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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Dominique Hines

Rihanna is ‘in talks’ to headline Glastonbury for the first time

Rihanna is said to be in talks to headline Glasto 2023

(Picture: PA Archive)

Rihanna is said to be “in talks" to headline Glastonbury Festival for the first time.

The 34-year-old was reportedly approached about being the event’s closing act by organisers Emily Eavis and her father, Michael Eavis, now the singer has made a dramatic return to the music scene.

“Next year’s festival would be just the right timing for her. She is a huge name for Worthy Farm and would be the perfect addition to the line-up," source who spoke to the Sun claimed.

The rumour follows speculation that the Spice Girls are being considered as potential Glasto headliners.

Rihanna has not performed on stage in six years (Dennis Leupold/Savage X Fenty)

Rihanna, who has been on a six-year hiatus from music to focus on her billion-pound beauty and clothing Fenty empire, thrilled fans last week by releasing new track, Lift Me Up for the Black Panther sequel Wakanda Forever, which opens in cinemas on November 11.

The release followed the news that the star, who gave birth to a child with boyfriend A$ap Rocky in May, will perform at the 2023 Super Bowl Halftime show in February. The We Found Love singer had turned down the opportunity to perform at the Super Bowl in 2019 because of the way American footballer Colin Kaepernick had been treated.

Glastonbury organisers Michael and Emily Eavis have reportedly contacted Rihanna about headlining the festival next summer (PA Wire)

The former San Francisco 49er refused to stand for the US national anthem at the beginning of games to protest against police brutality and racial inequality. After he became a free agent, no teams signed him.

She said of her rejection of the offer at the time: “I couldn’t dare do that [perform]. For what? Who gains from that? Not my people.

"I just couldn’t be a sellout. I couldn’t be an enabler.

Rihanna and her and boyfriend A$ap Rocky had a child in May (AFP via Getty Images)

She added to Vogue at the time: “There’s things within that organisation that I do not agree with at all, and I was not about to go and be of service to them in any way."

She is yet to reveal why she’s had a change of heart.

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