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Leeds: British mezzo-soprano Laura Wright known for performing national anthems at major sporting and global events, has revealed that she spent six months learning Urdu before singing Pakistan’s national anthem ahead of the first Test against England at Headingley.

Wright’s rendition of Pakistan’s anthem attracted considerable attention online, with opinions divided over her performance. However, the singer has now explained the extensive preparation behind the rendition, saying that she wanted to ensure she could get the pronunciation, phrasing and meaning right.

The English singer has also previously taken on the challenge of performing India’s national anthem, Jana Gana Manain Bengali. She sang the anthem during India’s Test series against England in 2025, giving her experience with another language and another national song deeply connected with sporting and cultural identity.

Laura Wright’s six-month Urdu preparation

Performing a national anthem in an unfamiliar language can be a demanding task, particularly when it is being sung before an international cricket match watched by thousands inside the stadium and a much larger audience around the world.

For Wright, the Pakistan anthem required months of preparation.

The mezzo-soprano revealed that she had been learning Urdu for six months before being asked to perform the anthem at Headingley.

She explained that she does not treat invitations to perform national anthems as routine assignments. Instead, she considers whether she has enough time to learn the language and prepare the song properly.

Wright said being asked to sing an anthem is a great honour and something she does not take for granted. She described the Indian and Pakistani anthems as particularly challenging because of the linguistic demands involved.

Her preparation involved more than simply learning the melody and memorising the words. She wanted to understand the pronunciation and phrasing so that the performance would be respectful to the people whose national anthem she was singing.

Pakistan anthem performance divides opinion

Wright’s rendition of Pakistan’s national anthem before the first Test between England and Pakistan at Headingley generated discussion on social media.

Some viewers praised the effort she had made to learn Urdu, while others had mixed reactions to the actual rendition.

The debate nevertheless drew attention to the work that goes into performing national anthems in languages unfamiliar to the singer.

Wright’s explanation makes clear that the performance was the culmination of months of preparation.

For a singer who regularly performs national anthems, the challenge is particularly important because even minor pronunciation differences can be noticed by native speakers.

The responsibility is greater when the performance takes place before an international sporting event involving two nations with large and passionate cricket audiences.

‘It’s such an honour to be asked’

Speaking to The AthleticWright explained the significance she attaches to performing national anthems.

She said it is an honour to be asked to sing any anthem and that she never takes the opportunity for granted.

Wright also explained that she considers the Indian and Pakistani anthems particularly challenging.

Her concern is not simply whether she can sing the melody. She also needs to establish whether she has enough preparation time to learn the language and deliver the words correctly.

That approach helps explain why she began studying Urdu months before the Pakistan-England Test.

Rather than treating the performance as a conventional singing engagement, Wright approached it as a significant cultural responsibility.

Learning Urdu was not a last-minute exercise

Wright’s comments also reveal the difference between learning a familiar song and preparing an anthem written in a language that the singer does not speak.

She said that performing Pakistan’s anthem was not comparable to being asked to arrive and sing a familiar English-language song.

Instead, she needed sufficient time to study the words and pronunciation.

Six months of Urdu preparation demonstrates the scale of that commitment.

The process would have required repeated listening and practice, along with attention to the pronunciation of individual words and the natural rhythm of the language.

For an international singer, these details can determine whether an anthem sounds authentic and respectful.

Wright also learnt Bengali for India’s anthem

Wright’s experience with Pakistan’s national anthem is not her first encounter with the linguistic challenges of South Asian anthems.

She also learnt how to perform India’s Jana Gana Mana in Bengali.

The Indian national anthem was originally composed by Rabindranath Tagore and is associated with the Bengali language and literary tradition.

Wright performed the anthem during India’s Test series against England in 2025.

That experience gave her an opportunity to work with another South Asian language and helped demonstrate the preparation required when performing national songs for international audiences.

Her work with both anthems has therefore involved extensive attention to pronunciation and meaning.

India anthem was one of her most nervous performances

Wright revealed that performing India’s national anthem for the first time was an especially nervous experience.

She described it as probably the most nervous she had ever been before an anthem performance.

The reason was understandable.

She knew that Jana Gana Mana carries enormous emotional significance for Indian audiences and that every word would be closely heard by people familiar with the language.

To prepare, Wright spent considerable time listening to recordings of the anthem.

She also worked with two or three people who spoke the language so that she could listen carefully to their pronunciation and phrasing.

This allowed her to develop a better understanding of how the words should sound when sung.

Understanding the meaning matters

Wright’s preparation went beyond pronunciation.

She said she wanted to understand what the words meant.

That is an important part of her approach to performing anthems.

For a singer, knowing the meaning behind lyrics can influence phrasing, emphasis and emotional delivery.

A national anthem is not simply another piece of music. It represents a country’s history, identity and collective pride.

Understanding the words therefore allows a performer to approach the song with greater awareness.

Wright’s work with both Bengali and Urdu reflects that philosophy.

Classical music prepared her for languages

Wright also spoke about the linguistic training that comes with a background in classical music.

She explained that classical musicians receive a basic understanding of languages such as Italian and Germanwhich are important within the classical repertoire.

However, performing national anthems exposes singers to a much wider range of languages.

For Wright, that has meant learning how different languages are pronounced and phrased while preparing to perform anthems from different countries.

The experience has become an important part of her professional career.

She pointed out that the public often sees only the final performance and not the work that takes place beforehand.

The hidden work behind anthem performances

A national anthem may last only a few minutes, but preparing to perform it can take weeks or months.

The singer has to learn the melody, memorise the words, understand the meaning and ensure that pronunciation is appropriate.

For an anthem in an unfamiliar language, the process becomes even more demanding.

Wright’s six months of Urdu study illustrate that hidden preparation.

The audience at Headingley saw the finished performance, but the preparation behind it had already involved months of language learning.

Her earlier experience with Jana Gana Mana involved a similar process of listening to native speakers and understanding the words before performing.

Why cricket makes anthem performances significant

International cricket has a strong connection with national identity.

Before Test matches, players stand together as the national anthems are performed, creating one of the most recognisable rituals in the sport.

For matches involving England, India or Pakistan, the ceremony carries additional attention because of the huge cricket-following populations in those countries.

An anthem performed before such a match is therefore likely to be heard and analysed by millions of people.

For the singer, that creates additional pressure.

Wright’s decision to spend six months learning Urdu shows that she understood the responsibility associated with the opportunity.

A bridge between music and culture

Wright’s story also highlights how music can become a means of cultural exchange.

By learning Urdu and Bengali, she was not simply learning sounds for two performances.

She was engaging with languages and traditions outside her own background.

Her approach demonstrates how performers can use their profession to connect audiences from different cultures.

That becomes particularly meaningful in international sport, where national identity is visible throughout the event.

The anthem is one of the moments when the sporting contest temporarily gives way to a shared cultural ceremony.

Social media reactions versus preparation

The mixed online response to Wright’s Pakistan anthem performance illustrates how quickly performances can be judged in the digital age.

A few minutes of singing can generate thousands of reactions, often without audiences knowing how much preparation went into the performance.

Wright’s comments provide that missing context.

Six months of Urdu study is a substantial commitment for a singer who was preparing for a single high-profile performance.

Whether audiences liked every aspect of the rendition or not, the preparation demonstrates that the singer approached the responsibility seriously.

Conclusion

British mezzo-soprano Laura Wright spent six months learning Urdu before performing Pakistan’s national anthem ahead of the England-Pakistan Test at Headingley.

The performance generated mixed reactions online, but Wright’s comments revealed the extensive preparation behind it. She said she needed sufficient time to learn an anthem properly because getting the pronunciation and phrasing right was important to her.

Wright has also performed India’s Jana Gana Mana in Bengali during India’s Test series against England in 2025. She revealed that singing the Indian anthem for the first time was among her most nervous performances and that she spent considerable time listening to native speakers to understand pronunciation, phrasing and meaning.

Her experience demonstrates that performing a national anthem is about far more than memorising lyrics and melody. For Wright, learning Urdu and Bengali has become part of the unseen work behind her career as an anthem singer — work that allows her to approach each performance with greater linguistic and cultural understanding.