American contemporary RnB singer SZA drew perhaps the smallest audience I have ever seen at Glastonbury for a Pyramid stage main headliner, writes Neil McCormick. Not disastrously so, but a quarter of the number who turned out for Coldplay.
She had incredible production staging, a huge electro hip-hop sound and fluid (if weirdly tinny and distorted) singing but it was abundantly clear that more Glastonbury revellers favoured the shabby alt rock of The National on the Other stage, the Brit funk of Justice at West Holts, ambient electronic soul of James Blake at Woodsies, and trip-hop songcraft of London Grammar on the Park stage.
The truth is, there was a lot of advance scepticism about SZA’s appearance as the final Pyramid stage headline act. It is not just because word got out that both Madonna and Stevie Wonder had turned it down first, nor that the 34-year-old American only has two albums and a couple of big hits – it’s that the style of her low-slung R’n’B is underpowered, insular headphone music relying substantially on the subtle emotional impact of her lyrical psychodramas. She puts it over with more energy live, but it’s only singalong if you already know all the songs.
There’s no doubt that she matters to her mainly twentysomething female fans, who turned out and responded with rapturous delight. The question was how would that translate in an all-ages, all-tastes festival? Well, the numbers don’t lie. This was a huge, spectacular production impeccably delivered, but it felt like the wrong show in the wrong place in front of the wrong crowd.
It has been the poppiest Glastonbury in memory, perhaps with an eye on adjusting to the tastes of younger revellers. I am not sure how that is working out. People voted with their feet, and it often took them away from the main Pyramid stage.
Nigerian Afrobeat pop crossover superstar Burna Boy played a fantastic set to an enthusiastic but also not enormous crowd. “Everyone take your shirt off and wave it,” the muscular singer called out at the end, perhaps miscalculating the dropping temperatures in a field on a cool Somerset evening. I only saw one bare-chested man in the ensuing melee of flag- and hat-waving. Still, Burna Boy brought the heat, and made a lot of new friends.
There have also been noticeable issues with scheduling and odd stage choices at Glastonbury this year, with artists appearing in spaces either too big or small for them. Sugababes closed down the West Holts area and Charli XCX shut down Silver Hayes on Friday, whilst K-pop band Seventeen barely attracted a crowd to the Pyramid. On Sunday, it was Janelle Monáe’s bad luck to play a blazingly funky set with her fantastic band that coincided disastrously with England’s European cup football match and Noughties emo pop-rock superstar Avril Lavigne revving up on the Other stage.
Still, those who stuck with Monáe were treated to the most outrageous outfits at the festival, including a naked swimsuit and vagin* dress, and some firebrand political speechifying that led to her running over time. “I got the mic,” she sang as her band played on, refusing to leave the stage.
Meanwhile, sad-faced football fans sat in huddles, staring glumly at their phones as England struggled to score. At the end of Monáe’s set, groups of men were suddenly leaping into the air cheering and singing Hey Jude. I don’t think it had much to do with the music on stage. I wonder how many people left the festival on Sunday to watch the football, which organisers had made a curious decision not to show on a big screen.
Earlier on a cloudy but pleasant afternoon everyone came out for veteran country pop superstar Shania Twain, with the field in front of the Pyramid stage looking like a sea of cowboy hats. A lot has been written about country music having a breakout moment in the UK, perhaps overlooking that Twain sold over 100 million records and scored a raft of crossover hits in the Nineties and Noughties.
She was good value for the so-called Sunday afternoon “legend” slot, if not producing quite the same levels of overwhelming singalong joy afforded previous legends including Kylie Minogue and Lionel Richie. Twain’s career was badly marred by Lyme’s disease affecting her vocal cords, and during her decade-long comeback she over-relied on backing track support.
At Glastonbury, however, Twain really leaned into her older, grittier voice and it suited her, adding a Lucinda Williams gravitas to her punchy country pop. The band was slick, the songs were catchy, and her whole demeanour was uplifting. Contrary to the declaration of her opening song, she did impress Glastonbury much.
Catch up with all the Sunday action from Glastonbury below:
11:46 PM BST
★★★★★ The National were a pitch-perfect end to the festival
As the end of a glorious set drew near, The National frontman Matt Berninger belied his 53 years and threw himself into the audience. Again. By my count it was the fourth time.
Except, on this occasion, at the crescendo to the band’s hit Terrible Love, he fully vaulted over the barriers in front of the stage and was properly surfing the crowd.
He loved it. We loved it. The only person at the Other stage who not enthused was the poor roadie tasked with getting him safely back from his adoring fans, trying to reel him in with the microphone wire like a weary Captain Ahab.
Once back on stage, Berninger was so exhausted from the self-inflicted ordeal that he slumped on the microphone stand and was basically chewing it like a gobstopper when he sang.
As soon as the line-up revealed that the Ohio band were to play the last set of the weekend you knew it would be pitch perfect at the end of a long festival. They didn’t disappoint.
They’ve deliberately leant into the whole “sad dad” thing with their mournful indie rock ballads, and while there were plenty of paternal-looking types singing their hearts out to bangers like Conversation 16 (“I’m evil”) and Day I Die on a cool Somerset night, there was a pleasing mix of male/female, young/old in force.
Berninger’s enthusiasm was tempered only when he was about to sing Fake Empire (with the lyrics “We’re half awake in a fake empire”) as he alluded to Donald Trump.
“This song keeps getting more and more appropriate,” he said. “That’s really depressing.”
Not that the sad dads cared. “Go on Matt!” cried the guy next to me. And on and on and on. Liam Kelly
11:30 PM BST
SZA did at least help some distressed fans
She directed Glasto security to them in the crowd (during the fairy portion of her set).
But I’m not sure she had many converts, either on site – with most festival-goers either at other stages, or dashing out to beat the traffic home – or from baffled TV watchers.
The BBC can hype her up all they want, but you can’t argue with an empty field.
This was the Pyramid Field immediately after @sza finished her set. Only full just beyond the sound stage (about 1/3 of the main field)@emilyeavis @glastonbury I'm sure she's a fantastic artist but definitely not enough pull for the Headline Sunday slot. Whereas @AvrilLavigne! pic.twitter.com/5lkRD5dTRb
— Simon Chapman (@_SimonChapman) June 30, 2024
11:17 PM BST
Mixed reviews for SZA
No one is “shaking that ass” for SZA – bar a few adamant fans at the front. It’s a weird interlude in the singer’s highly low-key set. The crowd is notably smaller than it was at 10pm.
Trying to garner some opinions, not many want to chat, but one woman in a fluffy leopard-print hat offers that SZA was “amazing” and she is a “big fan”.
“It’s my first Glastonbury and it’s been brilliant,” she adds, as listeners stream out with the singer’s track 20 Something in the background.
The applause as SZA departs – early, despite her late appearance – is tepid. But towards the right side of the stage a puddle of teenage girls are cuddling on the floor. “That was so good!” they collectively shout.
Towards San Remo bar the mood is different. “Floor drugs, floor drugs, floor drugs!” a young guy shouts. Clearly the weekend isn’t over for all. Lauren Shirreff
11:13 PM BST
And that’s it
She’s gone – will there be an encore? Seemingly no. SZA’s audience enjoyed it – but will it cut through as Coldplay’s gig did on Saturday? Unless you’re a fan of huge insects, the answer is probably not. Ed Power
Bizarrely anticlimactic.
Some post-match analysis from the BBC presenters, scrambling to represent this as a triumphant debut from a fresh artist, and Glasto supporting new voices. Hmm.
11:10 PM BST
SZA finally acknowledges her fans
Cue much screaming and thrusting of eager hands, and phones, as she wanders down to the audience barrier. “You have my deepest love and my deepest respect,” she says, before introducing her band. Ed Power
She’s made another costume change, by the way: now a green dress that’s gone through a shredder. Sort of filleted Peter Pan.
11:07 PM BST
★★★★★ Justice prevails with an electrifying set
Now that’s how you close the weekend. The coolest Parisian duo in electronic music – sorry Daft Punk, you lose one point for the hiatus and one point for the masks – absolutely electrified the West Holts stage just now.
Justice provided every person in the heaving crowd with the necessary energy to survive this final Glastonbury hurrah: not least courtesy of their cutting-edge light show (partially blocked, in typical Glasto fashion, by scores of flags), laser beams shooting in every direction across the audience, their pin-sharp sound and just terrific, addictive songs.
Timeless anthem We Are Your Friends was genuinely euphoric; tracks from new album Hyperdrama were delivered just as confidently. It’s no mean feat to make a dance set on an increasingly freezing open field feel like one taking place in a tiny club, but Justice, long-time masters of their craft, more than delivered. Poppie Platt
🎥 "Because we are your friends, You'll never be alone again" 🎶
Justice play 'We Are Your Friends' on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury! 🫂🔥#Glastonbury #Glastonbury2024pic.twitter.com/PrrsOVuosm
— Far Out Magazine #Glastonbury2024 (@FarOutMag) June 30, 2024
11:04 PM BST
Scissors of a different variety
Tucked into the south corner of the festival just a few paces from the landmark ribbon tower is a buzzy new queer venue called Scissors, catering to the lesbian community at Glastonbury. By day it hosts sex talks and seminars, and by night, the queue is packed with punters waiting for up to two hours get a drink at the Mermaid bar, play pool at Hustlers, or dance the night away at a DJ set inside the Kiki’s tent.
“The idea is for Scissors to be a safe space for everyone,” Steward Danny Dougall, 49, tells me. While this isn’t a queer-only space, it is tightly curated: “We have security at the front to screen those coming in, and tell some people, ‘maybe this isn’t for you.’ Essentially we just don’t want people being d**kheads,” Dougall elaborates.
“There’s a lesbian renaissance happening,” enthuses bartender Theodora van der Beek, 40. “Glastonbury has a hungry queer community,” summarises her coworker. Laura Robinson
10:57 PM BST
SZA gets down and dirty
Rich Baby Daddy is accompanied by a worrying outbreak of spontaneous twerking. People complained about bum notes during those early sound issues – but this is taking it too far. Ed Power
It should be noted said twerking is happening around ANOTHER creepy insect, this one a big model.
10:56 PM BST
Move over, David Attenborough
Another favourite from SZA – Normal Girl. But what’s with the big insect in the background? Is she auditioning on the QT for Springwatch? Ed Power
Personally it’s creeping me out with its huge pincers and sudden scuttling movement. It’s like evil Pixar.
10:55 PM BST
★★★★ London Grammar has a captive, blissed-out audience
When lead singer Hannah Reid’s diaphanous contralto rings out into the (quite chilly) evening air, it soars above a packed crowd fanning out well past the limits of the Park stage. The Nottingham-formed trio have been around since 2009, and since then they’ve collected a dedicated fanbase – certainly enough to merit placing their act on the higher-capacity Other stage.
Squished as it is, the crowd is full of blissed-out lovers and friends swaying together to the band’s ambient electropop: a twentysomething guy with his shades on and arms around his mates, endless couples in the stand-up spooning position.
“Just two more emotional ones then I promise we’ll party,” Reid pleads into the mic. She seems to be afraid revellers might quit the set for a more upbeat vibe elsewhere – it’s as if she can’t quite believe how captive this audience is.
The set list floats through mesmerising tracks like 2014 breakout Wasting My Young Years and new release House, and before it comes to a close, Reid makes good on her promise. Bandmate Dot Major tinkers with the dials on his musical motherboard to turn up the BPMs and send punters off into the night in search of one last party. Laura Robinson
10:52 PM BST
Finally, SZA strikes the right note
SZA is singing her hit Nobody Gets Me and it has inspired one of the performance’s first audible singalongs. Fingers crossed there are more to come. If she wants to win over casual viewers/listeners, she needs to take it up a level. Ed Power
10:48 PM BST
SZA is now dressed as a fairy
Not content with ants and frustrated sexbots, she has now brought out…a huge tree? It looks like one of Tolkien’s Ents passed out facedown after too much Longbottom Leaf. Ed Power
10:47 PM BST
Viewers aren’t convinced
Can’t blame them really.
SZA at Glastonbury doing her best to make sure England aren't the worst thing I've seen on TV this weekend 😴
— Andy Burton (@itsandyburton) June 30, 2024
I don't want to be that guy, but SZA just isn't Glastonbury Sunday Pyramid Stage headliner material. She's undeniably talented and has the streaming numbers but that doesn't mean everything. #Glastonbury2024 #Glasto
— Division Order (@divisionorderuk) June 30, 2024
Aside from the obvious mic issues, SZA is doing well but I feel like they got the order of headliners wrong. Even if it was their 5th time, the Coldplay set felt more like a massive closer for the weekend. #Glastonbury#Glas
— Gon Give It To Ya (@NoRoutineHere) June 30, 2024
10:43 PM BST
Guitar solo time
Presumably SZA is backstage changing outfits. Or maybe she’s catching up on highlights of the England game. Someone should have told her about Louis Tomlinson’s contraband telly. Ed Power
10:40 PM BST
All is forgiven, Chris Martin
SZA’s dancers are back! They’re throwing shapes – though the fact that the stage looks like the interior of a toadstool is detracting from the slickness slightly.
Come back Chris Martin and your confetti machine... Ed Power
There’s also a noticeable lack of crowd chat compared with Coldplay’s ever-solicitous frontman. Yes, it can be annoying, but it’s part of the live experience. Does this moment mean a lot to SZA? Presumably, but it’s hard to tell.
10:38 PM BST
A good sign
The unsung heroes at The National’s set: the sign language interpreters who are performing for a small group of deaf fans. Looks like a fun job. Liam Kelly
— Liam Kelly (@iamliamkelly) June 30, 2024
10:36 PM BST
SZA is straddling a robot
Seductively, of course. Now she’s giving it a lap dance. And now she’s...attacking it with a sword? Is this a Penny Mordaunt homage?
Earlier she was sitting on a giant ant.
There’s simultaneously a lot going on here, and a lack of more general audience engagement I rather feel.
10:30 PM BST
Sit down, you’re rocking the boat
The crowd at The National is a strange one to be in. Some are swaying and jiving as the band jams, but still more are sat smoking stoically. But all seem to approve, and (only at the seemingly appropriate moments) there are shouts and cheers. Lauren Shirreff
10:29 PM BST
SZA sings along to Prince
We got a snatch of his inimitable Kiss. Not sure this will help counter the charge that Glasto has gone too karaoke this year.
10:24 PM BST
The National’s frontman is unstoppable
Berninger is in the crowd again! He’s screaming the “I’m evil” refrain from Conversation 16 and having manly sad-dad hugs with the middle-aged fellows at the front. He’s also pinched a baseball cap from somewhere. Liam Kelly
Meanwhile the vibe at SZA could best be described as...sleepy.
10:13 PM BST
★★★★ Blistering Burna Boy conquered Glastonbury
How to top Janelle Monae’s jaw-dropping Pyramid stage set on Glastonbury’s closing day? Leave it to Afrobeat icon Burna Boy who put in a blistering turn that underscored his status as a global superstar – not that he needed to do so, having filled the 80,000 capacity London Stadium just days earlier.
The Nigerian singer delivered a performance packed with hits such as Tested, Approved and Trusted and For My Hand. He arrived in cowboy boots, white vest and jeans, but by final curtain the hat was gone and so too was the vest. Yet even as he trimmed down his outfit, he delivered full-fat readings of favourites Gbona and Ye – the latter the big break which had put his name in international lights (at Glasto it was the signal for many in attendance to follow his sartorial lead and whip off their shirts).
“They’re telling me my time is up,” he said at the end. “If you want me to keep going let me see you waving those shirts. More shirts, more shirts – we’re breaking the rules today.”
This was his way of introducing Last Last – a blitzing showcase for his booming rap style that confirmed Burna Boy as a continent-straddling big-hitter here to conquer Glastonbury on his own terms. Ed Power
10:07 PM BST
What is going on with SZA’s vocals?
Her singing is weirdly muffled, like it’s coming from the bottom of a well.
Is this an artistic choice? Am I too old and uncool to understand it? After the various sounds issues over the weekend, if it is deliberate it perhaps needs a disclaimer...
At least the hair-ography is on point.
10:02 PM BST
The National are on fire
Berninger had his Weetabix this morning. It’s just the third song – Tropic Morning News – and he’s already gone into the crowd. It sounds like he’s being suffocated by the hugs he’s getting. Liam Kelly
10:01 PM BST
Thousands snuck into Glastonbury
Little wonder every stage on site seems horribly overcrowded this year. An industry source tells me that the consensus among security staff and organisers is a mammoth 10,000 people are reported to have snuck in; 20,000 extra tickets were supposedly sold. Poppie Platt
09:57 PM BST
SZA has gone cavewoman
She’s in a skimpy, animal-skin-like outfit, as are her backing dancers, and some lethal-looking stalactites form a set of jagged teeth above them.
It’s certainly striking, and may explain that long delay.
Some in the crowd are happily singing along, but it’s all embarrassingly muted for what is meant to be Glastonbury’s grand climax.
09:53 PM BST
While we wait...
The National frontman Matt Berninger ambles on stage in a black suit and T-shirt, politely thanks the crowd for “having us back” and launches straight into Don’t Swallow the Cap. Liam Kelly
09:43 PM BST
At least one person is psyched for SZA
That Pyramid crowd might still be comparatively modest, but there are a few hyped-up SZA fans in attendance.
Abi, 31, says she’s “very excited”.
“I’ve never seen her live before but I’ve wanted to for a long time,” she explains. “The crowd is smaller than I imagined but I think that’s because there are four massive acts on tonight.”
Another guy hovering around is just waiting for friends, and says SZA is “not interesting”. He isn’t yet sure who he’ll be seeing instead in tonight’s prime spot.
Tonight’s Pyramid crowd is mostly made up of girls in their early to late teens, some with family members to steward them. It’s a different turnout for sure – but they’re proving that SZA certainly does have a strong, if niche, fanbase. Lauren Shirreff
Meanwhile poor BBC presenter Clara Amfo is vamping for England as we continue to wait...and wait...and wait...
09:37 PM BST
SZA fans still missing in action
An update from Neil McCormick on that sparse SZA crowd: It’s filling up – not jammed, but not a complete flop.
But it still looks considerably smaller than Little Simz’s crowd – and, of course, it’s a massive contrast with Coldplay last night.
Neil adds: She’s late, too. Are they hoping more people will turn up?
09:33 PM BST
Which Glastonbury act did you enjoy this year?
Telegraph readers have been sharing their favourites in the comments. Here’s a selection...
UK Monmouth: Seasick Steve was the one to watch – unpretentious, original what a character!
Scary Mary: Nothing But Thieves were awesome, Bloc Party and Disclosure were also brilliant. Plenty of true talent and musicianship on show.
Jay Roberts: I enjoyed Bloc Party. The power of Kele’s voice really comes across when he’s singing live.
Andy Ruddick: Seeing Michael J Fox on stage last night with Coldplay made me feel happy and sad in equal measure.
Mel Kay: Nothing But Thieves were absolutely awesome. Seen them four times this year (including last night at Wembley with Green Day) and they just keep getting better. Best young rock band in the UK at the moment and criminally underrated.
Norm de Plume: LCD soundsystem were great. It was a proper, fabulous live performance from a real band – not like listening to a CD or karaoke.
NK Winter: PJ Harvey was magnificent, sublime and mesmeric.
Jerry Williams: I knew very little about Dua Lipa but thought she put in a fantastic performance with some really good songs.
Peter Ward: Olivia Dean was brilliant. I saw her in Birmingham earlier this year too. Such a gorgeous voice and able to hold the audience. I’m sure she will become a major star.
Mitchel Leithton: I enjoyed listening to and watching the Seventeen K-Pop band. We need some genuine fun instead of people taking themselves too seriously!
Al Da: The Streets were hands down best act for me yesterday. Skinner on top form.
Mr Pleb: Fantastic performance from Keane. Really impressive.
Stephen Richter: If you’re not blown away by this performance by Coldplay, you’re not human...
Kevin Poole: Jessie Ware put on a great show, I’d not really seen it heard of her previously but she was one of the best acts this year.
Do you agree? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
09:22 PM BST
National treasures
In contrast to SZA’s worryingly empty Pyramid area, here at the Other stage there is a healthy crowd of sad dads waiting for The National to play their headline set of (mostly) downbeat tunes.
They feel “more” Glastonbury than SZA. Liam Kelly
Poppie Platt adds:
The crowd at Parisian electro-pioneers Justice, on the West Holts stage, is also substantial. Punters obviously either looking for a singalong or a dance rather than SZA’s insularity…
09:18 PM BST
Louis Tomlinson: football hero
We heard a bit earlier about One Direction’s Tomlinson saving the day by smuggling in a TV to watch the match.
Hear all about his smuggling operation in this chat.
Glastonbury doesn't show football. But in one of the campsites, someone set up a flatscreen to screen the England match.
That someone was Louis Tomlinson, from One Direction. He spoke to @katierazz after England's win. pic.twitter.com/rIGNF2EhET
— Mark Savage (@mrdiscopop) June 30, 2024
09:09 PM BST
Calling SZA fans
I know it’s still 45 minutes to go till SZA, but the Pyramid area is practically empty, reports a concerned Neil McCormick.
Let’s hope it fills out before tonight’s headliner hits the stage...
08:55 PM BST
Feel-good indie from Two Door Cinema Club
Two Door Cinema Club say they’re feeling “very honoured to be back” on the Other stage after their last appearance in 2011.
After a riotous Avril Lavigne set on the same turf, the band have drawn a more relaxed but very happy and upbeat crowd, especially given it’s a Sunday night. It’s exactly what you want after a heavy weekend and they’re certainly giving fans, a more indie sort than most this weekend, what they were looking for.
It was nothing particularly special from the band, but the crowd was in smiles all round as they played their gentler tracks at the end of the set. Lead singer went quiet for a whole minute while the crowd carried the tune along. Feel-good indie done exactly right. Lauren Shirreff
08:40 PM BST
We found a Tory voter
Backstage we waded through a sea of cowboy hat-wearing Shania Twain celebrants and found Allie Hollingsworth, 59, who will be voting Conservative, “although I’d be quite keen to vote Reform, but Farage isn’t going to get in this time, so I’ll wait for the next election for that,” she says.
“It’s safest to have a strong opposition to Labour rather than vote Reform this time,” Hollingsworth adds, before she runs off into the crowd.
It came at the end of a day-long site trek. On the way we found 28-year-old Wilson McTeare, who “would like to vote for the Greens” but is veering towards Labour. “For the wider happiness of this small, strange little island, I think we do have to get the Conservatives out.”
He lifts his jumper to reveal a home-printed infected blood scandal campaign T-shirt, the hot button issue for this particular voter. Lauren Shirreff
08:32 PM BST
‘Everyone take your f---ing shirts off’
“I don’t care if you’re a boy and a girl – everybody take your f---ing shirts off and wave that s--- over your head like this! We’re about to make this s--- wild now.” So proclaims Burna Boy as he waves his own shirt in the air, overlooking the dropping temperature on a cool Somerset evening. Lots of items get waved in the air, but Burna Boy remains about the only bare chested man Ican see here.
The Nigerian Afrobeats superstar is putting on a great show to an enthusiastic crowd. It’s not exactly jammed though. You can still see green spaces up the hill, which suggests Glastonbury’s experiment with a more pop line-up is not quite working. But Burna Boy has talent to, er, burn. He’s winning a lot of new friends. Neil McCormick
08:17 PM BST
The fun is just getting started
Elsewhere on the field, Two Door Cinema Club are busy warming up the Other stage crowd for fellow indie rockers The National, while over on the Park, acclaimed grime rapper Ghetts is delivering politically charged, poetic bars with the help of some friends – including Sampha.
The sun might have gone in, but there’s still a whole night of brilliant music left to go. Poppie Platt
07:59 PM BST
★★★★ Pink puss* pants, politics and defiant brilliance from Janelle Monáe
Can you call yourself a superstar if you haven’t had any hits? That is the question posed by the life and times of Janelle Monáe, the imperious singer and actor best known to many from Daniel Craig thriller Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.
Monáe’s solution at Glastonbury was to conduct herself like a chart-topper even if she has yet to achieve that status in reality. Yet if her Pyramid stage performance was fuelled by pure make-believe, it proved a fascinating and thrilling alternative universe – and drew a crowd up for a good time (the masoch*sts were all off watching England at the Euros).
The set was staged as Monáe’s version of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour. Divided into three segments, it started with Monáe wearing a vast, billowing flower outfit that recalled the gown fellow Glasto attendee Florence Pugh sported at the end of Midsommar.
She negotiated Float and Champagne S--- and later switched into vast trousers of the sort David Bowie used to sport back in his deranged mime artist phase (Monáe experts on social media revealed that these were correctly referred to as “pink puss* pants”). She also briefly appears to flash the crowd – though the BBC cut away so quickly there wasn’t any time to be shocked.
But if the start was a giddy romp, it was the conclusion that took the breath away. Monáe reappeared for a section dubbed “Paradise Found” in a felt hat and black suit that made her look like a mashup of Michael Jackson circa Billie Jean and James Brown in his prime.
She was an artist unleashed. Monáe shredded on the guitar, executed a perfect moonwalk and hopped and skipped through her quasi-smash, Tightrope. Then came The Speech – an impassioned, multi-paragraph address in which she congratulated Glastonbury for speaking up for gay and reproductive rights and against the killing of “innocent babies” in Gaza, Sudan and Darfur (as well as against anti-Semitism and Islamophobia)
Monáe was running over her allotted time, but still, she wasn’t done. “We ain’t rushing s---. It’s Pride Month – I’m taking my time,” she said before finally bringing down the curtains on a stunning slot which vindicated the good judgement of those who skipped the huff and puff of England for the magic and sparkle of Monáe defiantly walking the pop tightrope. Ed Power
07:48 PM BST
Football fans are already celebrating
My attempts to track down Jack Grealish backstage have stalled, but one thing is clear: Glastonbury has two heroes tonight, and their names are Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane. People are downing their pints and cheering, leadings singalongs of Hey Jude – and the game’s only just finished. Poppie Platt
07:44 PM BST
Recover with Burna Boy
It’s gone all Wild West over on the Pyramid stage. The Nigerian Afrobeats and reggae superstar has brought on a saloon, a cactus and a horse (that’s where it went, Shania), and is wearing a frankly alarming amount of flared denim.
It’s definitely the easy listening breather we need after that frankly harrowing match.
07:18 PM BST
★★★★★ Avril Lavigne’s triumphant mass singalong deserved a bigger stage
It could have gone so disastrously wrong. One shot in the wrong direction and – oh, wait, I got distracted by Bellingham’s goal. At Glastonbury, though, it was all about Noughties pop-rock icon Avril Lavigne, playing to one of the largest crowds of the weekend in a triumphantly cheesy, angsty mass singalong.
Looking like a steampunk Bratz doll dressed in a Union Jack-emblazoned jacket and black chunky boots, her blonde locks still striped with the pink highlights that saw thousands of millennials ask for similar as kids (me: guilty), the now 39-year-old delivered banger after banger, with every single person in the mostly female crowd knowing every word.
Opening with her smash hit Girlfriend, Lavigne‘s energy – or the crowd’s ecstatic party atmosphere – didn’t give up for a second as she went on to perform What the Hell, Complicated, My Happy Ending, I’m With You. For as far as the eye could see were girls on shoulders, flashing boobs, downing drinks, screeching along.
Cara Delevigne and Anya Taylor-Joy watched from the wings; the crowd was so huge I heard security muttering at one point they might have to close it down. Closer Sk8er Boi did exactly what it needed to, revving everyone present up for one last howl of Noughties nostalgia.
Once again, however, the set highlighted Glastonbury’s weird booking policy when it comes to stages. Nostalgia is what draws in the crowds, as we’ve seen previously with the likes of Sugababes – so why keep putting huge acts, beloved of millennials (who make up most of the punters these days!), on smaller stages? Lavigne is undoubtedly cheesy, a Hannah Montana spin on rock, but she provoked the kind of mass singalongs Shania Twain could have only dreamed of. Poppie Platt
07:08 PM BST
We spoke too soon!
Of course England have come roaring back. We were never in any doubt.
Louis Tomlinson from One Direction – who it turns out supplied the whole TV set-up! – is at the front of the TV viewing party and celebrated Jude Bellingham’s equaliser wildly. Neil McCormick
Apparently Jack Grealish is also here, watching backstage, says Poppie...
At a football free #Glastonbury, England fans gathered around a TV reacting to Jude Bellingham's late goal with a round of Hey Jude. pic.twitter.com/Wcq8UH5GtW
— Neil McCormick (@neil_mccormick) June 30, 2024
07:04 PM BST
Yet more crowd issues
I’ve never seen an Other stage crowd as big as the one for Noughties emo hero Avril Lavigne. There are tens of thousands of people pressed right up against each corner; on the left, security are muttering that they might close off certain exits (including the one to the hospitality area frequented by celebrities) for safety reasons. Poppie Platt
06:42 PM BST
Janelle Monáe flashes the crowd
Monáe is playing a blazingly funky set with her all-female band to a very sparse audience at the Pyramid stage. There have been noticeable issues with scheduling and poor stage choices at Glastonbury this year, with the Sugababes closing down the West Holts area on Saturday and Charli XCX shutting down Silver Hayes. Monae deserved better, giving an absolute performance master class that coincided disastrously with England’s European cup football match and Noughties pop-rock superstar Avril Lavigne revving up again on the Other stage. Neil McCormick
Perhaps assuming that everyone’s attention is elsewhere, Monáejust flashed the faithful at the Pyramid, reports Neil. Watching on TV, it looked to me like she pulled down the strap of her leotard to release one breast – but the BBC cut away VERY quickly. She also changes into a skirt that looks distinctly...vagin*l.
Oh, and a political speech. “We have the best community. It’s because of the way we protect other marginalised people. I’m looking at all these flags, and now more than ever it is clear that we are going to have to protect us. No politician, but we the people will have to show them. I just want to say that in this Pride Month I’m proud to stand with you as you fight back against genocide, against the criminalisation of homeless people.” She also references reproductive rights (“Our bodies, our choice”), “innocent babies” in Gaza, Sudan and more, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, gay rights, and Black History Month. “We know injustice – we’ve got to keep calling it out.”
She then launches into song Tightrope, and partway through tells us “They’re trying to cut me off, but I’m gonna always have the mic.” She then adds to her band “Don’t rush. We ain’t rushing s---. It’s Pride Month – I’m taking my time.”
06:37 PM BST
Field of broken dreams
Some enterprising football fans have set up a plasma screen in one of the camping areas, propping it up in buckets.
Huge cheers greeted Phil Foden’s tap-in before it was chalked off for offside. Cue much booing.
Now it’s time for a sing-song in front of the plasma screen. “Don’t take me home, please don’t take me home,” cries one bloke – who is immediately joined by hundreds of others. “I just don’t wanna go to work. I wanna stay here, drinking all the beer. Please don’t, please don’t take me home.”
Not much to shout about in the game. England heading home as it stands. Liam Kelly
06:34 PM BST
Avril Lavigne brings the Noughties nostalgia
“Here’s to never growing up!” cries the Canadian pop-punk singer who broke out in the early Noughties with tracks like Complicated and Sk8er Boi.
She gets a massive reception from a blissfully happy millennial crowd at the Other stage – though whether it’s the music, the sentiment, or the sheer escape from football is hard to determine.
06:24 PM BST
★★ Shania Twain didn’t impress viewers much
Shania Twain had hoped to arrive at her Glastonbury “Legends” performance on horseback, but in the event, the queen of country pop clomped on to the Pyramid stage in a frothy pink coat and knee-high boots. She was accompanied by a procession of drag queens holding equine effigies, watched by a vast Sunday evening crowd that sparkled with leopard print outfits and cowboy hats.
“That don’t impress me much,” sang Twain as she kicked off – and viewers at home may have much the same reaction. The singer turned in a patchy set that only got going in its final five minutes and which was largely memorable for the pre-watershed swearing that necessitated a hasty mid-set apology from the BBC.
Glastonbury’s Sunday Legends slot has previously welcomed king of the crooners Tony Bennett, country superstar Dolly Parton and disco treasure Kylie Minogue. Twain can claim to be as influential as any of those names. In the 1990s, she broke new ground by combining country and pop music – a mash-up that would inspire Dixie Chicks (as they were then called) and, most significantly, Taylor Swift.
Indeed, Swift has named Twain as one of her biggest musical inspirations. And with the Eras singer busy with her own tour, Twain was the closest the festival got to a “Taylor” moment in 2024. That was the plan, at least. In reality, this was a set where the artist and the audience didn’t always connect.
The problem may have been that Twain doesn’t have enough stone-cold smashes to appeal to a mainstream Glastonbury crowd. A long tour of her back catalogue didn’t add up to the party-starting celebration that the Legends traditional demands.
The gig suffered sound issues early on, which took the zing out of both You Win My Love and Up! Also, Twain rejected the Glastonbury tradition of bringing up a special guest. In the run-up, she had said she was open to singing with Harry Styles if he was in the vicinity, after he had famously brought her on when headlining Coachella in California two years ago.
Alas, Styles was apparently busy washing his hair and so Twain and her energetic band had to go it alone. That Glastonbury meant a lot to the singer was a point she made repeatedly, however. “I find moments like this very life-changing,” she said. “When you’re in a community setting like this, you’re faced with a lot of very unusual things, like where am I going to shower? How do you make it to pee when you’ve been standing out there? Basic things, human things.”
Along with the high-energy country rock, there were also some top-level expletives. “Let’s get on with the s--- kicking,” she said while introducing Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under? – prompting the BBC to flash an apology on screen.
It all came together wonderfully when she brought down the curtains with her anthem, Man! I Feel Like A Woman!. As the enthusiastic use of exclamation marks indicate, it was a feel-good singalong that gave the huge attendance the hands-in-the-air moment it had craved. It’s just a shame it arrived right at the end. Ed Power
06:04 PM BST
Janelle Monáe has flower power
Serenely unperturbed by her unfortunate scheduling opposite the match, Janelle Monáe is breezing through her so far excellent Pyramid set while decked out in blooms (headband, cape and leg warmers all made of giant flowers) and sipping from a glass as she purrs through song Champagne S---.
The crowd is noticeably depleted, though.
05:56 PM BST
Crowd control chaos
Another long-standing Glastonbury tradition is to worry about crowd control. This year’s version involves videos showing people using ladders in the early hours of the morning to vault the perimeter fence and run into the festival.
One report says that the hordes were so numerous that they were “causing stages to be shut down from overcrowding and people to panic from the crush”.
It isn’t as simple as that. The fence is five miles long and, while there are unmanned parts, organisers here do a pretty good job of keeping out those without tickets.
But they are at fault for the overcrowding and crushes because of a number of frankly odd scheduling decisions. Take Sugababes, the best 1990s girlband, as one example: they played at a small venue when they really ought to at least be on the much-larger Other stage, if not the Pyramid, and about an hour before they went on further access was denied.
The Eavises had even been warned: their 2022 gig here was similarly chaotic because there were more fans wanting to see them than capacity would allow. A few hundred interlopers can’t compete with causing chaos on that scale. Liam Kelly
05:45 PM BST
Jordan Rakei is a tonic
Why torture yourself with sub-par English football when you could be listening to the super-smooth stylings of Kiwi artist Jordan Rakei over on the West Holts stage? His soulful, sultry, funky jazz is an absolute tonic, accompanied by a fantastic band and singers.
Ooh, and now a spot of lovely Caribbean drumming. And no one is screaming at Gareth Southgate. Bliss.
05:32 PM BST
No balls, please
Glastonbury organisers have done their best to shun the football: it’s not being screened anywhere, officially.
But, says Neil McCormick, everywhere, men are mysteriously fixated on their phones. Our photographer Julian spied these fans watching in the Cornish Arms Bar and A N Other Bar.
Mind, given the current desultory state of play, the Eavises are surely doing everyone a favour.
Incredible that someone bought a full size television to Glastonbury to watch the England game pic.twitter.com/oQRr0NZXAk
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) June 30, 2024
05:29 PM BST
How did SZA become a headliner?
The 34-year-old American singer will become only the third black woman to headline when she performs on the Pyramid stage tonight. So, how did she get here, and is she really big enough to close Glastobury?
“Reports suggest that SZA was booked for the top spot after numerous household names dropped out,” reveals Poppie Platt. But while it’s a risk, it’s also a welcome sign “that, away from old-hat headliners like Coldplay, The Killers or Foo Fighters, newer acts have a chance of reaching the plum spot.”
Read Poppie’s excellent piece on SZA’s Glastonbury moment here.
05:15 PM BST
Flagging up Baxter Dury
Up at the Park, a friendly and chilled-out crowd have come together to see indie musician – and son of Ian – Baxter Dury, who has appeared on the stage wearing a gray suit and white shirt, looking pretty ecstatic (or perhaps drunk). Someone is holding up a red flag, written on which are the words…“red flag”. There’s only one cowboy hat in sight. Lauren Shirreff
05:04 PM BST
Shania was just fine
It was a perfectly solid set, an easygoing way to spend an hour on a Sunday afternoon. But I don’t think Shania Twain’s legend slot debut will be going down in the history books – the big hits were terrific (especially closer Man! I Feel Like a Woman), the crowd massive, but there was simply too much of a lull energy-wise in the middle.
Like Cyndi Lauper yesterday, Twain suffered from her audience only knowing three or four songs. The rest passed by in a sort of banjo-soundtracked, steady foot-tapping blur.
Dear Eavises: book Robbie Williams or the Spice Girls for next year, you cowards! Poppie Platt
04:57 PM BST
That Sunday feeling
Sunday afternoons at Glastonbury always have a bit of an odd feeling. Nobody has showered for days and, after hours of relentless partying, there are some tired heads around.
For the unlucky folk who have to work tomorrow, or just want to beat the traffic, it is also the time to pack away your tent and head home.
As well as the trickle of early leavers heading to the gates this year are dozens of football fans wearing England tops hoping to find somewhere to watch the Slovakia game. They may struggle to find a beer garden, however. I popped out of the farm earlier and saw that the three nearest pubs are all closed until Tuesday. Liam Kelly
04:49 PM BST
Bottoms up
Shoutout to the guy in the crowd, dressed in chaps and a cowboy hat, shaking his behind from above his friend’s shoulders and waving a green flare. Exactly the type of sass Shania would approve of. Poppie Platt
Here are some more fans getting into the spirit...
04:44 PM BST
Country rebel
Shania Twain just dropped a pre-watershed “Let’s get on with the s--- kicking” while introducing introducing Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?. The BBC put up a note saying “We apologise for any strong language in this programme”. Ed Power
It doesn’t seem to have disturbed her celebrity fans, says Laura Robinson.
As Twain amps up her set with a rendition of boot-stomping track Giddy Up!, model Cara Delevingne and the rest of her VIP crew line-dance on a viewing platform to the left of the stage.
Actress Anya Taylor-Joy is also rocking out to Twain.
04:23 PM BST
She’s still the one
Shania Twain is thanking the huge crowd for the “privilege” of her prominent feature on the bill, and leading them in a tender acoustic recital of You’re Still the One. Poppie Platt
Like Coldplay last night, this is a joyful mutual love-fest. Just less confetti.
04:08 PM BST
Legend Shania Twain kicks off on the Pyramid Stage
No boring introduction speech from Shania Twain –opening with That Don’t Impress Me Much, the country-pop star has what looks like 140,000 people on their feet, screeching along. Sadly she didn’t arrive on a horse –as was rumoured. Although she was accompanied by a whole herd of hobby horses held aloft by drag queens.
Two songs in, Twain has already had a costume change, swapping a pink feathery number for a black two-piece. But she seems to be having issues with her earpiece, continuously tapping for assistance; hopefully it gets sorted quicker than Cyndi Lauper’s did yesterday. Poppie Platt
04:03 PM BST
Are there any Tories at Glastonbury?
Our writer Lauren Shirreff has been finding out who the Glastonbury-goers are planning to vote for in next week’s election. Will she unearth any Tories?
“Red or dead,” says Harry O’Connor, 31. With his England shirt and explorer hat, we thought it was our lucky day – he could have passed for Prince Harry. It couldn’t be further from the truth. “I’d maybe vote Lib Dem or Green,” says the Lichfield voter.
Jim Butcher, 48, who lives in Surrey, will “probably vote Labour”, but he’s sick of the lack of “inspiring choices”.
“I like Starmer, but he’s trying to play both sides and play it safe,” he says. “I didn’t want Brexit and I’d like them to be more vocal about that.”
He did, however, consider the Lib Dems because “at least they’re trying a bit”.
Meanwhile, NHS worker Anna Pickering, 35, has already sent in her postal vote – for Labour.
“It was either them or the Greens,” she says. “I’ve seen the NHS from the inside and I knew there needed to be change,” she explains, but “really it was a toss up on the day with who I fancied.”
The search continues.
03:52 PM BST
Oh, Sit Down with James, and a very cosy cardigan
Tim Booth is doing his best Yeti impression in a fur hoody on the Other Stage, where James are leading the teeming crowd in a heartfelt singalong. These old-school, guitar-led sets do still go down a treat, even at a festival as diverse as Glastonbury. A bit of Mancunian swagger never goes amiss.
“No matter what is going on in this f---ing crazy world. Whether it’s right-wing governments coming in Europe or Trump looking like he might get back into fascistic power in America, you got to hold on to one thing: life’s a f---ing miracle,” Booth says, by way of introducing their new song Life’s a F---ing Miracle.
Far stronger, of course, is their classic anthem Sit Down, prompting an enormous singalong, with people crowd surfing, hugging one another and joyously downing pints. Even the 64-year-old Booth later dives into the crowd. Poppie Platt
03:28 PM BST
★★★★ Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp exude quirky odd-couple energy
Toyah and Robert were tremendous fun in the Avalon tent, even if there was something highly incongruous about watching one of the greatest and most original guitarists in rock history playing a set of cheesy covers with his exuberant pop star wife. The 78-year-old Robert Fripp sat down throughout, dressed in a waistcoat and tie, a huge set of headphones clamped over his ears which one might have suspected from his expression to be set to noise-cancelling mode.
Toyah skipped around in a glittery dress, mercilessly teasing her husband (“78 years of rock sex… look at those burning fingers of desire”) while leading a smiley, smartly dressed showband through a set featuring slavish reproductions of David Bowie, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Lenny Kravitz and Guns N Roses songs, with added Fripp mathematical wiggling on top.
It was a bit like discovering Miles Davis sitting in with a wedding function band, and Lord knows what Fripp’s hard-worked super jazz virtuoso former bandmates in King Crimson would make of it. But it’s like a victory lap for the old genius, whose secret smiles show that he is clearly delighting in this opportunity to let his charismatic wife show him off. Neil McCormick
03:10 PM BST
Let’s go girls! Shania-mania is building
An absolutely ginormous crowd has gathered at the Pyramid ahead of Shania Twain’s Legends slot at 3.45pm.
There’s a clear dress code for the Canadian country-popstar’s Glasto debut: lots and lots of leopard print, tassel sequin jackets, colourful cowboy hats and western boots.
Some fans have travelled from far and wide to see their idol perform classics like Man! I Feel Like a Woman, Any Man of Mine and That Don’t Impress Me Much.
Laura and Jasmine, both in their early 30s, have travelled all the way from Brisbane, Australia – well, kind of. “We moved to Aus last year from Manchester, but our friends managed to get Glasto tickets so we’ve flown back for it,” says Laura. “I’ve loved Shania since I was little, she got me into country. I think she could be as good today as Dolly [Parton, who did the slot in 2014.”
Meanwhile, husband and wife Joe, 52, and Molly, 49, have travelled from Twain’s home country of Canada. They tell me they’ve seen her eight times – Glasto being the latest stop on their Shania-voyage.
And there’s also plenty of younger fans excitedly awaiting her set on the farm. I can see babies in strollers, toddlers above their dressed-up parents’ shoulders – and a little girl wearing a Shania t-shirt. Poppie Platt
02:28 PM BST
Paloma Faith performs Back to Black
Paloma Faith said “love you, Amy”, as she performed Back to Black by the late Amy Winehouse at Glastonbury.
Paying tribute to her fellow London native, she said Winehouse was there “in spirit” as she sang a few parts of the song following a rousing version of US singer Cass Elliot’s Make Your Own Kind Of Music, which featured on Faith’s fourth studio album The Architect.
Faith is accompanied on the Pyramid Stage by backing singers and a band, all wearing black.
02:23 PM BST
Soft Play wake Glastonbury up with a roar
It’s not every day you see a lead-singing drummer. If Paloma Faith, currently performing on the Pyramid Stage, isn’t tough enough for you then Soft Play’s set of guitar-driven raging against the machine will blow the cobwebs off.
Once known as Slaves – they changed their name to something less contentious in 2022 – the scrappy band is made up of just a guitarist and a drummer. (“When me and my mate Laurie started a band, no one else wanted to join the f---ing band. But you know, we carried on,” said singer Isaac Holman.)
Welcoming rap rock duo Bob Vylan to the stage with an almighty hug, the foursome broke into a raucously vitriolic scream of protest. This was probably the biggest mid-afternoon moshpit of the weekend.
01:43 PM BST
Cate Blanchett says playing Bob Dylan made her feel ‘so incredibly free’
“After we got paid £10k we had to put it back in to keep the film going,” Cate Blanchett said of I’m Not There, the musical Bob Dylan biopic she starred in 17 years ago.
Speaking at the Pilton Palais cinema at a Q&A this afternoon, Blanchett said: “It was a very musical process I think for Todd [Haynes, director] in post-production there were constant calls from one of the producers who will remain nameless, who is now in prison, who said he wanted to cut a whole section out,” Blanchett says. “All the actors said that it was Todd’s film.”
“I’m not a man, so I felt so incredibly free” in the role, she said later.
“When you start opening the doors and removing the default setting of hom*ogeneity… it’ll swing one way and then it’ll swing back another way. That’s what art is, it’s a pendulum,” she said after being asked about the “rule book” on gender-blind casting.
However, playing a man in future would be “the ask of the director,” Blanchett said.
One audience member asked whether Lydia, Blanchett’s character in Tár, would have listened to Bob Dylan.
Blanchett said Tár would have had Dylan’s music “on repeat”.
“Artists must be inconsistent but we don’t want that inconsistency in our political leaders,” said Blanchett in response to a later question. Lauren Shirreff
01:35 PM BST
★★★★ Rising star Rachel Chinouriri delivers set of gorgeously reflective songs
“You’re making a little girl from Peckham’s dreams come true,” a tearful Rachel Chinouriri told the midday crowd at the Other Stage. The 24-year-old indie-pop singer released her gorgeous debut album, What a Devastating Turn of Events, earlier this year, and her set featured several standout tracks: love song Ribs, centred on a toxic relationship she just can’t get over; Robbed, a personal tribute to her late niece, who passed as a baby; then, the gloriously upbeat Never Need Me.
Dressed in a Union Jack-emblazoned top and matching micro mini skirt – echoing the imagery of her debut’s cover, where she stood in front of her local estate, its houses covered in English flags – Chinouriri, who is British-Zimbabwean, reflected on her conflicting feelings of embracing her English identity as a black woman.
An easy singalong came in the form of a cover of Estelle and Kanye West’s 2008 mega-hit American Boy; judging by the reaction of the grooving, shimmying crowd, they’d be happy with kickin’ it with Chinouriri all day (whether it be in Pilton, New York or LA).Poppie Platt
12:57 PM BST
Count Binface has been rubbing shoulders
There has been a galaxy, plethora, abundance (choose your preferred indulgent noun) of stars at Glastonbury this weekend. And now we have Count Binface making friends with television academic Alice Roberts.
Hanging out at Glastonbury with @theAliceRoberts. pic.twitter.com/LG1dB3L4zk
— Count Binface (@CountBinface) June 30, 2024
12:47 PM BST
A soaring start on the Pyramid Stage
Those with tired bones were given a visual stretch, at least, by the splendid Birmingham Royal Ballet opening up the Pyramid Stage this morning.
12:39 PM BST
The Zutons wake up a weary crowd
Sunday morning at Glastonbury looks like a cross between the apocalypse and New Year’s Day: equal parts dust and glitter everywhere, the floor littered with crushed-up cans, people popping emergency paracetamol as far as the eye can see. The Zutons took the subdued mood in their stride, though, waking up the crowds at the Other Stage with their upbeat indie tunes. Sadly it was too early for the home viewers, as the BBC broadcast hadn’t started yet.
Perhaps the Armageddon-lite atmosphere in the tent explains the presence of Shaun of the Dead star Simon Pegg, seen wandering backstage.Poppie Platt
12:24 PM BST
Cyndi Lauper responds to technical issues during her Saturday set
During her afternoon set, the 71-year-old popstar suffered issues with her microphone’s sound, which she addressed on stage saying that we have “got a hole over here” to the crowd.
Appearing on BBC Breakfast on Sunday, the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun singer revealed that she did indeed still have fun.
“Yes, I did, I mean I had a few technical things, wardrobe difficulties, but I had fun,” she said. “Sometimes you’re up there and the sound is like, ‘Whoa’.
“But (it) doesn’t matter because the spirit ... is there and that was great.”
The sound wasn’t the only issue during the performance. Her silver trousers also proved to be a problem as they were falling down, Lauper said, making it hard to walk across the stage.
“What are you going to do? [There was a] wardrobe difficulty there but it was OK,” she added.
12:02 PM BST
Glastonbury v Football Fans
Never mind Shania Twain’s imminent arrival on the Pyramid (hopefully via horseback) or how hungover (and sunburnt) everyone is. The only thing anyone at Glastonbury seems to be talking about today is the festival’s baffling decision not to show the England v Slovakia game at 5pm. In a statement released before the festival started, bosses said they had made the decision not to show Euros fixtures because of them “potentially clashing with headline sets”.
We will NOT be tweeting about venues to watch the football. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't DM to ask. Our inbox is already melting.
— Secretglasto (@secretglasto) June 30, 2024
Rather than deter fans from throwing their weight behind the Three Lions, however, the decision has just left some savvy Glasto-goers to think of alternative ways to watch the match.
Harry, Jordan and Max, all 23 and from Leeds, are trekking into the village of Pilton later this afternoon to try and watch it in a pub. “We just thought it would be funny. England are gonna be s--t and I wanted to sing Man I Feel Like a Woman but there you go. It would have made more sense for the festival to put it on a screen somewhere so people weren’t watching their phones or dipping off like we are,” says Max.
A gang of Londoners I meet are merely planning to go down the phone route, with one saying: “We’ll put a stream on and huddle around it while sat on the hill by the Pyramid, probably. Few beers, few goals, we’rein.” But will the patchy signal at Glastonbury hold up? Poppie Platt
12:00 PM BST
The clean up begins
Morning has broken, which means it’s clean-up time. Every morning an army of volunteers get to work cleaning up the festival site at Worthy Farm.