An army of artists come to Glastonbury to use every conceivable surface as a canvas — with one man travelling from Brazil to paint the urinals.
Emily Eavis said that the thousands of crew, technicians and artists who put the festival together are “just phenomenal”.
“It’s all in the little details,” she told the Glastonbury Free Press, the on-site newspaper printed using a 72-year-old, five-tonne Heidelberg cylinder press. “Do you know, we have a guy who comes from Brazil every year to paint the covers of the urinals. He’s fantastic and so devoted to it. Of all the places to put your art!
“The whole site has become a canvas. There is every single art form in all its glory — it’s like the best art gallery in the world. And that’s before you even get to all the live shows.”
Review: Selector brings rumbustious swing in a joyful set
What a treat it is to see a band as important as the Selector playing on the Pyramid (writes Ed Potton).
Despite being at the heart of Coventry’s inspiring 2-Tone scene in the late Seventies, they were often overshadowed by the Specials and Madness. Yet their singer Pauline Black was the ebullient, pogoing queen of 2-Tone — the most visible woman in a racially diverse but male-dominated scene. She is 71 now but looks far younger and still moves with vim.
The band were clad in classic 2-Tone black suits, black ties and white shirts with Black adding her trademark grey trilby, and they were in the mood to entertain.
Ska, along with Motown, is the most accessible form of dance music, especially with Black’s chiming vocals bouncing over the frisky blend of saxophone, guitar, drums and electric piano.
Murder was appropriately dark, Too Much Pressure full of rumbustious swing and their signature hit On My Radio was a protest song about representation wrapped up in shiny ska-pop wrapper. What a blast of joy to start the last day of the festival.
★★★★☆
From Glastonbury with love
Tucked between various food vans, a small red postbox stands outside a stall crammed with dozens of people intently studying various postcard designs. Sending a card to loved ones straight from the festival site has become a staple for many revellers.
The first stand was set up in 1981 by Hester Moore’s parents to help finance their annual family trip to the event. Despite the rise of mobile phones, the appetite to send a greeting from the festival has only grown since then.
Moore, 43, who took over the stall 20 years ago, said: “These days we crave this analogue feeling. When mobile phones came out the head of markets said to me: ‘What are you going to do? Everyone’s going to be texting now.’ I said: ‘I don’t know, I guess we’ll just have to keep doing it until people stop buying them.’ And it actually grew. Then we thought, well if people can take photos on their phones and can send them, it’s not going to work. But it’s grown again even since then.”
There are now three stalls across the festival where revellers can pick from dozens of designs, write a message and drop it into a post box right on site. These get emptied three times a day and ferried over to the local post office.
Moore said: “In the morning we take the first load of postcards to the farm, so to Emily Eavis’s office, where the postman comes and collects that load. We all love going up to the farm.”
It has remained a family affair for four decades and Moore jokes that everyone working on the stall “has the same surname” as siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles and in-laws come together to keep the tradition going.
In pictures: revellers wash off the Glastonbury grime
As the typical mile-long queues formed for the showers, some festival goers decided it was quicker and easier to improvise …
OLI SCARFF/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Rod Stewart will raise mischief in the legends slot
I must confess, I was a bit shocked when toward the end of our interview Rod Stewart announced, “We’ve got to give Farage a chance” (Will Hodgkinson writes). How’s that going to go down with the crowd at the Glastonbury legends slot? But then he spoke passionately about the humanitarian crisis in Palestine and, besides, my guess is that by Sunday afternoon most are going to be too tired to do much protesting. They’ll be too busy singing along to Sailing, Da Ya Think I’m Sexy? and all those other leopardskin-clad classics.
Rod Stewart on stage in California earlier this year
AMY SUSSMAN/GETTY IMAGES FOR FIREAID
I couldn’t help but like Stewart, even if we’re politically miles apart. He had an air of charming mischievousness, combined with a peacock quality in his checked suit and mane of hair, which remained undimmed at 80. And he wasn’t starry at all. Within minutes of sitting down it was, “All right, mate?” and chatty asides about how bossy his wife, Penny Lancaster, had been since becoming a police constable. It all started with me asking how this less-than-utilitarian fellow was going to cope with Glastonbury Festival.
• Read Will Hodgkinson’s full interview with Rod Stewart
Sharing selfies for one more Glasto
Ivan Fisher’s face keeps popping up all over the festival site and strangers are flocking to post selfies with him.
Five years ago, Fisher was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer and after putting up “a hell of a fight” he died on March 8, having hoped to make one last Glastonbury.
In an effort to make more memories with him, his friends and family have put up posters of his face at 23 of his favourite areas, asking fellow music lovers to take a selfie with Fisher and post it to the “Ivan at Glastonbury” page on Facebook to “spread the same joy that he spread in life”.
His son, Ben, is part of the backstage crew at The Park, and his partner, Kirsty Brown, from Glastonbury town, will scatter some of his ashes there today with friends and family, as well as at the Glastonbury sign on the hill.
“He just made the best of it and what they crammed into those last five years (including three Glastonbury festivals) was incredible,” Warren and Annette Davies, his friends who made the posters, said. “He was such a wonderful guy, his real passion was his music, and he just loved people, he would stop and talk to anybody.”
‘Some miracle happened, so I sing for you today’
Three years ago, Serhii Ivanchuk, a Ukrainian opera singer, was working with humanitarian volunteers helping civilians flee Kharkiv when Russian forces attacked. He was shot five times and told he might never sing again.
Ivanchuk, 32, said: “I’m an opera singer who got five gunshots in Ukraine in the war. Before the war I studied singing in Italy but when the war started I went back to Ukraine.
“After I was shot, doctors told me, Serhii, forget about singing for the rest of your life, it’s impossible because you have a gunshot in the lungs, in the liver, in the finger and in the legs. But some miracle happened, so I sing for you today.”
It is the second time he is attending Glastonbury. He said: “Last year Glastonbury was a big experience for me, about freedom, about peace.”
He is performing on Sunday at Toad Hall Stage at 1pm.
How Churchill’s granddaughter ran away to join the circus at Glastonbury
Arabella Churchill was named debutante of the year at the Queen Charlotte’s Ball in 1967 and romantically linked with Prince Charles, but she said she was “no good at being a Churchill” and turned her back on high society (Adam Bloodworth writes).
She went on to establish the Glastonbury theatre and circus fields where Paddy Bramwells has performed as compere every year there’s been a festival for the past 40 years. “Bella was immensely generous,” Bramwells recalls. “But she didn’t suffer fools gladly. She would not let anything stop the event that she wanted to happen.”
Arabella Churchill with friends at Glastonbury in the 1970s
Wander through that area and you’ll discover a hundred street performers dressed in costumes such as frozen Everest climbers, the King and the Mona Lisa interacting with punters, alongside hundreds of other acts spanning trapeze, juggling, high wire and clowning. You can watch proper black box theatre, or simply sit on a bench with a pint and witness the chaos unfold.
• Read our interview with Paddy Bramwells on how the festival has changed
Glastonbury condemns Bob Vylan’s comments
After backlash and criticism from a number of politicians, Glastonbury Festival said it is “appalled” by the statements made by Bob Vylan during their set on Saturday.
Bobby Vylan, of the punk duo, had told crowds at the West Holts Stage that “sometimes you got to get your message across with violence” and led them in chants of “death, death to the IDF”.
ANTHONY DEVLIN/HOGAN MEDIA/SHUTTERSTOCK
Glastonbury Festival said in a post on Instagram: “As a festival, we stand against all forms of war and terrorism. We will always believe in — and actively campaign for — hope, unity, peace and love.
“With almost 4,000 performances at Glastonbury 2025, there will inevitably be artists and speakers appearing on our stages whose views we do not share, and a performer’s presence here should never be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs.
“However, we are appalled by the statements made from the West Holts stage by Bob Vylan yesterday. Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.”
Review: Doechii dazzles amid headliner clashes
It was not an easy task for Doechii — a US hip hop superstar in the making who was headlining West Holt Stage last night at the same time as Charli XCX was blowing up her Brat era on the Other Stage (Jonathan Dean writes).
Her set could’ve felt like an afterthought on a busy night, but majestically, any pressure simply does not seem to exist for the 26-year-old who, perhaps bizarrely, can count The Beautiful South’s Paul Heaton as a fan.
Doechii put on a thrilling spectacle at the West Holts Stage
LEON NEAL/GETTY IMAGES
From the off, to a field that was dancing, cheering, laughing, singing, Doechii commanded with a panache and humour that will, surely, make her headline bigger stages in the future.
The set certainly belonged on one — a dazzle of screens, lights and dancers that supports the songs via lyrics and frequent close-ups of Doechii’s extremely expressive face. Her music is more chilled on record, but live, she beefed it up — Boiled Peanuts and Anxiety in particular became almost rave-like in their execution.
It was a thrilling spectacle, ultra-slick and confident in the way that big budget Americans can be, but never alienated or aloof and as the main closer, Denial Is A River, winded its way around its satirical dialogue about Doechii’s various mishaps.
As stage spotlights blared into the pit, nobody was left doubting whether they made the right choice. The Brat era ends and the Doechii era begins.
★★★★★
Worthy Farm set to enjoy balmy final day
The Met Office is forecasting a warm and sunny Sunday at Glastonbury, with temperatures climbing to around 27 degrees this afternoon and little chance of rain. So if you brought wellies, you can probably safely pack them away before your departure tomorrow.
A reminder of yesterday’s headline action
Neil Young put on a tender and ferocious performance for the Pyramid Stage crowd. “There certainly wasn’t much in the way of production or costumes — in his Davy Crockett hat and faded plaid shirt, Young looked like an old docker who didn’t save enough for his retirement — but all the energy was in the music,” wrote Will Hodgkinson, who gave it ★★★★★. Read the full review here.
Charli XCX dazzled the Other Stage with a high-energy set, putting an end to her ‘brat summer’ in the process. “When Charli XCX shouts “jump” as she did many times tonight, her fans don’t ask how high? They simply do it,” wrote Roisin Kelly, also awarding ★★★★★.
Police investigate political statements by Bob Vylan
While many musicians see Glastonbury as a chance to solely show off their talent, others see it as a place to make political statements — and for some, there could be consequences.
After Bob Vylan’s performance before Kneecap on Saturday afternoon, police confirmed they were looking into “comments made by acts on the West Holts stage.” The English punk duo who performed before Kneecap led the crowd in chants of “death to the IDE”‘.
The Avon and Somerset force said: “Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation.”
Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury set on Saturday caused significant controversy
ANTHONY DEVLIN/HOGAN MEDIA/SHUTTERSTOCK
The chants prompted Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, to contact Tim Davie, the BBC’s director-general, and demand “an urgent explanation about what due diligence it carried out ahead of the Bob Vylan performance”, a government spokesperson said. “We strongly condemn the threatening comments made by Bob Vylan at Glastonbury,” they added.
During Kneecap’s own set, which was not broadcast by the BBC, the trio led the crowd in several chants of “f*** Keir Starmer” and “free Palestine”.
Last week, the prime minister declared that it would not be appropriate for Kneecap to perform at the festival after its band member, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, 27, was charged with a terrorist offence after allegedly displaying a flag in support of the proscribed organisation Hezbollah at a London gig.
A BBC spokesperson said: “Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan’s set were deeply offensive. During this live-stream on Player, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language. We have no plans to make the performance available on demand.”
• Read our review of Kneecap at Glastonbury
How to watch Glastonbury: an armchair guide 
Didn’t manage to get tickets, or just hate camping? We’ve got you covered — read our guide to enjoying the festival’s highlights from the comfort of your own home, including when every act is playing.
As always, the BBC has exclusive rights to broadcast the festival as the corporation decamps from offices in London and Manchester and heads to Worthy Farm to offer viewers and listeners more than 90 hours of televised coverage and many more on radio and across BBC Sounds.
• Read more: our full guide to watching Glastonbury live on TV
Rod and Rodrigo are signing us off in style
Rod Stewart is ready for his blockbuster legends slot this afternoon
DON ARNOLD/WIREIMAGE
It’s Glastonbury day three and things are getting emotional (Ed Power writes). At least they are among Team Times, where the weekend supply of spare socks is running low and several nights of camping have left us feeling like Leonardo DiCaprio halfway through The Revenant.
There is also the continued fallout from Saturday’s controversy-stoking double whammy of performances by Bob Vylan and Kneecap — sets definitively not coming to an iPlayer near you anytime soon.
But away from such contentious matters, there is still so much music to enjoy, beginning with a brunch-friendly 11.30am Pyramid Stage performance by ska legends The Selector. Other highlights include rejuvenated bad-boy rockers The Libertines (now largely well-behaved middle-aged men with an interesting selection of hats) on the Pyramid Stage at 2pm, followed by indie soul sensation Joy Crookes at the Other Stage at 3pm.
But given that it’s Glastonbury’s final day, all roads ultimately lead to the now traditional legends slot, where husky pop cockatoo Rod Stewart will belt out the hits (Pyramid Stage, 3.45pm) — and presumably not repeat his approving remarks about Nigel Farage.
After 90 minutes or so in the presence of Rod Almighty, it’s next time to head to the Woodsies Stage to see indie shapeshifter St Vincent (Other Stage 6.30pm), renowned for her molten guitar playing and enthusiastic stage diving.
The night — and indeed the festival — then reaches its Pyramid Stage pinnacle with Gen Z pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo (9.45pm), who may have a surprise or three in store, having just covered Fontaines D.C. in Dublin. Will she perform her favourite Idles track? Duet with Sleaford Mods? It’s Glastonbury, so there’s no telling — though it’s fair to say a guest appearance by Bob Vylan is off the cards. With our reviewers and reporters covering action across the site, check here for regular updates from the world’s most thrilling music festival.
Last time she played Glastonbury, Rodrigo brought out Lily Allen, so expect a good guest too (in New York earlier this month she welcomed David Byrne to the stage). It is anyone’s guess who, but expect her to go big — before we all head home and plan our next trip to Somerset in, gulp, 2027.