Sorted Magazine

Author: Val Fraser

  • Faith: Gathering Ground

    Bob Fraser caught up with Carl Beech (President) and Nathan Blackaby (CEO) of Christian Vision for Men (CVM) to chat about CVM resources and their annual men’s festival The Gathering.

    For some time now church has been a place in which many men have felt uncomfortable, and it’s got nothing to do with the seating. CVM President, Carl Beech, explained: “There are very few men attending church who are between the ages of 18 and 35. There are even less working class men showing up. Church activities are pitched largely at the women and children as they are the ones mainly attending.

    “Many churches have no events on offer to enable the men of faith to invite a friend to, confident that it won’t put their friend off. Something needed to change in order for men to engage with the message of the gospel and equip the church in that task.”

    In his 2005 ground-breaking book Why Men Hate Going to Church Canadian author David Murrow was amongst the first to point out that many churches have no strategy to connect with men. In fact many churches have very few men showing up at all. The same is true in the UK. He researched statistics and established that, in many churches, there are between two and three times more women attending than men. He suggested that the men who do show up seem, on the whole, passive, bored or uneasy.

    CVM CEO Nathan Blackaby said: “We looked at the UK statistics and this revealed that those least likely to be attending church are single, working class men. (Source: Office National Statsitcs/Tearfund 2007 BBC Survey) and only 33% of men felt comfortable in church (Source: YouGov 2014/Sorted Magazine) Clearly, a strategy was needed to reverse this trend.”

    Styles of leadership, worship and discipleship are also factors, and for many non-church blokes there are fears of being associated with something that isn’t particularly manly. Church scandals and wrong perceptions abound, all contributing to the notion that if you want to meet up and do something with a few mates, it’s unlikely to be in a church environment. And Carl explained why it’s not just a problem in traditional churches with liturgy and pews. He said: “Even in more contemporary church expressions, some worship songs have lyrics which reflect a romantic view of Jesus, which a lot of men will find hard to align with. There was a time when the hearts of men were stirred by a traditional hymn. Those same men would find some of today’s worship songs difficult to sing with integrity.” Well aware of the challenges with men and church, CVM came up with a strategy for a different way of connecting with men.

    The CVM strategy consists of four levels of activity

    Level One is about creating activities or opportunities to bring men together where there is no great spiritual context. It’s all about enjoying some fun stuff together, building genuine friendship and trust beyond the walls of the church building.

    Level Two is about creating events where there is some kind of spiritual input, like a breakfast or a curry night with a guest speaker, when believing men can invite their friends along. Men will often show up if food is on the agenda, and hearing stories of how life has changed after someone encountered Jesus holds the potential to open up a conversation about life and faith.

    Level Three is about developing the conversation by perhaps offering a series of meetings where men can explore in more depth what it means to follow Christ. Men might discuss the values they aspire to and the changes that may need to take place in their life, their priorities or their thinking.

    Level Four is about helping churches develop an ongoing and sustainable strategy to connect with men and change the environment in church services. Men will bond more readily when they engage in a shared activity, but as many churches have a shortage of men turning up, the starting point for all this connection may need to happen elsewhere.

    Nathan enthused: “CVM has a growing number of men’s groups partnering with them, operating at a local level. Some belong to one church, others a combined effort involving several churches. There are also regional events and we also produce high quality resources for use by individuals or small groups.”

    The group which I run in the North West has made use of some of these resources and they’ve been effective in bringing a focus and getting a conversation going. In particular Carl’s book 52 Men of the Bible provides enough material for a year’s worth of discussions if you meet weekly, or four year’s worth if you meet monthly.

    In addition to hard copy books, a significant amount of CVM’s resources are now downloadable. The Code is another well used resource with 12 game changing statements written by men for men. Each statement looks at what it’s really like to follow Christ wholeheartedly.

    CVM have created an interactive platform: Winning Men is available as a Smartphone app. It includes a four level course, top tips for men’s activities, a church audit tool and loads of helpful ideas. It’s all available free, and the platform thrives on helpful interaction, comments, questions and engagement.

    The Gathering

    In 2014 Carl Beech founded a men’s festival called The Gathering. This has become an annual event which takes place, now somewhat famously, in a field near Swindon. In 2019 the attendance rose to 2400 men.

    The Gathering has live comedy, cool cars, a five-a-side tournament, a bar, live music, walking football, axe throwing, Zorb football, inflatable games etc. Alongside that there is worship, relevant bible teaching, life stories, scalextric, bonfires and loads more.

    The Saturday night meeting usually has a theme for the dress code and in 2019 it was the medieval age. That experience will live long in my memory. In 2023 the theme was animals!

    Photo: The Gathering 2023 Darts Competition with Sorted Magazine’s very own Steve Legg – Steve Legg, Magician and CVM’s John Stockley dressed as a Unicorn!

    For more information about The Gathering 2024 visit The Gathering (thegatheringformen.com)

    All Photos from The Gathering 2023 Courtesy of Bob Fraser

  • Stephen Fry: “not just a green space”

    Stephen Fry (pictured above), Friend of St James’s Church, said: “What is needed in Piccadilly is a proper place to sit and reflect and take yourself out of the bustle. The garden at St James’s Piccadilly is not just a green space, it’s an active part of the community, as the rest of St James’s Church is.”

    A new show garden has been inspired by the green spaces and community spirit at St James’s Church, Piccadilly, in central London. Work has begun at RHS Chelsea Flower Show on St James’s Piccadilly’s Imagine the World to be Different show garden. The garden is sponsored by grant-making charity Project Giving Back and designed by award-winning landscape architect Robert Myers.

    Designer Robert Myers said: “The St James’s Piccadilly garden at RHS Chelsea centres around restoration and climate resilience. Through our commitment to environmental innovation, we aim to inspire others to create a more sustainable and resilient future. Already a place of refuge and consolation for thousands, the newly designed counselling cabin underlines the importance of healing at the heart of St James’s Piccadilly’s mission.”

    Rector, Rev Lucy Winkett said: “The garden and courtyard of St James’s Piccadilly (pictured above) offer a welcome space in the busyness of central London for conversations under trees. Robert’s design emphasises the inherent resilience of nature and its healing powers. For us it’s important that it is a space where each person has their own dignity and where our interdependence with the natural world is emphasised and celebrated.”

    The garden evokes St James’s churchyard garden and highlights the importance of public green spaces in the city for healing and biodiversity. The garden is inspired by St James’s inclusive ethos, the character and form of the existing gardens, bombed in World War Two, but surviving and evolving into a biodiverse, eclectic haven for people and nature. The show garden also features a unique timber structure designed by Ivan Morison to replace the existing hut which houses the counselling service providing 5,000 hours of free counselling a year.

    The church’s community is committed to making the world a better place. The RHS Chelsea garden will support efforts to raise £20m for The Wren Project, a scheme to rejuvenate the historic, Wren-designed church and particularly to restore its garden, in order to accommodate and amplify St James’s extensive social outreach and environmental work. Donations can be made at https://www.sjp.org.uk/chelsea-campaign/

    The Imagine the World to be Different garden will be re-sited in two phases. All the trees and plants will move to St Pancras Church on Euston Road, which is a partner to St James’s. All of the hard landscape elements and timber cabin will be stored and reused as part of The Wren Project at St James’s.

    Main Photo Credit: Jack Taylor via Getty Images. All other images courtesy of St James’s Church, Piccadilly, Central London.

  • Jeremy Clarkson: “what more could anyone want?”

     
    The hit show Clarkson’s Farm will return to our television screens. The show’s Diddly Squat Farm Shop will be back at the Silverstone Festival over the August Bank Holiday weekend from August 23rd – 25th 2024.

    Jeremy Clarkson (pictured above) was at the festival with his partner Lisa Hogan in both 2022 and 2023, he said: “It really is an infeasibly good day out. You have literally acres and acres festooned with incredible cars all with nice sensible dials on their dashboards, a pop-up Diddly Squat Farm Shop selling lots of our stuff all washed down with lashings of my really rather refreshing Hawkstone beer, what more could anyone want!”

    The third Amazon Prime series received rave reviews, and the famous farm shop is gearing up for an even more exciting involvement with Silverstone Festival. The Hawkstone Bar will be back, together with the rustic store selling a range of Diddly Squat Farm produce and merchandise.

    Other Tasting Tent sessions include BBQ secrets, a history of British Cheeses, a trip through the world of chillies, Moldovan winemaking artistry, an artisan market with local produce and celebrated chefs on the Silverstone Kitchen Live stage.
     
    Further information and tickets are available here.

    Main Photo Credit: Courtesy of Silverstone Festival lifestyle Media and Silverstone Festival Motorsports Media

  • Comment: How much does it cost to lie online?

    How much does it cost to create and spread fake news or false narratives online? 

    According to new research from digital identity security specialists, ID Crypt Global, the answer depends on what scale of disruption you want to create. You’ll need to pay £400,000 to create a campaign of truly devastating falsehoods, but an awful lot of damage can still be done for absolutely no cost at all.

    Fake news and false narratives are commonplace online. They can be created by an individual sitting at home with their smartphone, by AI bots, or even large-scale ‘farms’ in countries like Russia, India, and China, where hundreds of people are employed to fabricate and falsify the things we see online. 

    ID Crypt Global has estimated the cost of creating and spreading various types of fake news and false narratives in 2024 by analysing previous 2017 data* published on the subject and adjusting the numbers for inflation. 

    The cost of creating fake news

    To enlist the help of a click farm, in which one server has the control capacity of 30 smartphones and can ‘click’ to artificially inflate the presence and therefore influence of certain posts, costs an estimated £4,922.

    To manipulate an online petition, such as those regularly created via change.org, with 100,000 fake votes or signatures will cost an estimated £1,064. 

    To generate one million fake YouTube views costs around £998, and to add 1,000 fake comments to a social media post each month is estimated to cost £250. 

    While these nefarious activities require you to have a pretty healthy budget for creating fake news, there are other influential methods that cost very little money, and one that costs nothing at all. 

    For example, to pay for a bot to produce 500 retweets costs just £2. 100 artificial YouTube likes costs £1.55; and to buy 100 fake YouTube followers is estimated to cost as little as 66p. 

    But perhaps most frightening of all is that anyone and everyone can create their very own convincing fake news story for absolutely free via a website called Break Your Own News. And once this fake news story has been shared to social media, there is no telling how far it will spread and how much influence it will have, despite having absolutely no relationship to truth. 

    What about the biggest, most disruptive fake news campaigns? 

    All the things described above are effective ways of creating false narratives, but they’re doing so on a relatively small scale which could fairly be described as ‘amateur’. 

    There is another side to fake news; a much darker side in which seasoned and skilled professionals can be hired to create disinformation that intentionally has an enormous impact on the real world without anyone even realising it’s happening. As such, the costs of these services are substantial. 

    For example, there are companies in the world that will work to manipulate a decisive course of action by influencing decision-making at critical junctures such as a referendum or general election. Such projects take around 12-months to execute, and their approach is multi-faceted. 

    To hire such a company, you’re going to have to spend something in the region of £400,000, which means these sorts of campaigns are reserved for large companies or even government states who wish to influence the public’s opinion and choices in nefarious ways. 

    There are other companies who will help organise or instigate large-scale street protests for an estimated cost of almost £200,000; and others who will execute a campaign to discredit an influential and honest journalist for a cost of around £50,000. 

    CEO and Founder of ID Crypt Global, Lauren Wilson-Smith, commented:

    “Welcome to the modern world. We live in what has often been described as the Post-Truth era, a description that is as terrifying as it is accurate. For all the good that the internet and social media has done for the world, it has also opened up endless avenues and opportunities for those with bad intentions to spread fake news, generate false narratives, and force their own agendas on an unsuspecting public.  

    The simple fact is that we as a society have not worked quickly enough to understand the ways in which our innovations can be manipulated and used for evil, and therefore haven’t created ways to protect ourselves from harm. 

    With new technologies like AI growing increasingly sophisticated and capable by the day, the risk is only increasing. It’s the responsibility of every company involved in the creation of news media to do their part, ensuring that their files are protected from being abused for disinformation purposes, rather than laying such responsibility at the door of social media platforms.”

    Data tables and sources

    Main Photo Credit: Nicolas McComber via Getty Images

  • Sport: Kyren Wilson wins world snooker championship

    Excitement was off the scale here at Sorted HQ as we watched Kyren Wilson win his second World Championship final against Welsh qualifier Jak Jones. BBC Sport reports Wilson beating Jones 18-14 to win the world championship. Last year I had the pleasure of getting to know Kyren a little bit better when I interviewed him for Sorted Magazine. I’m a big snooker fan so what a thrill it was to speak to one of the top guys in the world – World Number Seven, Kyren Wilson. Here’s how it went:

    Steve Legg (SL): Hi Kyren. That’s an unusual name that I’ve heard pronounced differently. What do your friends call your Ky, Kyren or nothing at all?

    Kyren Wilson (KW): Ky, Kyren or anything but never Keiron.

    SL: I’ve seen you play many times, and they mess it up sometimes, don’t they?

    KW: I know. My very first debut on TV was on Eurosport. My management company had to message the commentators saying it’s Ky as in sky and Ren as in running. That’s how they got them to pronounce it correctly. My mum and dad were actually torn between Kyle and Kieron. So they mixed the two. That is as simple as that.

    SL: So now we know. Ky, my love for snooker came from watching Pot Black, because I’m older than you. Where did it come from for you?

    KW: Just a natural obsession with it. You know, there’s a picture that my mum and dad have from when I was two or three years old. There’s like a toy baby golf set. And instead of using it the traditional way, I put the golf ball on a coffee table, turn the golf club around, and start queuing with it. You know, nobody told me what to do with it. You know, there was just a fascination. That’s the way I wanted to do it. And yeah, my dad was a very keen pool player. Yeah. And at the time, it was frowned upon for younger children to play in pubs and stuff like that. There’s an old saying of something you can’t have, you want to even more so yeah, just an obsession from a young age.

    SL: Because it’s not one of those sports like footy or tennis, you can pick up as a toddler by kicking or hitting a ball about. Snooker is an entirely different kettle of fish, though; I assume countries in the far east have some fantastic young talents. Do they have special tables for little kids?

    KW: Um, yeah, you know, one of the most amazing things that I ever saw in my travels with the world snooker tour in Shanghai, and in between the Shanghai Masters I went to visit one of their local schools. And half of the school was a snooker club. You had about four or five snooker tables, some smaller tables for the younger children. And one of them gave me their book. And I said, you know, what’s this? And it was like, their homework and it was different practice routines. So yeah, if I was born in China, I’d have loved school more.

    SL: I bet. So do you remember your first visit to a snooker club with your dad?

    KW: We were quite lucky in Kettering. There were lots of good clubs around. We went there quite often during the week. My dad used to have quite a few arguments with my mum about it, because my mum was very much into education and my dad wanted me to carry on practising. He could see that as a natural talent. So I was very lucky to have it from a young age.

    SL: So when did you realise you were outstanding?

    KW: It was when I was six years old. I played Peter Ebdon in a local charity pool match. And Peter broke off and he didn’t pot a ball. And I stepped up to the table, just six years old, wearing black trousers, a white shirt, and a red waistcoat and cleared the table. So he turned to my mum and dad and said, you know, get him into snooker. He’s got a real natural talent and that’s where his future lies.

    SL: That is amazing. Peter Ebdon is a good pal of yours and is in your corner these days and does a bit of coaching with you?

    KW: Yeah, we work closely together and he’s greatly influenced me over the years. And I was very lucky to have him as a solid, consistent practice partner for many years up until, unfortunately, recently, when he had to retire due to health reasons. So yeah, it’s been a significant impact on my career. So I’m very grateful for that.

    Footnote: The full interview was published in the July/August 2023 print edition of Sorted Magazine or listen to our conversation at Konnect Radio.

    Main Photo Credit: Courtesy of Kyren Wilson

  • Comment: Heatwave in India

    The Chief Executive of The Leprosy Mission has voiced his concern over the severe effects of climate change in Asia. The World Meteorological Organization has warned that Asia is bearing the brunt of climate change. The warning from the United Nations weather agency coincides with a severe heatwave in India. Temperatures are soaring to as high as 45 degrees across great swathes of the country.

    Chief Executive Peter Waddup said the World Meteorological Organization’s findings sadly come as no surprise. He said: “Over the past few years we have witnessed our colleagues in Asia struggle with severe heatwaves, floods and storms. In fact we now need to budget for extreme climate emergencies which happen every year. Last year we provided emergency food and medical supplies to communities in Myanmar. This was in the aftermath of Cyclone Mocha which made landfall in Western Myanmar on May 14th. With wind speeds of up to 250km per hour, it was one of the strongest cyclones to ever hit the country, destroying homes and livelihoods.

    “Now my colleagues in India are battling daily life in hospitals and clinics without air conditioning. Their concern is to make the patients as comfortable as possible.” Peter said that in India, where the majority of people live hand to mouth, there is little option but to carry on. “For the majority in India, not working equates to not eating,” he said.

    “My colleague at Salur Hospital in Andhra Pradesh sent over a photo of women labourers working on the site yesterday in 45 degree heat. They are immaculately dressed in colourful saris and were stoically carrying on. I simply cannot imagine doing such physical work in insufferable temperatures. People continue to queue in the blistering heat outside our Outpatients’ departments in India. These are often the only places where they can see a doctor free of charge and places where they are loved , accepted and cared for. So although terribly uncomfortable, a wait in the burning sun is simply a means to an end.

    “I keep recalling the feeling of dread I had running up to July 19th 2022. This is when meteorologists had warned that, for the first time in the UK, temperatures would exceed 40 degrees. We all planned our lives so there was minimal movement for two days simply to make life bearable. I really cannot imagine how they can carry on for weeks in India in such severe heat. The summer monsoon will bring some relief but it is still weeks away.”

    The news that Asia’s struggle with climate change is greater than the rest of the world’s came a day after Earth Day on Monday [22 April]. Peter said: “I love looking at the photos that NASA release every year on Earth Day in celebration of our incredible planet. Taken from satellites, aircraft and deep-space missions, they leave me in awe and wonder. How to protect our beautiful planet is a monumental challenge. The World Meteorological Organization is calling for national weather services across Asia to improve disaster planning. There are also renewed calls for governments to implement net zero emissions by 2040 to help quell rising temperatures.

    “In our own lives we are encouraged to reduce our carbon footprints by flying and driving less and switching to renewable energy. I just hope and pray this will be enough to protect the people suffering the very most from climate change.”

    Main Photo Credit: Umesh Negi via Getty Images

  • Film: Unsung Hero debuts in UK and Ireland

    With advance sales of 2.3 million tickets in the USA, Unsung Hero will debut in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on June 14th 2024. Produced by Kingdom Story Company. Co-Director Joel Smallbone said: “We are thrilled to bring Unsung Hero to audiences in the UK and Ireland. This project is a testament to the power of storytelling and the impact it can have on people’s lives. We hope that audiences will be inspired by the characters’ journeys.”

    Set against the backdrop of Nashville in the early 1990s, Unsung Hero follows the journey of David Smallbone (pictured above) as he moves his family from Australia to the United States, searching for a brighter future. With their six children and nothing more than suitcases, and their love of music, David (For King & Country’s Joel Smallbone) and his pregnant wife Helen (Daisy Betts) set out to rebuild their lives. David and Helen begin to realise the musical prowess in their children, who would go on to become two of the most successful acts in inspirational music history: five-time Grammy Award®-winning artists For King & Country and Rebecca St. James.

    The cast includes Joel Smallbone and Daisy Betts, alongside Jonathan Jackson, Candace Cameron Bure, Kirrilee Berge and Lucas Black. Some US Film Critics say that Unsung Hero delivers captivating performances which will resonate with audiences and invite viewers to reflect on the true meaning of hope and sacrifice. On this side of the pond we’ve got Sorted Magazine’s resident film buff, Andy Godfrey, on the case, so please do stand by for the benefit of his expert insights.

    Unsung Hero is released in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on the June 14th 2024. Watch the trailer here.

    Main Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate (Fair Usage).

  • Opinion: Do I dare to disagree with Monty Don?

    No Mow May is a popular gardening trend which advocates leaving lawns uncut throughout the month of May. The idea is to provide sources of food for pollinators and insects and this in turn helps creatures further up the food chain such as birds and small mammals. Leaving lawns uncut, for any length of time, to benefit the natural world is a lovely idea … in theory.

    In reality the soggy long grass resulting from No Mow May can often lead to Jammed Mower June followed by Junked Mower July and subsequently Absent Mower August. Bear in mind that as benefits to garden wildlife increase, the bank balance can potentially decrease. Domestic mowers are made for cutting shortish grass, meaning the motor can strain, and even burn out, under the extra power needed to cut long, thick, grass. Are lawn mower manufacturers the real winners in this equation? (If you don’t mind the endless gnawing ache of stooping, a decent strimmer is better at handling long wet grass.)

    “Leave grass long to attract small mammals” the sagely Monty Don advises. Hedgehogs and voles can bring their quaint story book personalities to the garden, making you feel as if you’re living in a magical woodland and a fairy might appear perched on a red spotted toadstool at any moment. In the reality of an urban setting, even a very posh one, the phrase “small mammals” is more likely to mean rats. What used to be called “vermin”. As well as their reputation for spreading deadly diseases (remember the Bubonic Plague?) vermin, particularly mice, can attract the neighbourhood cats, as many as four per night, each of them depositing a stinky poo parcel lurking within said long grass. Have you ever witnessed the fall out when barefooted children innocently run through long grass? It’s horrendous! I’m sorry Monty, you’re lovely and very wise about lots of things, but my grass will be mown and manicured in May and beyond.

    Main Photo Credit: Wellington Silva via Pexels

  • The Subaru Crosstrek: The family car that takes you anywhere

    Are you looking for a practical, reliable car that can handle muddy terrain and harsh weather conditions? Look no further than the Subaru Crosstrek, writes Tim Barnes-Clay.

    This vehicle is a cross between a hatchback and an SUV and blends style, comfort, and performance in one package, making it perfect for British roads and our changeable climate.

    The Crosstrek’s bold front grille, sharp headlights, and distinctive body lines give it a modern and stylish look. The vehicle sits on 18-inch alloy wheels that provide a smooth, comfortable ride, even on bumpy, pothole-peppered roads.

    The car’s all-wheel-drive system is one of its most significant selling points, especially in the often-wet UK. With this feature, you can motor along with confidence in any season. Additionally, the Crosstrek’s impressive 220mm of ground clearance allows it to handle rough, off-the-beaten-track surfaces easily.

    Inside, the Subaru offers a spacious cabin accommodating up to five passengers. The seats are well-cushioned and supportive, making long journeys more comfortable. The interior has various tech features, such as a touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay/ Android Auto and a rearview camera.

    The Crosstrek’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine combined with hybrid power provides a decent balance of clout with 136PS and 184Nm of torque. What’s more, the engine is paired with a single-speed auto continuously variable transmission (CVT). The ‘Scooby’ will achieve mid-30s mpg and zero to 62mph arrives in a seemingly leisurely 10.8 seconds. However, it feels quicker than that – and the maximum speed is 123mph.

    Regarding safety, the Crosstrek comes loaded with tech such as Subaru’s first-class EyeSight kit. This feature helps prevent accidents and protects you and your passengers.

    Overall, this Subaru is a good choice for anyone after a car that offers style, comfort, and mount-goat-like performance. With its all-wheel-drive system, notable ground clearance, and advanced safety features, the Crosstrek is an excellent vehicle for daily commutes, weekend getaways, and outdoor adventures.

    Choose the Subaru Crosstrek and drive it on any road, muddy rural trail, or in any weather with confidence.

    Fast Facts – Subaru Crosstrek 2.0i e-Boxer Touring as tested:

    • Max speed: 123 mph
    • 0-62 mph: 10.8 secs
    • MPG: 36.8
    • Engine layout: 1,995cc four-cylinder petrol hybrid
    • Max. power (PS): 136
    • CO2: 174 g/km
    • Price: £36,290

    All Photos courtesy of Subaru Crosstrek

  • Prom Praise presents Chariots of Fire celebration

    A century ago, Olympic sprinter and Christian missionary Eric Liddell refused to compete in his favoured 100 metre race because it was held on a Sunday. Instead, he competed in the 400 metres … and won. Liddell’s story and the convictions that motivated him formed the foundations for the 1981 film Chariots of Fire.

    As the Olympics return to Paris this summer and to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Eric Liddell’s historic race, All Souls Music are delighted to confirm guest artists for Prom Praise: Chariots of Fire, broadcast live from the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday 4 May 2024.

    The concert will draw inspiration from Liddell’s tale of integrity, presenting an evening of musical sportsmanship that champions perseverance, character and hope.

    Artists include YolanDa Brown OBE, Martin Smith (pictured above), Ellie Limebear and Natasha Da Costa. Livestream host and Channel 5 News anchor Dan Walker (main photo above) will take to the stage with former Strictly Come Dancing partner, Nadiya Bychkova, performing a sensational new dance to Vangelis’ iconic Chariots of Fire main theme.

    Graham Daniels, General Director of Christians in Sport and a Director of Cambridge United Football Club, will offer a brief pause for thought and Eltham College Choir and musicians will be performing, honouring the school which formed such a crucial role in Liddell’s early life.

    Ellie Limebear (pictured above)

    The concert will also feature the World Premiere of a new orchestration of ‘How Great Thou Art’, celebrating the 75th anniversary of this well-known hymn, as well as featuring performances from Searchlight Theatre Company, bringing Liddell’s story to life.

    Sponsored by Christians in Sport and supported by Wycliffe Bible Translators and the Stuart Hine Trust, Prom Praise: Chariots of Fire promises to be a whirlwind of musical energy, celebrating an Olympic year and worthy of a giant of sport and faith.

    Natasha Da Costa (pictured above)

    Famous worldwide for a unique voice in music, the All Souls Orchestra has a longstanding residency at the Royal Albert Hall hosting an annual promenade concert, Prom Praise, which fuses a special partnership of classical and contemporary musicians for an evening of world-class music.

    PROGRAMME INCLUDES:

    Miklós Rózsa March of the Charioteers from Ben-Hur

    Vangelis Chariots of Fire Main Theme

    Rom Goodwin The Trap Main Theme

    Sibelius Finlandia

    FEATURING:

    All Souls Orchestra

    Prom Praise Massed Choir

    Conductor: Michael Andrews

    Special guests: Martin Smith, Ellie Limebear, YolanDa Brown OBE, Eltham College Choir and more

    Speaker: Graham Daniels

    Livestream host: Dan Walker

    The live event will be taking place at the Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AP on Saturday 4 May at 7.30pm. Tickets are available from the Royal Albert Hall Box Office.

    The Livestream will begin at 7.15pm at allsoulsmusic.org<http://allsoulsmusic.org>

    All Photos: Courtesy of Prom Praise