Glastonbury 2022 has come to a close after it returned for the first time in three years due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Here are seven of the biggest moments from the special 50th anniversary festival.
1. Sir Paul McCartney and friends
Sir Paul McCartney had a host of crowd-pleasing moments during his Saturday headline set, with surprise appearances from Bruce Springsteen and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl among the highlights. Both musical stars made the journey from the US to play alongside the former Beatle on the Pyramid Stage.
To close out Sir Paul’s show, where he became the festival’s oldest solo headliner, Springsteen and Grohl returned to the stage to provide guitar solos on The Beatles’ song The End.
2. Sir Paul McCartney and John Lennon duet
During the encore of Sir Paul’s set, special technology was used to isolate the late John Lennon’s vocals from old recordings so the singer could duet The Beatles’ track I’ve Got A Feeling alongside his former bandmate. After the performance, he said: “I know it’s virtual, but there I am singing with John again. We’re back together.”
3. Greta Thunberg climate change speech
Greta Thunberg delivered a passionate speech from the Pyramid Stage calling on society to take on its “historic responsibility to set things right” with the global climate crisis. In a post on Instagram after the event, the festival’s co-founder Emily Eavis said it was an “honour” to have the 19-year-old environment activist, describing her speech as “inspiring, powerful and important”.
4. Lily Allen returning to the stage
Lily Allen shocked fans as she made a surprise appearance during Olivia Rodrigo’s set on the Other Stage. To mark Allen’s long-awaited return to the stage, she sang her hit song F*** You alongside Rodrigo in response to the US Supreme Court’s decision to end the country’s constitutional right to abortion.
5. Billie Eilish’s history-making set
Billie Eilish also made history during the 2022 festival as she became Glastonbury’s youngest-ever solo headliner after she took to the Pyramid Stage on Friday. The Grammy-winning singer, 20, delivered an electrifying set of hit songs as well as speaking out about the climate crisis and the US abortion ruling.
6. Ukrainian representation
The festival hosted an array of Ukrainian representatives across the weekend including the country’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, who delivered an address via a video message on one of the big screens. Glastonbury also hosted Kalush Orchestra’s first UK performance since they triumphed at Eurovision 2022, as well as staging a set from 2021 Eurovision stars Go_A.
Folk band DakhaBrakha and Eurovision 2016 winner Jamala performed together on the Pyramid Stage, sharing a message to “stop Putin”.
7. Wolf Alice and festival-goers surviving travel chaos
Wolf Alice were among the masses who struggled to make it to the festival due to travel issues, with major rail strikes taking place during the event and many flights being delayed or cancelled. The Mercury Prize-winning band told the crowd they were “emotional” after they nearly missed their set on the Pyramid Stage on Friday due to their flight from Los Angeles being cancelled last minute.
The infamous Glastonbury rain also did not dampen spirits this year as the weather remained relatively dry in comparison to previous years.
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