Radio stations across Europe including the BBC have joined forces to simultaneously play Gerry & The Pacemakers’ ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ in a show of solidarity against coronavirus.

The stirring 1963 song was played at 7:45am GMT this morning on BBC Radio 1’s weekend breakfast show with Matt Edmondson and Mollie King, Zoe Ball’s Radio 2 show, and Lauren Laverne’s BBC 6 Music show.

The song also ran out at the same time on hundreds of radio stations in countries across Europe – including Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Latvia, Slovakia, Romania and Spain.

After playing the track on BBC Radio 2, Ball admitted that the show of unity had left her feeling emotional – and shared a selection of messages from listeners who praised the move.

Dutch radio presenter Sander Hoogendoorn of 3FM came up with the idea, and explained: “We all have to do what we can to beat this crisis. Things like this just go beyond the boundaries of radio channels. [The song] could speak to those doing an incredible job working in healthcare right now, those who are ill or those who can’t leave their house for a while.”