Laufey sings ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ at Liverpool church in memory of footballer Diogo Jota

7 July 2025, 10:53

In some of life’s most tragic moments, music can be a soothing balm for collective pain. Watch the moving moment Laufey paid tribute to footballer Diogo Jota, at an intimate concert in Liverpool.

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s song ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ from the 1945 musical Carousel has become something of an anthem for troubled times in its 60-year history.

Most famously adopted by Liverpool F.C. as the club’s official anthem and motto, the song took on a deep meaning after it was performed at the memorial service for victims of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster – and now it has been performed in touching tributes following the death of 28-year-old footballer, Diogo Jota.

Read more: How did ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ become Liverpool Football Club’s anthem?

Icelandic singer-songwriter Laufey, who is also a classically trained cellist, performed the ballad during a concert at St Michael’s Church on the banks of the River Mersey on 3 July.

In a short clip posted to social media, Laufey sang the words: “Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart, and you’ll never walk alone.”

The singer captioned her post: ‘Sang this special song tonight in honor of Diogo Jota and Liverpool’.

Laufey performs tribute to Diogo Jota in Liverpool

Read more: Andrea Bocelli and Sir Bryn Terfel perform emotional ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ at Coronation Concert

Jota and his brother André Silva, 25, had died just after midnight that same day in Spain, after their car tyre blew out. They had been driving to catch a ferry back to the UK from Portugal, where Jota had married his high school sweetheart and mother of their three children, Rute Cardoso, just 11 days earlier.

Tributes poured in from the football world, and fellow musicians joined Laufey in musical homages to Jota and Liverpool over the following days.

On the first night of their much-anticipated reunion tour, Oasis performed ‘Live Forever’ while an image of Jota in his Liverpool kit appeared behind them.

In Birmingham, a rock supergroup assembled at Black Sabbath’s final farewell gig ‘Back to the Beginning’ at Villa Park, to dedicate Black Sabbath’s ‘Changes’ to Jota and his brother. Fronted by Yungblud, the ensemble included Portuguese-American guitarist Nuno Bettencourt, who wore Jota’s No.20 Liverpool shirt in commemoration.