At Roskilde 2026, the past and present collide. Of the four acts headlining the Danish festival, two (The Cure and Gorillaz) are established, male-led bands, here to rattle through hits that are well-known and time-worn; the others (K-pop star Jennie and Sweden’s Zara Larsson) are young women in the upswing of their pop careers. The crowd don’t play favourites. Some 130,000 people make their way to the annual event — mostly Scandinavians, genial and unpushy, an uncanny percentage of whom look like they’re related to Erling Haaland, which is to say, blonde-haired and box-threat tall.
Comparisons to Glastonbury are ubiquitous when it comes to this eclectic, not-for-profit festival. This year, the most Worthy Farm-esque quality may well be the mud: wet, windy weather besieges the first few days, relenting at the week’s end with whiplash summer heat. Unlike this year’s Primavera Sound, where weather conditions brought music to a temporary standstill, Roskilde is built to endure the fickle climate: this is a commendably well-organised event, staffed largely by young volunteers. The toilets, for what it’s worth, are the snazziest I’ve seen at a music festival, and dotted generously around the site (a fact that only makes more baffling the number of Danes, men and women alike, who opt to relieve themselves against walls... I’m told it’s some kind of urinary tradition here).
