Our Deputy Life&Style Editor Adam Bloodworth slathered on the sunscreen and got stuck into Glastonbury 2024
Thousands woke up to rain at Glastonbury on Friday morning – but it was over almost before it had begun. Temperatures rocketed seven degrees higher than forecast on Saturday, marking the third post-pandemic year the Worthy Farm festival has enjoyed a sun drenching.
This year was the Glastonbury without majorly exciting headliners (Elton John and Paul McCartney are formidable acts to follow) but Worthy Farm has shown it needn’t have once-in-a-lifetime acts to throw one of the world’s best parties.
That’s not to say it wasn’t history-making: Coldplay played one of their last live shows before they finish recording as a band in 2025, and Marina Abramović achieved the seemingly impossible: silencing the Pyramid Stage mob with seven minutes of silence.
And we didn’t even think about the football.
15 amazing moments from Glastonbury 2024
Marina Abramović silenced the Pyramid Stage crowd
Performance artist Abramović, who once famously told people to do what they wanted to her as part of a piece of art, silenced tens of thousands at the Pyramid Stage on Saturday when she took to the stage shortly before singer-songwriter PJ Harvey, asking the crowd to fall silent for seven minutes. That’s quite some feat for a drunken excitable mob, and a rare moment of peaceful reflection at one of the noisiest weekends on the festival calendar.
A Turner Prize-nominated artist decorated the nightlife area
Michael Eavis introduced an area for travelling communities three years ago that returned to the Theatre & Circus fields this year. Romany, Scottish, Irish and new traveller communities showcased their wagons, shared photos and led talks. One of those speaking was Delaine Le Bas, the first ever Turner Prize-nominated Romany artist. She displayed her murals in the South-East Corner throughout the weekend.
Coldplay’s set was barnstorming
They’re threatening to stop recording new albums, which is fabulous news for people who find them preachy and their music bland. But this record-breaking fifth headline set drew massive crowds on Saturday night. As well as a big fireworks display and the audience helping the show along with interactive glow-in-the-dark wristbands, the band brought out surprise acts, including the actor Michael J Fox.
Dua Lipa injected pure pop escapism
It was an exercise in near perfect pop on Friday night when Dua Lipa delivered one of the most energetic performances of the weekend. Next-level choreography for Be The One, Dance the Night Away, One Kiss and Houdini meant her dancers ended up sodden wet with sweat even though it was 10pm. It was overly polished, but impressive all the same.
Read more: How Glastonbury is keeping the Churchill legacy alive
Disclosure and Sam Smith reunited
Rumours on social media about Sam Smith’s appearance began circulating on Saturday and shortly before midnight, the Unholy singer joined dance music duo Disclosure for their headline set on The Other Stage to deliver vocals for the track Latch. It was one of Disclosure’s early breakthrough hits in 2012 and it was nostalgic seeing the trio perform together.
1980s icon Cyndi Lauper surprised the crowds in a small, sweaty tent
Cyndi Lauper’s Pyramid Set show was marred by bad sound, and she played all her big hits early, meaning half the crowd left before the set was midway. But the 1980s rock legend wasn’t done: she made a surprise appearance later in NYC Downlow, the all-day, all-night dive bar-club in the South-East Corner of the site, where the nightlife goes until 6am.
There was brilliant food that wasn’t a rip off
Glastonbury has affordable food, a huge bonus given how many UK events rip people off for bad scran. At the Children’s World charity tent in the Theatre & Circus area a whole meal was £6, and there are nice tablecloths too (a rarity at Glastonbury or any festival come to that.) Bonus points if clowns bowl over and entertain you while you feast.
Charles and Harry reunited (sort of)
Flanked by security guards, Princes Harry and William, as well as the King and Queen, were spotted roaming the Theatre & Circus fields, waving to passers-by. Okay, so they may have been actors with impressive face masks but it was a spectacle nonetheless. There were hundreds of roaming theatre performers in the Theatre & Circus area, hands down the most interesting part of the site to get a pint and just sit and watch the (very eccentric) world go by.
Read more: Inside the brilliantly creative Glastonbury Theatre & Circus fields
Shania brought the country music revolution to Britain
Shania Twain brought country music to the Glastonbury 2024 Pyramid Stage with a heart-warming Legend Slot appearance on Sunday. She played the bangers, including Man! I Feel Like A Woman and Still The One, but more than that, she seemed genuinely overwhelmed to be here: pointing out that she had spent the last 24 hours exploring the site and understanding the Glastonbury community. It landed well and the cowboy hat-clad crowd listened and bopped along.
There was a new LGBTQ stage
One of the new stages this year was Scissors, an LGBTQ space celebrating female identities. There is a lack of gay venues for women in general (there’s only two in London) so Glastonbury is sending a strong message with this nightlife venue that turns into a hairdressers by day. An unusual but intriguing combination. We hope this stage returns.
And a venue celebrating South Asian identities
Another of the new set ups for Glastonbury 2024 was arrivals, the first dedicated area for South Asian music. Within the nightlife district the South-East Corner, it was another example of Glastonbury’s dedication to finding spaces for underrepresented communities.
There was a helicopter at Arcadia
The festival prides itself on inventive stages and one of the new arrivals this year turned a real helicopter into a stage, with the DJ booth within the chopper. The helicopter also doubled as a giant insect and moved around with performers inside. Only at Glastonbury…
There were horses on site
For the first time in over 30 years there were horses on site, brought in by members of the traveller community. They were kept out of public viewing for safety, although travellers at the festival remembered driving through the fields of Avalon (one of the areas of Glastonbury) by horse and cart in the 1980s.