solo Artist along with the 2016 Echo award for Best International Newcomer. Bay also went platinum with his debut album and ‘Hold Back The River’ single as well as receiving three Grammy nominations in 2016.
Commenting on headlining Legends of Football 2022 Bay said: “I’m honoured to be headlining Legends of Football 2022. I have always been a huge football fan, Alan Shearer was my hero at the age of six and I’ve been an avid Newcastle supporter ever since, so it’s wonderful to be involved with Legends of Football this year to celebrate Gareth’s stellar career as a player and manager whilst supporting a brilliant charity like Nordoff Robbins.”
Bay and Southgate will be joined by many other recognisable faces at the star-studded event in Autumn to continue supporting Nordoff Robbins and further the £8.5 million already raised.
Legends of Football chairman and Sky Sports presenter Geoff Shreeves is “delighted to invite James Bay to this year’s Legends of Football awards to celebrate football legend Gareth Southgate. We’re thrilled to have an artist of James’ calibre perform for us on what will be an unforgettable night on 3rd October at Grosvenor House to give Nordoff Robbins the well-deserved boost at our first post-covid event.”
Nordoff Robbins CEO, Sandra Schembri added: “It’s so great to see that James Bay will be headlining at Legends of Football 2022 in October. James was awarded Best Newcomer at the O2 Silver Clef Awards back in 2015 and has since become one of the UK’s most loved singer-songwriters. We can’t wait for his performance and would like to thank James for his ongoing support of Nordoff Robbins. Every penny raised through the Legends of Football will go towards music therapy, helping people to communicate and connect through this superpower we call music.”
James Bay will perform at a star-studded event on 3 October at JW Marriott Grosvenor House honouring Gareth Southgate.
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