Glastonbury 2024: Celebrity cameos, secret sets and a 10-week all-star – festival highlights from a glittering year | News about Entities and Arts

Glastonbury 2024 has come to an end, with American singer-songwriter SZA closing the show on the Pyramid Stage after a spectacular weekend of celebrity cameos, fireworks and crowd-surfing.

And music, of course.

Dua Lipa, Cold gameLittle Simz, Shania TwainJanelle Monae and Cyndi Lauper were among the big names who performed, and that was just on the main stage – which is one of more than 100 across GlastonburyHuge Worthy Farm site in Somerset.

It was a record year. With SZA’s nature-inspired set on Sunday following Lipa’s on Friday, this year’s event is the first to feature two female headliners. And Coldplay have headlined five times, more than any other band.

Let’s relive the highlights of another weekend that showed exactly why this is the biggest festival in the world, from the main events to the bits you may have missed.

Michael J Fox on stage, Tom Cruise backstage

Some suspicious corners of the internet were skeptical about Coldplay returning to headline Glastonbury for a fifth time, but on Saturday night Chris Martin and co have proven exactly why they are perfect for this slot.

Her famous fans certainly seem to think so. On stage, after appearances from other artists including Little Simz, they were joined by none other than Hollywood legend Michael J Fox playing guitar for the tearful Fix You.

Backstage, Tom Cruise was among those watching from the side of the stage, while Martin’s partner Dakota Johnson also appeared to be seen on camera.

Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis was also watching and received a dedicatory song from the Coldplay frontman, who told him: “We just want to thank you, as humans will, you’re the best of all. You’re a charmer musical, you You are the greatest farmer in the world. Who was knighted wearing shorts?

The next day, Fox shared photos from the festival on Instagram. “Oh yeah, in case you were wondering… it was mind-blowing. There’s a time for every band and a band for every time. This is Coldplay’s time.”

Dua Lipa joins the crowd

During her performance on Friday night, Dua Lipa explained to fans how she “manifested” the experience, saying she “wrote this moment… wished for it… worked so hard in hopes that maybe one day I’ll be able to make it.” that”.

More than that, his desire was specifically to make headlines on a Friday, “because then I knew I could celebrate the next two days in the best place on the planet”.

Well, we can confirm that at least on Saturday the star was able to enjoy the festival as a gambler (albeit with access to a proper bed and shower, probably). We saw her walking through the crowd at the Other Stage before The Streets nighttime slot, and later backstage in the hospitality area, with her actor boyfriend Callum Turner.

Other celebrity appearances

Since the days of Kate Moss in her micro shorts and wellies in the mid-2000s, Glastonbury has been synonymous with celebrity.

This year was no exception, with former headliner Stormzy, Maya Jama, Alexa Chung, Paul Mescal, Sienna Miller, Cara Delevingne, Leo Woodall and Anya Taylor-Joy among the stars spotted on the site.

Noel Gallagher and Dave Grohl (a surprise performer at least at this year’s event) were also seen watching LCD Soundsystem from the side of the stage, and Gallagher was later photographed with Belfast rap trio Kneecap, while Oscar winner Cate Blanchett went to see Paloma Faith.

Russell Crowe was also at the venue – as a performer, not a guest – with his band Indoor Garden Party, while Idris Elba gave a speech on the West Holts stage to talk about knife crime and discuss his campaign, Don’t Stop Your Future.

Secret (and not so secret) sets

“It’s happening! See you at 6pm at Woodsies @glastonbury.”

It was supposed to be hush-hush, but with bookies and secret Glastonbury sources betting on Kasabian as the big surprise in the days leading up, the Leicester band decided to spill the beans just hours before the show.

Their message on the scorching sun.

Kasabian headlined the festival in 2014, so the tent was in good hands. Their slot was the biggest secret set – and featured crowd-surfing vocalist Sergio Pizzorno – but there were several others happening at the venue.

Plus lots of star cameos such as Mel C and Tilda Swinton joining Orbital, Sam Smith making an appearance in Disclosure and Sophie Ellis-Bextor joining Peggy Gou.

Mike Skinner for PM?

Another energetic crowd-surfing set, The Streets slot on the Other Stage was one of the highlights of the weekend.

Mike Skinner weaved in and out of the crowd during a performance that embodied the spirit of Glastonbury, performing hits such as Blinded By The Lights, Weak Become Heroes, Fit But You Know It, Dry Your Eyes and more.

A fan who was at the front, sharing messages on his phone, managed to get them caught on camera. “Mike Skinner for PM,” one of them said, receiving lots of applause.

Do you think it’s too late for next week?

The youngest Glastonbury fan?

As DJ Annie Mac opened the Other Stage with a dance on Friday morning, there was one fan in the crowd who stole the show.

Wearing striped pajamas and earmuffs, perched on his dad Tom Kay’s shoulders, 10-week-old Finlay was greeted with applause as he appeared on the big screen several times throughout the set, with special effects transforming his image into a hallucination. visual.

“Oh my God, this baby, what a little legend,” Mac told the crowd. She later ended her performance by thanking “everyone, Glastonbury and this baby”.

Asked what tips she would give to parents thinking about taking their young children to a festival, mum Rosie Lewis said: “Do it – you might overthink it and it might put you off. But take more nappies than you think you’ll need. and take more vests and clothes than you think you’ll need.”

She’s still the only one

In front of a sea of ​​fans wearing cowboy hats, country star Shania Twain performed a “life-changing” set for the Legends slot.

It has become a festival favorite on Sunday afternoons, with stars including Kylie Minogue, Diana Ross, Dolly Parton and Tom Jones filling it in previous years.

And Twain revealed that he explored the festival site before his debut performance. “This is really a city, it’s a community,” she said.

Political statements

Before the general election, Glastonbury was bound to get political this year.

Damon Albarn was among the artists on stage asking music fans to vote next week, while artists including Charlotte Church made calls to “free Palestine” during their performances.

And an inflatable lifeboat that appeared hoisted into the crowd during Friday’s Idles show was later confirmed to be the work of artist Banksy.

The small boat was full of migrant dolls wearing orange life jackets.and was criticized by James Cleverly, the Home Secretary, and Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden.

“Festival goers cosplaying as migrants and celebrating the actions of people smugglers while partying is horrible,” wrote Cleverly on X, formerly Twitter. “Whatever your political views, this is not something we should trivialize.”

The boat appeared as Idles performed Danny Nedelko, a 2018 release that begins with the lyrics: “My blood brother is an immigrant, a beautiful immigrant.” The band did not find out what had happened until the end of the show.

The boat also appeared above the crowd during Lil Simz’s set the following day.

England v Slovakia courtesy of a 1D Star

Officially, Glastonbury was not showing the Euro 2024 game, which kicked off right at the end of Twain’s set and clashed with the likes of Nothing But Thieves, Janelle Monae and Avril Lavigne – but that didn’t stop the English fans who decided to watch.

In one corner of the festival, near the Silver Hayes area, a crowd gathered around a fan who had set up a flat screen and mifi unit to broadcast the match – who turned out to be One Direction star Louis Tomlinson.

Others were also seen watching on phones scattered around the scene.

It was almost low light, until extra time. Trailing 1-0 for most of the match, England were rescued by a Jude Bellingham equalizer in stoppage time, quickly followed by a Harry Kane goal in extra time.

Final result – 2-1 to Englandwho now face Switzerland in the quarter-finals.

See more information:
Coldplay joined by Michael J Fox for historic headlines
Kneecap Draws ‘Headline-Worthy’ Crowd Against All Odds
How politics accompanies the music of Glastonbury

See you next year?

Fans will be pleased to know that organizer Emily Eavis is already in talks with some artists for 2025.

Speaking to Glastonbury Free Press, the festival’s resident newspaper, she said: “We’re taking a year off in 2026 to give the land a rest, and the festival before a year off is always fun to plan because you almost have to fit two years into one.

“We’re already talking to some artists about this. It’s exciting.”

We’ll see you competing for tickets in a few months.