Lionel Richie’s performance has drawn the biggest crowd of this year’s Glastonbury Festival, with at least 100,000 people estimated to have watched the singer.
The Pyramid Stage field at Worthy Farm was packed to see Lionel Richie playing hits like Dancing on the Ceiling, Hello and Say You Say Me.
This year’s festival closed with The Who performing their hits on the Pyramid Stage as part of a world tour that has been billed as their last.
Paul Weller and Patti Smith also played and the Dalai Lama visited the site.
The 177,000 festivalgoers are now making their way home from the Somerset site.
Photo Reuters
Lionel Richie’s performance in the festival’s traditional Sunday afternoon “legend” slot will be remembered as one of this year’s highlights.
Organizers suggested the field could have been near its 120,000 capacity when the star played.
Lionel Richie’s set included hits like All Night Long, We Are The World, Easy and Three Times A Lady.
Fans chanted the singer’s name and the security guards in front of the stage had even learned a dance that they performed when Lionel Richie played Dancing on the Ceiling.
After that song, the singer looked disbelievingly at the size of the crowd and repeated: “What the hell is going on?”
Lionel Richie was following in the footsteps of stars like Dolly Parton, Tom Jones and Neil Diamond, who have taken the Sunday afternoon slot in the past.
At the end of the night, The Who brought the festival to a close with a greatest hits set that included rock classics like Pinball Wizard, Baba O’Riley and Won’t Get Fooled Again.
They also took a dig at Kanye West’s claim, made during his Saturday headline slot, to be the world’s greatest rock star.
The Who’s Glastonbury appearance was part of a world tour to mark their 50th anniversary, which singer Roger Daltrey has described as “the beginning of the long goodbye”.
Elsewhere at the festival, dance favorites The Chemical Brothers ended proceedings on a high on the Other Stage, while there were also appearances by Ryan Adams, art-pop auteur FKA Twigs and FFS – a group made from merging Franz Ferdinand and Sparks.
Fans gave an enthusiastic reception to the Dalai Lama after he joined punk poet Patti Smith during her Pyramid Stage performance at this year’s Glastonbury festival.
The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader was introduced on the main stage by Patti Smith after earlier delivering a speech in the Peace Garden.
Patti Smith presented the Dalai Lama with a cake in advance of his 80th birthday on July 6 and led a rendition of Happy Birthday.
The Dalai Lama said he was an admirer of Patti Smith and her band.
“I very much appreciate those singers and musicians – most of you with white hair,” he said.
“That voice and physical action looks very beautiful.
“That gives me encouragement. Myself, now 80 years old, I should be more like you.”
Kanye West has performed at this year’s Glastonbury festival, telling fans he is “the greatest living rock star on the planet”.
The rapper’s headline booking had caused some controversy and his performance divided opinion among the crowd on site.
Kanye West opened with number one hit Stronger and performed on a largely bare stage with a bank of white lights above.
His set was briefly interrupted by a stage invasion by British comedian and prankster Lee Nelson.
The prankster, real name Simon Brodkin, wrote on Twitter: “Some people were saying Kanye shouldn’t headline Glastonbury so I thought I’d give him a hand.”
Lee Nelson was swiftly bundled off stage by a security guard and Kanye West resumed his song Black Skinhead.
At one point, Kanye West left the stage to travel above the heads of the crowd in the cradle of a cherry picker for the songs Touch the Sky and All of the Lights.
His performance came after more than 134,000 people signed a petition objecting to his booking, and Glastonbury organizer Emily Eavis had death threats on Twitter from a disgruntled fan.
Kanye West’s appearance was one of the weekend’s biggest talking points.
The rapper is one of the biggest names in popular music, with 21 Grammy Awards under his belt and 11 million albums sold in the US alone.
However, Kanye West is notoriously erratic and uncompromising, comparing himself to figures including Jesus and Leonardo Da Vinci, and occasionally launching into long mid-set rants.
He kept his mid-song chat relatively short at Glastonbury.
Kanye West did not directly address the pre-show debate, simply telling fans: “Thank you for coming out tonight.”
The online petition had called for Kanye West to be dropped from the Glastonbury bill and be replaced by a rock band. But the rapper has labelled the petition “an insult to music fans all over the world”.
At one stage Kanye West was joined on stage by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon to perform their song Lost In The World.
Afterwards, Kanye West revealed that the song had been inspired by his wife, Kim Kardashian, who was watching the show.
He said: “This song was extra special for me. I was trying to explain to a girl I loved so much how much I loved her. She brought this poetry out in me that became the lyrics and she ended up becoming my wife and she’s here tonight.”
Kanye West put the focus firmly back on himself when, before introducing one of his biggest hits, Gold Digger, he said: “I’m going to say this tonight because 20 years from now, 30 years from now, 40 years from now, I might not be able to say it, but I can say it tonight… You are now watching the greatest living rock star on the planet.”
He followed Pharrell Williams, who played crowd-pleasing tunes including Happy, Blurred Lines and Get Lucky on the Pyramid Stage.
Pharrell Williams was joined by a group of children on stage to dance to Get Lucky.
Other acts performing on Saturday included Burt Bacharach, George Ezra and Paloma Faith.
Celebrities spotted at the festival included Adele, Coldplay singer Chris Martin, Lewis Hamilton, Stella McCartney and James Corden.
The weather on the Somerset site brightened up on Saturday following Friday’s rain, although more showers are forecast for Sunday.
The Who will close the festival on Sunday, Lionel Richie will perform in the festival’s now-established Sunday afternoon legends slot and Tibetan spiritual leader The Dalai Lama will visit the festival’s Green Fields.
Rain doused this year Glastonbury Festival’s first day as fans enjoyed music on the main stages.
A heavy shower on Friday afternoon brought out the wellies, ponchos and umbrellas and created puddles on site.
Here are few simple ways to survive the mud and rain at Glastonbury this weekend:
Don’t forget to bring a towel.
Bring a bin bag. It will save you. Leave Glastonbury as you found it – tidy and beautiful. These are also essential when it comes to handling your wet and muddy clothes.
Make sure your tent is strong and waterproof. Make sure it has a cover on top or fashion one out of a bin bag. Also, make sure it’s sturdy enough and pegged in thoroughly.
Don’t camp at the bottom of a hill. It will be a mess.
Take an extra tent. If there’s a few of you going in a group, it might be wise to take an extra tent just to store all of your wet and muddy gear in. Just don’t advertise the fact that there’s no one staying in it.
Make sure you have a poncho. Don’t be that guy with an umbrella blocking everyone’s view of the stage. Man up and get yourself a poncho. You can either buy one, fashion one out of a bin bag, or accept a branded one from the many evil corporations who will be giving them out for free.
Don’t foget your willies. Trying to maneuver around the site without wellies is like trying to sprint through concrete – and if you wait until you arrive to buy them, you’ll probably get ripped off.
Mud-slides don’t do them. You may think you’re being whacky and kerr-azzy but you’ll probably catch dysentery.
Rain doused Glastonbury Festival’s first day as fans enjoyed music on the main stages.
A heavy shower on Friday afternoon brought out the wellies, ponchos and umbrellas and created puddles on site.
Friday’s acts include Florence and the Machine, Motorhead, Mark Ronson and an unconfirmed band, rumored to be The Libertines, on the Pyramid Stage.
Physicist Stephen Hawking is unlikely to attend the event for an appearance in the Kidz Field.
A spokesperson for Prof. Stephen Hawking told The Telegraph he had pulled out “for personal reasons”.
Feminist punk band Pussy Riot made an appearance in front of the Park Stage, using a theatrical protest to convey their anti-government message.
The appearance began with an actor posing as a Russian soldier standing atop a military van and declaring Glastonbury a pro-Russian republic.
Pussy Riot’s Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, who were imprisoned in Russia for almost two years for their protests, then climbed up, tied him up and put one of their trademark multi-colored balaclavas on him.
Nadia Tolokonnikova told the crowd to “develop a culture of rebellion” and, in a remark possibly aimed at other bands, said they could not just “sit on a comfy coach and drink some beer”.
They were then interviewed on top of the van by singer Charlotte Church, who described them as “one of the most important movements this century”.
A total of 177,000 people are due on site. The weather is expected to brighten up later, with Saturday expected to be sunny but more rain likely on Sunday.
Glastonbury’s main stages are opening for the first day of the music festival.
Festival’s fans are hoping the weather does not dampen spirits.
Light rain is forecast for parts of the day, but festival goers may escape without the Somerset site turning too muddy.
Choreographer Michael Clark’s dance company will open the main Pyramid Stage.
The day will end with Florence and the Machine in the headline slot.
Florence Welch has replaced Foo Fighters, who pulled out when frontman Dave Grohl broke his leg.
The identity of the act that will fill the vacant slot before Florence has not been announced – and organizers hope to keep it secret until the performers step on stage.
However, organizer Emily Eavis did reveal that it is a band who have never played the Pyramid Stage and were not otherwise due to play at Glastonbury this year.
“There is definitely something filling that gap but under no circumstances will it be announced,” she said.
“Luckily it’s been a proper secret, a proper surprise, which actually is quite hard to do now because things get out.
“But there are only about four people other than the band that know about this. Even people that work on the festival don’t know about it.
“They’re coming because they want to play Glastonbury and they’ve never done it before on the Pyramid Stage. That’s all I’m saying.”
Friday’s acts include:
Heavy rock legends Motorhead will make their Glastonbury debut on the Pyramid Stage
Mark Ronson will bring special guests including Boy George and Daniel Merriweather to the Other Stage
Russian punk band Pussy Riot will speak on stage about their opposition to President Vladimir Putin
The Charlatans are the “special guests” who will open the Other Stage
Scottish pop star Lulu will appear on the Avalon Stage
The decision to promote Florence and the Machine to headline status was criticized by some fans, but Emily Eavis said she made the decision “straight away” after Foo Fighters pulled out.
“This is her moment. She’s had a number one record in America, a number one record here, and she’s on fire.”
The choice of Saturday’s headliner also caused consternation.
More than 134,000 people signed a petition complaining about Kanye West’s appearance, and Emily Eavis even received death threats.
Emily Eavis said she did not take them seriously.
“In the Twitter world it’s very easy to think things are serious because you hear a voice quite loudly,” she said.
“But you realize it’s just one, and most people who come here are so open-minded and so up for it.
“I’m seeing a lot of Kanye T-shirts about. It was just an unfortunate amount of publicity for a petition from a guy who’d never been here before.”
Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that the Dalai Lama will make an appearance in the Green Fields on Sunday, June 28.
However, it is not clear whether Professor Stephen Hawking, who is due to appear in the Kidz Field, will attend the festival as planned.
Some 177,000 people are due on site during the weekend. Tickets, costing £225 ($360), sold out in 26 minutes last October.
Florence and the Machine will replace Foo Fighters as the headliner of this year’s Glastonbury Festival.
Foo Fighters cancelled their Friday’s appearance at the Pyramid Stage after Dave Grohl broke his leg in a stage fall in Sweden.
Glastonbury organizer Emily Eavis said: “Once we heard… Foo Fighters had been forced to pull out, there was only one person we wanted to call and that was Florence.”
Florence Welch, 28, had already been confirmed to perform with her band before Foo Fighters on June 26.
She last performed at the Somerset event in 2010.
Ironically, Florence Welch’s recent concerts have been hampered by her breaking her foot on stage at the Coachella music festival in April.
This summer will mark Florence Welch’s first performance on Glastonbury’s famed main stage.
“Every time she has played here she’s done something spectacular and we always knew she would headline the Pyramid one day,” said Emily Eavis, who runs Glastonbury with her father Michael.
“I’m delighted she’s agreed to step up to it – she’s going to smash it!”
Michael Eavis added: “I’m absolutely delighted. She’s a fantastic girl, and she’s English as well.
“It’s a moment for her and she will be triumphant.”
Michael Eavis added that he hoped to book Foo Fighters for next year’s festival, but nothing was confirmed yet.
Kanye West is the headline act on June 27, while The Who will close this year’s festival the following night.
According to organizers, revised Pyramid Stage set timings for June 26 would be announced soon.
Pussy Riot has been confirmed to appear at this year’s Glastonbury Festival, after the event revealed its full 2015 line-up.
The Russian punk band will appear in conversation twice during the festival, on the Park Stage on Saturday, June 27, and the Left Field on Friday, June 26.
Burt Bacharach, The Proclaimers, The Cribs and Wilko Johnson have also been added to the bill.
They join Pyramid Stage headliners Foo Fighters, Kanye West and The Who.
Pussy Riot’s Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina were released from a Russian prison last year after 21 months, having been convicted of hooliganism over protests in Moscow.
They were among five members of the radical group to stage a “punk prayer” in Moscow’s biggest cathedral.
Singer-songwriter and activist Billy Bragg, who hosts Glastonbury’s Left Field, tweeted: “Pleased to announce that Nadya and Masha from Pussy Riot will be speaking at Left Field @GlastoFest 1.30pm Friday.”
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina recently appeared as themselves in hit Netflix political series House of Cards, where they staged a protest against fictional Russian president, the Putin-esque Viktor Petrov, at a dinner party.
Glastonbury organizers revealed set times for all of the stages, including a mammoth slot for Friday night headliners Foo Fighters.
They will play the Pyramid Stage from 21:15-23:45 BST – an hour longer than Kanye West is scheduled to perform for the following night and 30 minutes longer than Sunday night headliners The Who.
Surprise additions included a favorite of organizer Emily Eavis who tweeted: “And very excited about Burt Bacharach!”
Burt Bacharach will play the Pyramid Stage, as will the Burtle Silver Band and ballet group the Michael Clark Company.
Pharrell Williams and Florence And The Machine will headline this year’s Glastonbury festival.
Florence Welch says she hopes her foot, which she broke at Coachella, will have fully healed in time.
This year will also be a first for the singer Mary J. Blige and Motorhead, while the likes of Alt-J and Rudimental are returning to Somerset.
Indie fans can enjoy the likes of Suede, The Vaccines, The Maccabees and Franz Ferdinand and for those who prefer dance DeadMau5, The Chemical Brothers, Jamie XX and Caribou are among those performing.
The lineup also includes Patti Smith, Jungle, La Roux, Hot Chip, Rudimental, Super Furry Animals, Charli XCX, Clean Bandit, Alabama Shakes and Future Islands.
The festival takes place in June and it still keeping things a little bit mysteryous.
As Glastonbury festival organizers announced that Kanye West will headline this year festival’s Saturday lineup, outraged fans are already demanding that rapper be dumped from the lineup.
According to a Change.org petition signed by more than 21,000 people as of Tuesday afternoon, it’s because “Kanye West is an insult to music fans all over the world” and not “deserving.”
“Cancel Kanye West’s slot and get a rock band,” the petition demanded.
It then added: “We spend hundreds of pounds to attend glasto, and by doing so, expect a certain level of entertainment.”
For the record, Foo Fighters are headlining Friday night’s Glastonbury lineup.
In 2008, there was an outcry over Jay-Z being the first rapper to headline Glastonbury, apparently because he wasn’t “rock” enough to handle the top slot on the bill.
However, anyone on the Internet can sign this petition, regardless of whether they’re going to Glastonbury or even live in the UK. So these 21,000-and-counting signatures don’t exclusively come from Glastonbury fest-goers.
Kanye West will headline this year’s Glastonbury festival performing on the Pyramid stage on Saturday night, organizer Emily Eavis has confirmed.
Emily Eavis has tweeted: “We are thrilled to let you know we have the one and only Kanye West headlining Saturday night on the Pyramid stage!”
The Foo Fighters had already been confirmed as Friday night’s headliners, while the main act for the Sunday night has yet to be announced.
Tickets for Glastonbury 2015 sold out in less than 30 minutes in October 2014.
Photo Instagram
Music fans paid £225 ($340) for a ticket to the festival held at Worthy Farm in Somerset.
Back in 2008, Noel Gallagher claimed it was “wrong” to have a hip-hop headliner when Jay-Z performed on the Saturday.
Today’s announcement seemed to have passed Kanye West by at first as he spent much of it tweeting topless pictures of his wife.
Kanye West, 37, has since acknowledged the announcement tweeting: “Excited to announce I’m headlining Pyramid stage Saturday night @glastofest this year.”
Foo Fighters will headline the Friday night at this year’s Glastonbury festival.
The rock band announced the news after being named best international band at the NME Awards.
In a video message, singer Dave Grohl confirmed they were returning in the summer for the festival. They’re the first big act to be announced.
Foo Fighters were unable to attend the ceremony in person, but Dave Grohl sent a video acceptance speech instead.
“We’re very thankful and very happy – sorry we couldn’t make it tonight, but we will be seeing you over the summer at some big outdoor festival that nobody knows we’re playing. It’s Glastonbury.
“So we’ll see you at Glastonbury – thanks a lot everybody.”
Co-organizer of the festival, Emily Eavis, was at the award ceremony: “They are one of the greatest live bands on the planet, they’re just incredible.
“I mean Dave Grohl just ignites the field and will do something phenomenal. You so rely on those incredible live bands to take you somewhere else.”
Foo Fighters are already playing a series of dates later this year.
Lionel Richie has confirmed he will play the Sunday teatime slot at the 2015 Glastonbury Festival, organizers have announced.
He is the first artist confirmed for the next year event.
“We are over the moon,” said festival co-organizer Emily Eavis, daughter of Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis.
“We felt very lucky to get the call from a true Motown legend asking to play next year,” she continued.
Lionel Richie will play Glastonbury 2015 (photo Getty Images)
“He’s got so many amazing songs, to see him perform here on the farm is just going to be wonderful.”
Lionel Richie, 65, said he was “really excited to play Glastonbury next year as it’s one of the most iconic festivals in the world”.
“It has a phenomenal history and the alumni of artists who have previously played is incredible so I’m honored to be joining that club.
“It will be a really special moment for me and I can’t wait to share it with everyone
“I can now say <<Yes, I’m playing Glastonbury>>.”
Dolly Parton played the Sunday teatime slot at the 2014 festival, following in the footsteps of such acts as Neil Diamond, Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones.
Tickets for the 2015 Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset sold out in less than 30 minutes, before any acts on the line-up had been announced.
The pre-sale tickets for Glastonbury 2015 have sold out in just 14 minutes on Friday, October 3.
A total of 15,000 coach and admission packages for the next year’s festival were snapped up in less than a quarter of an hour.
Emily Eavis, who organises the event with her father Michael, said on Twitter: “Wow, all 15,000 coach + ticket packages went in 14 minutes! That’s amazing.”
Revellers have not missed their chance to attend next year’s event, however.
The pre-sale tickets for Glastonbury 2015 have sold out in just 14 minutes
Standard weekend tickets will go on sale on October 5, with tens of thousands expected to attempt to secure their place at the Somerset festival.
Tickets for Glastonbury 2014, which starred Dolly Parton, Metallica and Arcade Fire, sold out in a record time of one hour and 27 minutes last year.
The full price of a Glastonbury 2015 ticket is £220 ($350) plus a £5 ($8) booking fee.
Bookmakers William Hill have installed Fleetwood Mac as favorites to headline next year’s festival, with odds of 4/6.
Others being linked to a performance on the Pyramid Stage include AC/DC, Elton John and Prince.
The line-up will not be announced by organisers until spring 2015.
Glastonbury 2015 will run from June 24 to June 28.
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