Glastonbury 2022: Six of the biggest talking points from the Worthy Farm festival
US rapper Kendrick Lamar’s headline set closed an impressive weekend of live music
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The final day at Glastonbury ended with a jaw-dropping performance by American rapper Kendrick Lamar.
Over the course of five days, fans had danced to performances by top artists such as Paul McCartney, Little Simz, Pet Shop Boys, Sam Fender, and Billie Eilish.
On the last day of the festival, George Ezra turned up at the John Peel stage in what was possibly the worst-kept secret set in Glastonbury history, while jazz-fusion legend Herbie Hancock delighted crowds relaxing at the Pyramid stage with a virtuosic performance.
Here’s a look back at six of the biggest talking points from the entire Glastonbury 2022 festival...
Roe v Wade
News of the US Supreme Court’s highly controversial legal ruling broke on Friday, and it was clearly on a lot of people’s minds at Glastonbury. It certainly didn’t escape the attention of the artists, many of whom were American. From Billie Eilish, to Phoebe Bridgers, to Olivia Rodrigo, to Kendrick Lamar, lots of the performers included powerful statements about abortion rights in their sets.
From the youngest ever headliner…
Eilish made history with her Friday night headline slot, delighting fans with an intimate but lively set of songs from the 20-year-old’s two albums. As the festival’s youngest ever solo headliner, the pressure was certainly on Eilish’s shoulders, but as Mark Beaumont’s five-star review attests, she pulled it off with aplomb.
…to the oldest
On the other end of the spectrum, we had Paul McCartney, who delivered an absolute barnstormer of a set on Saturday. Performing a range of hits from his Beatles and Wings repertoires, as well as his solo career (and a couple of covers), Macca delivered a Glastonbury experience for the ages. At 80 years old, he became the festival’s oldest ever headliner.
Kendrick Lamar
Closing the festival on Sunday was Kendrick Lamar, who held the Pyramid Stage in the palm of his hand from the start of his electrifying, career-spanning set to the end. The stunning climax of his set – a rendition of “saviour” performed while blood dripped from his diamond crown of thorns, before he began a furious chant about women’s rights – was pure chills-down-the-spine stuff.
Ukraine
The ongoing war in Ukraine was also a core political issue for many of the festival’s acts and attendees. Ukrainian flags were spotted commonly around the festival site, with McCartney holding one aloft in solidarity as he took the stage for his encore. The Pyramid Stage also played host to Ukrainian band Dakhabrakha on Sunday, one of several Ukrainian artists the festival championed.
A little help from my friends…
While Kendrick’s set may have been all him, many of the festival’s other acts deployed some heavyweight guest stars. McCartney brought Bruce Springsteen and Dave Grohl on stage towards the end. Olivia Rodrigo welcomed Lily Allen for a duet of “F*** You”. Phoebe Bridges joined forces with Arlo Parks (who had her own full set at the festival) for a couple of numbers. Pete Doherty even showed up on stage during Hak Baker’s performance, having performed with the Libertines shortly before. It was a festival chock-full of unexpected – but thoroughly enjoyed – cameos.
Look back at our live blog below:
Paul McCartney plays Johnny Depp music video at Glastonbury 2022
Paul McCartney has shown a clip of Johnny Depp during his headline set at Glastonbury.
The Beatles took to the Pyramid Stage at 9.30pm on Saturday (25 June), where he played a video of Depp on the jumbo screen.
McCartney and Depp are reportedly close friends as well as longtime collaborators. The Pirates of the Caribbean actor has starred in several of McCartney’s music videos.
During McCartney’s performance of his 2012 track “My Valentine”, he played snippets from the song’s original music video, which also features Natalie Portman.
In the black-and-white clip, Depp is seen playing guitar and reciting the song’s lyrics in sign language.
Paul McCartney – the BBC livestream finally begins!
OK, so the BBC livestream has begun, showing what those at Worthy Farm were witness to an hour ago.
That’s got to be close to a record in terms of crowd-size at the Pyramid Stage – and boy do Macca and his band sound great! We’ve got blasts of brass, grinding guitars, and McCartney on top form – ever if he does look a bit bemused when the audience starts singing “Happy Birthday” to him (he turned 80 last week).
Mitski review – Glastonbury 2022
Mitski delivers some of the most sophisticated, enigmatic pop around – review
Some may find her demeanour a little standoffish, but Mitski makes some of the most interesting, sophisticated pop music around
Dave Grohl comes out for rendition of “I Saw Her Standing There” with Paul McCartney
Yep, that’s Mr Foo Fighters himself, Dave Grohl, coming out to join Macca for a rousing go at ‘I Saw Her Standing There”!
Greta Thunberg’s surprise appearance among Saturday’s highlights
Greta Thunberg used her surprise appearance at Glastonbury to call out “lying” political leaders.
The Swedish environmental activist appeared on the main Pyramid Stage to deliver a short speech about the climate crisis.
She told revellers at the festival that they face a battle against “the forces of greed” if they want to prevent a “total natural catastrophe” caused by climate change.
Greta Thunberg calls out ‘lying’ political leaders on stage at Glastonbury
Thunberg follows in the footsteps of broadcaster and naturalist David Attenborough, who surprised revellers with an appearance on the Pyramid Stage in 2019
Who is playing on Sunday?
With day four done and dusted, we look ahead to what’s in store for revellers tomorrow.
Kendrick Lamar is the third and final headliner of the event, with Lorde, Herbie Hancock and Diana Ross joining him on Sunday’s billing.
Set times below...
Glastonbury 2022 full lineup and set times by day
Festival returns to Worthy Farm with major UK and international artists
It’s not all about the music...
Glastonbury has a wealth of experiences to offer beyond music.
With one final day for festival-goers to check them out, here’s our 18 highlights to have on your radar, including Cineramageddon and Healing Fields.
From Herbie Hancock to the Healing Fields – 18 highlights for Glastonbury 2022
As Glastonbury returns for a belated 50th birthday at Worthy Farm, Annabel Nugent and Roisin O'Connor pick some of the highlights you should try and make time for during the festival
Paul McCartney shows a clip of Johnny Depp during his headline set at Glastonbury
The Beatles legend took to the Pyramid Stage at 9.30pm on Saturday (25 June), where he played a video of Depp on the jumbo screen.
McCartney and Depp are reportedly close friends as well as longtime collaborators. The Pirates of the Caribbean actor has starred in several of McCartney’s music videos.
During McCartney’s performance of his 2012 track “My Valentine”, he played snippets from the song’s original music video, which also features Natalie Portman.
In the black-and-white clip, Depp is seen playing guitar and reciting the song’s lyrics in sign language.
Paul McCartney plays Johnny Depp video during Glastonbury headline set
McCartney becomes the oldest solo headliner at Glastonbury
Paul McCartney review – Glastonbury 2022
Here’s the Paul McCartney review from our very emotional, besotted critic, Mark Beaumont
Paul McCartney’s Glastonbury 2022 show was possibly the best we’ve ever seen – review
McCartney’s available canon is the greatest in music by such a vast degree that any couple of hours plucked from it at random would be the best gig of any particular year
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