Elton John and Guns N'Roses rock Glastonbury Festival openingThe highly anticipated Glastonbury Festival is back with a bang, ready to captivate music enthusiasts from all corners of the globe.
by Agence France-Presse
21-06-2023 11:15
in Entertainment
Elton John (pictured), Prince Harry and a group of public figures are suing Associated Newspapers for allegedly accessing their private data, including banking information and access to their cellphones. Image: Peter Hutchins/Flickr
The iconic Glastonbury Festival opens its doors on Wednesday, with 200,000 music fans set to descend on a farm in southwest England to see acts including Arctic Monkeys, Guns N'Roses and Elton John.
--
While able to draw the biggest performers from every genre and generation, the long-running festival is equally known for hosting thousands of small acts and for the leftfield events across its huge site.
ALSO READ: Elton John, Guns N' Roses take to the stage as Glastonbury Festival opens
Ancient local legends add to the sense of mystique, with the first day coinciding with the Summer Solstice, when thousands descend on nearby Stonehenge to greet the sun on the longest day of the year.
--
The main acts will start performing on Friday, with UK indie giants Arctic Monkeys headlining that evening on the main Pyramid Stage.
The coveted Saturday night headline slot this year belongs to veteran US rockers Guns N'Roses.
After Paul McCartney closed out last year's show, the festival will again roll back the years with Elton John headlining on Sunday.
--
The 76-year-old singer-songwriter said he couldn't be more excited to make his debut at Britain's best-known festival as he winds down a glittering live career.
John last month played his final gigs in the United States as part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road world tour, which is due to end in Stockholm on July 8.
This will be the final UK show of Elton's last ever tour, so we will be closing the festival and marking this huge moment in both of our histories with the mother of all send-offs, said organiser Emily Eavis, whose father Michael started the British event.
ALSO READ: Harry Styles or Elton John: Here's the UK's five richest pop stars
Controversy More than 100,000 standard tickets for this year's festival sold out in just over an hour, despite the price rising to £335 ($427) this year.
Ticket holders will also be keeping a close eye on the weather forecast, hoping that current predictions for a largely dry event hold true and that the site at Worthy Farm does not turn into a mud bath.
Other headliners on the Pyramid Stage include singer Lizzo, rapper Lil Nas X, post-punk icon Blondie and rickroller Rick Astley, highlighting the festival's eclectic and light-hearted ethos.
Other big-name performers on the bill are Lana Del Rey, Queens of the Stone Age and Kelis.
Dairy farmer Eavis first organised the festival in southwest England in 1970, the day after Jimi Hendrix died, and fans who came to see acts including Marc Bolan and Al Stewart paid £1 each for entry and received free milk from the farm.
ALSO READ: Lawsuit shocker: Who spied on Prince Harry and Elton John?
The festival was held intermittently in the 1970s and it wasn't until the 1990s that it really began to acquire its current status.
Glastonbury Glastonbury was due to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2020, but those plans were put on hold by the pandemic.
A virtual event was held two years ago, and it finally returned in person last year.
Despite being firmly in middle age, the festival still has huge cultural power and moments of controversy.
A successful headline spot can catapult bands to superstardom.
Legendary performances from Radiohead in 1997, Coldplay in 2002 and Muse in 2004 helped elevate them to their current heights.
There was controversy in 2008 when rapper Jay-Z was given a headline slot, but doubts were dispelled after he delivered one of the most memorable sets ever.
The festival has had its darker moments, with 235 people arrested in 1990 after travellers started fighting with police.
Integral to the festival's development was the late Arabella Churchill, granddaughter of Winston Churchill, who set up and then ran the Theatre and Circus fields.
ALSO READ: Car & Classic auctions The One: Elton John's Continental R
As a result, the festival developed a diverse reputation and the 900 acre (360 hectare) site now encompasses various thematic areas.
jwp/phz/nas/gw
Agence France-Presse
Are you a true House of Zwide' soapie superfan? ENTER our soapie quiz and WIN R1 000 in cash!
Most recent headlines
18/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
18/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
18/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
18/12/2025
Long-term agreement includes the SES SCORE platform and hybrid distribution worldwide to deliver more than 5,000 hours of golf tournaments annually featuring th...
17/12/2025
Investigative journalists across the Western Balkans and T rkiye continue to con...
17/12/2025
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Inducts 10 Industry Icons During Unforgettable ...
17/12/2025
ESPN to Debut MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats, a New AI-Driven NFL Data-AltCastThe series, powered by Adrenaline TruPlay AI, launches Dec. 22 and runs through ...
17/12/2025
Inaugural Optum Golf Channel Games Debut Under the Lights' in Primetime on ...
17/12/2025
The right playlist is essential on New Year's Eve, building the energy as you get ready and keeping it high as you count down to midnight. This year, Spotif...
17/12/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
17/12/2025
Audiences Watched Over 103 Billion Minutes of TV on Thanksgiving Day
NFL Games ...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
KPop Demon Hunters Stars Visit Berklee for Weeklong Celebration Andrew Choi and EJAE, who voiced the film's main characters and contributed to its soundtr...
17/12/2025
December 17 2025, 17:00 (PST) Dolby and LG Unveil a New Era of Home Audio With ...
17/12/2025
Wednesday 17 December 2025
Heated Rivalry will be coming to Sky and streaming service NOW on 10 JanuaryTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy opti...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Inside The Unseen World Of Indian Customs: Netflix Reveals The...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix announces PAPARAZZI KING: the docu series coming to Ne...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First Look at Jo Nesbo's Detective Hole Pr...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Welcomes Warner Bros. Discovery Board Recommendation
Business
17 December 2025
Global
Link copied to clipboard
After Careful Revi...
17/12/2025
RT has announced that Kathy Fox has been appointed Commissioning Editor with re...
17/12/2025
The Hao AI Lab research team at the University of California San Diego - at the forefront of pioneering AI model innovation - recently received an NVIDIA DGX B...
17/12/2025
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...
17/12/2025
With the new season of Dancing with the Stars shimmering in the not-too-distant future this New Year, the celebrity and dancer pairings of the twelve couples ha...
16/12/2025
Hawkins has landed on Spotify, just in time for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume...
16/12/2025
Wherever you are, your favorite music and audio content should go seamlessly with you. That's why Spotify has partnered with NAVER Corp, Korea's leading...
16/12/2025
2025 Wrapped arrived bigger and bolder than ever. This year's experience is designed to be ultra personal and shareable, with new features like Wrapped Part...
16/12/2025
Three 12-kilowatt Advanced Electric Propulsion System thrusters, supplied by L3Harris Technologies, form the core of Gateway's propulsion system. Pictured i...
16/12/2025
The challenge facing America's defense industrial base is not just about speed - its about rebuilding the foundation that makes speed possible. Our nations ...
16/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
16/12/2025
SEVILLE, Spain Canal Sur, the public broadcasting service for Andalusia, Spain, has completed a total technology refresh based on Pebble's resilient, softwa...
16/12/2025
NEW YORK Teleprompting hardware provider Telescript International has acquired all software code and intellectual property previously owned by Telescript West. ...
16/12/2025
As cable operators face increased competition from 5G fixed wireless access providers, a new report from Ookla Research finds that T-Mobile is the FWA speed lea...
16/12/2025
Apple has announced a major upgrade to the Apple TV app for device owners outside the Apple ecosystem with news that the Apple TV app for Android now supports G...
16/12/2025
Space42 grows Direct-to-Device partner ecosystem through a Memorandum of Underst...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON Announces Release Date for Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 R...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON's Kyivstar Invests in Renewable Energy in Ukraine with Acq...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Emma Appleton, Fares Fares, Frida Gustavsson and Jakob Oftebro...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Docu-reality My Korean Boyfriend Gets a Trailer and Premiere D...
16/12/2025
Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor Improves Streaming Video Quality and Boosts Viewer Engagement SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 16, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: ...
Elton John and Guns N'Roses rock Glastonbury Festival openingThe highly anticipated Glastonbury Festival is back with a bang, ready to captivate music enthusiasts from all corners of the globe.
