Alfie Boe Brings Snow Patrol’s “Run” to a Night of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall
The 2026 Festival of Remembrance asked people to think about where they go to remember someone. The Royal British Legion’s program made room for places as personal as a garden or a familiar street. On November 7, Alfie Boe sang Snow Patrol’s “Run” within that program at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Before the show, Boe told BBC Breakfast that appearing at the festival was a way to express his respect and gratitude to veterans. The choice of song gave that sentiment a familiar frame. “Run” builds from an intimate opening into a chorus about trying to stay close through a goodbye. A listener can recognize the tune quickly, even when a different voice brings new weight to the words.
The evening also marked anniversaries connected with military service in Bosnia, the Gulf War and Iraq. Those parts of the program drew on the experiences of people who served and on the memories of families. Clive Myrie presented the broadcast, with Mica Paris, James Emmanuel, Rita Wilson and Tom Odell among the other musical guests.
One viewer who identified himself as a veteran said in the Facebook discussion that Boe’s performance had changed how he thought about a song he had heard for years. Other listeners talked about the power of his singing and the sound of the musicians behind him. That reaction belongs to the setting as much as to the arrangement: a song people brought their own memories to had found another occasion to carry them.
The videos below pair Boe’s April 2026 performance at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall with Snow Patrol’s original. The BBC program contains the November Royal Albert Hall performance.
BBC One’s 2026 Festival of Remembrance programme
Alfie Boe sings “Run” in Edinburgh, April 2026
Snow Patrol’s original “Run”
Cover image from the Festival of Remembrance performance, via North Wales Live.
