The UK’s iconic Glastonbury Festival opened its gates Wednesday amid controversy over the inclusion of Irish rap trio Kneecap on the invoice.
The group has made headlines with their outspoken pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel stance. One of their members has been charged with a “terror” offense for allegedly supporting Hezbollah.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Saturday mentioned it was not “appropriate” for the band to carry out at Glastonbury, the nation’s largest and most well-known music pageant.
Acts as a consequence of carry out from Friday embody chart artists Charli XCX and Olivia Rodrigo in addition to veteran stars Neil Young and Rod Stewart, who has mentioned he can be joined by his former Faces band member Ronnie Wood.
Other huge names on the invoice embody Raye, The Prodigy, Alanis Morissette and Snow Patrol.
Tickets for this yr’s Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in southwest England bought out inside 35 minutes after they went on sale in November, with customary tickets priced at £373.50 ($471.50).
The pageant formally opened at 10 p.m. with a theater and circus act adopted by fireworks.
But many ticket-holders, ladened with tents and backpacks, arrived hours earlier to assert the huge website’s prime tenting spots.
Glastonbury attracted greater than 210,000 followers in 2024, internet hosting 3,000 performances throughout some 80 levels. Many of the gigs have been broadcast by the BBC, which has partnered with the pageant since 1997.
Glasto, because the pageant is popularly recognized, was impressed by Britain’s Sixties counterculture and hippie actions. Its first iteration was because the Pilton Festival in 1970.
Glam rockers T. Rex have been the primary headliners. Since then, it has attracted cult standing and massive names, from David Bowie and Paul McCartney to Stormzy and Elton John, who performed his remaining UK gig there in 2023.
The British climate is commonly the headline act, some occasions turning into mud baths, however the forecast is essentially dry for the subsequent 5 days.
© 2025 AFP