As per British tradition, more than 200,000 people – A-listers among them – decamped to a dairy farm in Pilton, Somerset, over the weekend for Glastonbury 2024, headlined this year by Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA. Catch up on this year’s highlights here.
Little Simz announced herself as a future headliner
The London rapper and former British Vogue cover star played the Pyramid Stage before headliners Coldplay (and later joined them onstage to debut a new track, “We Pray”), but it’s surely just a matter of time before Simz is topping the bill herself. With little in the way of bells and whistles (no choreo here), the star held the Glastonbury crowd transfixed for the duration of her set. “I need you to understand that you are witnessing greatness,” she said on stage. “And I don’t say that with arrogance; I say that with confidence.” Nobody is arguing with her – least of all the music press.
Michael J Fox made the ultimate guest cameo
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Perhaps the highlight of Coldplay’s undeniably epic set on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday night? An appearance from special guest Michael J Fox, who joined the band to play guitar on “Fix You”. The 63-year-old star of Back to the Future, who has been battling Parkinson’s disease for more than 30 years, is key to the band’s origin story, according to frontman Chris Martin, who was inspired by watching Fox’s rendition of “Johnny B Goode” in the classic 1985 film. “Thank you so much, our hero,” Martin said on stage. Even the most committed Coldplay haters couldn’t fail to be moved.
Dua Lipa scheduled in some post-Pyramid down-time
What to do after you’ve smashed the Friday night headline slot on the Pyramid Stage, clad in a “sexy, strong, cool” wardrobe of Loewe and Versace? If you’re Dua Lipa, you find boyfriend Callum Turner, spark up a cig, and set about enjoying the rest of the greatest festival on earth as a punter. She was spied strolling around the VIP area with her beau the day after her barnstorming performance – wearing Ann Demeulemeester, no less.
Paul Mescal packed his micro-shorts
After exposing maximum upper thigh on the front row at Gucci, Paul Mescal brought his signature short shorts to Glastonbury. The star was snapped by his sister Nell Mescal, beaming in a pair of Adidas three-stripe shorts, a baseball cap and a band tee.
The Irish contingent was strong
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Paul was far from the only Irish A-lister on site. As well as Daisy Edgar-Jones, Mescal’s festival crew included his compatriots (and former co-stars) Saoirse Ronan and Andrew Scott. Ronan was later spied belting out “Paradise” from her boyfriend Jack Lowden’s shoulders during Coldplay’s Saturday night set.
The crowdsurfing was a work of art
Five years after Banksy made Stormzy a stab-proof vest for his stunning headline set on the Pyramid Stage, the guerrilla artist and activist put his always potent stamp on the 2024 festival, launching an inflatable dinghy filled with dummies dressed as migrants into the crowd during Idles’ Saturday night set. The timing was carefully chosen: not only is the UK days out from an election in which immigration will be a key issue, the life raft appeared as the band played “Danny Nedelko”, a track that celebrates diversity and takes aim at the insidious rise of nationalism.
Palestine was a persistent theme
Amongst the usual peace signs and Pride banners, it was impossible to miss the Palestinian flags fluttering in the skies over Worthy Farm this year. Nine months into Israel’s military onslaught in Gaza, several acts felt compelled to make their feelings clear – some more directly than others. There was much to-ing and fro-ing on Twitter over whether Dua (who has publicly called for a ceasefire) did or didn’t deliberately position herself close to a Palestinian flag during her set in order to get it on camera, while Coldplay invited the Chilean-Palestinian singer Elyanna to join them on stage, along with Femi Kuti, for a rendition of their track, “Arabesque”. The Irish band Lankum, meanwhile, sang “The Rocks of Palestine” on the Park Stage on Saturday afternoon, a reworking of the traditional folk song “The Rocks of Bawn”, with lyrics acknowledging the suffering in Gaza.
SZA became the first Black woman to headline Glasto since Beyoncé in 2011
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SZA closed out the festival by headlining the Pyramid Stage on Sunday night, bringing her sad bangers to Somerset in a set that was beset by technical issues, but nonetheless hypnotic.
Charli XCX brought the Brat mood to Levels
Not sure if you’ve heard but… it’s a brat-girl summer? The mood’s progenitor, Charli XCX, duly pitched up to DJ at Levels in one of the most talked-about sets of the weekend. She even brought out Robyn herself when she played “With Every Heartbeat”. The only downside? It took place at 12.30am on a non-televised stage, so you can’t watch it back on BBC iPlayer. Which, let’s face it, is quite brat.
A Tom Cruise performance was not on the bill… but it did happen
Just a week after he was seen looking radiantly happy, if somewhat confused, at Taylor Swift’s Wembley gig, Tom Cruise’s musical tour of the UK continued at the festival, where he was filmed launching into a rendition of Oasis’s “Wonderwall” with Simon Pegg and Gillian Anderson. Only at Glasto…
There was an unofficial screening of the England match
Something else that wasn’t on the bill: a Euros screening. England faced Slovakia in the knockout stages at 5pm on Sunday, but it wasn’t being aired at the festival. One Directioner Louis Tomlinson decided to take matters into his own hands, ducking off site on Sunday morning to buy a flat-screen TV and a generator from Argos, which he set up in the camping area. He was ultimately rewarded for his efforts by Jude Bellingham, who saved the squad from being sent home with a goal in the 95th minute, which was followed by a second in extra time from captain Harry Kane.