Well, well, well: here we are again. The annual scramble for Glastonbury tickets has arrived. One of the most stressful yet exciting times of the year; a time when friends are lost and enemies are made. It’s time to get planning. And if you’re unlucky? Not all is lost. There are plenty of other brilliant UK festivals to choose from, which are significantly easier to get tickets for.
If you’re new to Glastonbury, you might be asking yourself: why all that hassle to get tickets for a festival when you don’t even know who’ll be playing? It’s because it’s Glastonbury, honey. The fact is, the festival is so bloody massive that there will be something to suit everyone, regardless of who’s topping the bill. But let’s be real: it’s the huge headliners that most of us are curious about. Who will take the sweet spot to close the Pyramid stage on Sunday night? Could 2024 be the year when Harry Styles finally makes his pyramid stage debut? Will the Swifties’ wishes be granted at last?
Last year saw the likes of Elton John, Arctic Monkeys and Guns N Roses take to the stage at Worthy Farm, in a lineup which proved controversial due to its lack of female headliners. But, as Emily Eavis recently hinted to Annie Mac and Nick Grimshaw on their podcast, the organisers are trying to change that for 2024. And while there have been no official Glastonbury announcements as of yet about who will take to the stage next June, there have been a fair few rumours flying around (as usual). Emily Eavis recently confirmed that the reports stating that Madonna, Dua Lipa and Coldplay would headline the festival next year are untrue.
In an Instagram post, she said: ‘As always, there is much speculation and excitement about who is playing at Glastonbury. We are working on the line-up day and night at the moment, but it’s still changing every day. The story about our confirmed headliners is untrue. As always, we love your enthusiasm and guesswork – but accurate news on headliners will be with you sometime in the new year!’
With that in mind, we’ve put together a pretty comprehensive list of who we might (and only might) see on the bill for 2024. But don’t forget: anything could happen at this stage.
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Madonna: odds 1/2
Surprisingly, the original Queen of Pop has never played at Glastonbury before – so you could argue that an appearance from Madonna is long overdue. Timings would work well, too: she recently made a dazzling comeback with the kick-off of her long-awaited Celebration Tour, which brought in the crowds at London’s O2. Emily Eavis happened to be in the audience for one of the shows, and she even went as far to say on Annie Mac and Nick Grimshaw’s podcast that ‘everybody knows that I’ve always wanted Madonna to play Glastonbury’.
What’s more, Eavis hinted that the festival headliner is a ‘huge American artist’, and she has committed to at least one female headliner for 2024. ‘It is difficult with female artists because there aren’t enough headliners,’ Eavis said to Mac and Grimshaw. ‘But we’re also creating them. We’re putting the bands and female artists on smaller stages and bringing them through all the time so I feel like the pool is going to be bigger soon. And who knows, next year we might get two… certainly I can say that the legend is female.’ Things look like they could be adding up, right?
Coldplay: odds 4/6
Coldplay are reportedly in ‘advanced talks’ to headline Glastonbury for a fifth time. A new album is likely to be issued in 2024, and they recently announced as part of their ‘Music of the Spheres’ world tour they would be visiting Europe next summer – with a suspicious Glastonbury-shaped hole in their schedule.
The band last appeared in 2016, though – and they’ve already headlined four times, so it might be too soon for them to appear again. What’s more, Emily Eavis confirmed that Coldplay would not be topping the bill with Madonna and Dua Lipa.
Beyoncé: odds 7/1
The Renaissance World Tour wrapped up in October, and Queen B rarely plays festival dates. But her performance on the Pyramid stage back in 2011 went down in Worthy Farm history, so fingers crossed that she’ll come back for round two.
Rolling Stones: odds 5/1
Could the legendary rockers return to Worthy Farm next summer? It’s not out of the question. The band recently released their first album of new material in nearly two decades – the LP ‘Hackney Diamonds’ – and they are reportedly planning to hit the road to tour it. What’s more, while the band headlined the festival in 2013, Ronnie Wood told NME that he’d ‘love’ to play the festival again: ‘Me, I’d love it. I think it’s a must. If not next year, then… If not the Stones then the Faces.’
Rihanna: odds 4/1
Ah, good old Ri-Ri. There were all sorts of rumours flying about that Rihanna would play at Glastonbury 2023 – and then she revealed her new baby bump during her Super Bowl performance and that confirmed it would probably be off the table. But could 2024 be the year we see the ‘Umbrella’ singer down the farm? She’s expected to drop her first new album since 2016 at any point, which would probably come with a tour. Interesting, interesting.
Bruce Springsteen: odds 1/1
It’s looking like The Boss could may well make an appearance at Worthy Farm next year. He has already announced UK & European dates from May to July next year, which happen to have a gap over Glasto weekend. Bruce Springsteen last headlined the festival in 2009 and made an appearance in Paul McCartney’s set in 2022, but he remains a firm favourite for topping the bill next summer.
Dave: odds 5/2
It’s been a hot year for Santan Dave, who secured his longest-running number-one single with ‘Sprinter’ in collaboration with Central Cee. The rapper hasn't performed in his own slot at the festival since 2019 but he did make a guest appearance in Cench’s Other Stage slot at Glastonbury 2023. Next summer would mark two years since a rapper last headlined the festival – but will Dave be deemed big enough to take the top spot on the Pyramid?
Dua Lipa: odds 1/2
Everyone thought Dua Lipa was going to join her mate Elton John onstage in his 2023 headline set – and many folk were disappointed when she didn’t show up. But she’s been teasing new material recently, and she’s not played the festival since 2017, so the odds are looking pretty good for her to make an appearance next summer.
Harry Styles: odds 9/1
Everyone loves a good old Harry Styles Glasto rumour. There’s not a hell of a lot of evidence to back this one up, but as far as we can see, Harry doesn’t have any shows announced yet for next year. Many fans believed he’d appear as a special guest in both 2022 and 2023, but the former One Direction star didn’t show up.
Pulp: odds 12/1
Everyone thought that the secret Pyramid slot on the Saturday of Glastonbury 2023 would go to Pulp, but our dreams of a mass ‘Common People’ sing-along came crashing down when Foo Fighters took to the stage. Still, maybe they’ll continue their reunion run into 2024 – following a big Hogmanay in Edinburgh on New Year's Eve.
Spice Girls: odds 6/1
There’s been all sorts of rumours cutting about that the legendary girl group will reunite for their 30th anniversary in 2024. And while Geri Horner – AKA Ginger Spice – addressed the rumours in an interview with The Sunday Times back in August, confirming that no plans were in place to make an appearance, you never know when it comes to Glasto. Fingers crossed they give us what we all really, really want.
Taylor Swift: Unlikely
Sorry, swifties. It’s looking highly unlikely that the superstar will be playing Worthy Farm this year: Tay-Tay is due to bring her Eras Tour Dublin on all three nights of the festival. But never say never, right?
ICYMI: the ticket sale for Glastonbury 2024 has been postponed
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