Emily Eavis says Arctic Monkeys and Guns N’ Roses will play Glastonbury – but addresses all-male headliners
Co-organiser said Guns N’ Roses replaced female singer who ‘changed her touring plans’
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Your support makes all the difference.The Glastonbury 2023 headliners have been announced by Emily Eavis.
The festival’s co-organiser shared the news in an article discussing “pipeline” problems related to the all-male headlining line-up.
Joining Elton John will be Arctic Monkeys on the Friday, headlining for their third time, with Guns N’ Roses playing the Saturday slot.
Eavis said that Guns N’ Roses replaced a female singer who “changed her touring plans”.
While Eavis didn’t name names, it’s strongly suspected she was alluding to Taylor Swift, who was originally set to perform in 2020 when the festival was cancelled due to Covid.
However, Eavis expressed excitement about the “Sweet Child O’ Mine” rockers’ Glastonbury debut, telling The Guardian: “They’ll be brilliant and provide something totally different to the rest of the headliners.”
She said that Lizzo will “open” for the band, with the “About Damn Time” singer receiving joint headline billing on the poster.
Eavis also announced the first wave of acts set to perform at Glastonbury. Discussing the fact that 53 per cent of the 55 acts announced so far are men, she said: “We are entirely focused on balancing our bill.
“It’s not just about gender, it’s about every aspect of diversity.”
The co-organiser, who runs the event with her father, Michael, said that one female headliner is confirmed for 2024, and that they are close to confirming another – revealing that both are Glastonbury first-timers.
Eavis blamed their struggles in ensuring more women be featured on festival line-ups as a “pipeline” issue, and called on the industry to “develop” opportunities.
“This starts way back with the record companies, radio. I can shout as loud as I like but we need to get everyone on board,” she said.
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Eavis also denied reports that the Spice Girls would perform this year, saying: “That is not a conversation we’re having at the moment”. However, she confirmed that Mel C would play a solo set after a successful appearance in 2022.
Discussing the appearance of “Rocketman” singer John, who was the first act to be announced, Eavis said he “immediately said yes” after she wrote him a personal letter to consider.
The letter told him “not to miss out on a potentially incredible moment for you, for us, for the fans”, and, fortunately, the response was positive. John will close the festival on the Sunday.
“People assume that because we’re the ‘Christmas of music’ we can breezily book whoever, but to get Elton doesn’t happen easily, so that’s a really big moment for us,” Eavis said
There was also a response to the hiked ticket prices, which led to criticism from potential festivalgoers. In October, the price was revealed to have risen by £55, bringing the total for one ticket to £340, which includes a booking fee.
Eavis said that “we put [the price] up by the minimum we could”, adding: “In order to do the exact same show as last time, we would have had to put £100 on the ticket. That’s the amount that costs have gone up.” The festival costs £50m to run.
Eavis also acknowledged that, in 2023, there were multiple staging errors, which led to overcrowding. The co-organiser specifically referred to the fact that Sugababes in particular “were a bit too big for the stage that they were booked on”.
She promised secret sets this year, but suggested the “big surprises” will happen on the bigger stages.
It’s also been announced that the John Peel stage, named after the DJ, has been renamed. It will now be called Woodsies after the field it’s located in. Peel, who died in 2004, has faced accusations of sexual assault.
“We’ve had 20 years of John Peel and it’s been an honour to use his name,” Eavis said.
Also featured on the 2023 line-up are Lizzo, Blondie, Lana Del Rey, Lewis Capaldi, Lil Nas X, Raye, Rina Sawayama, Texas, The War on Drugs and Yusuf/Cat Stevens.
This year’s festival will take place from 21 to 25 June.
Find the current Glastonbury 2023 line-up so far below
Arctic Monkeys
Guns N’ Roses
Elton John
Lizzo
Aitch
Alison Goldfrapp
Alt-J
Amadou and Mariam
Becky Hill
Blondie
Candi Staton
Carly Rae Jepsen
Cat Burns
Central Cee
Christine and the Queens
Chvrches
Ezra Collective
Fatboy Slim
Fever Ray
Flo
Fred Again
Hot Chip
Joey Bada$$
Kelis
Lana Del Rey
Leftfield
Lewis Capaldi
Lil Nas X
Loyle Carner
Maggie Rogers
Mahalia
Måneskin
Manic Street Preachers
Mel C
Nova Twins
Phoenix
Raye
Rina Sawayama
Royal Blood
Rudimental
Shygirl
Slowthai
Sparks
Stefflon Don
Sudan Archives
Texas
The Chicks
The War on Drugs
Thundercat
Tinariwen
Warpaint
Weyes Blood
Wizkid
Young Fathers
Yusuf/Cat Stevens
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