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Glastonbury 2022: Paul McCartney waves Ukrainian flag as he comes out for encore

Artist was flanked by bandmates holding the Union Flag and an LGBT+ pride flag

Louis Chilton
Sunday 26 June 2022 08:57 BST
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Paul McCartney performs at Glastonbury 2022

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Paul McCartney held aloft a Ukrainian flag when he took the stage for an encore at his 2022 Glastonbury headline set.

The former Beatle made the gesture in a display of solidarity with the country amid its ongoing war with Russia.

While McCartney held the Ukraine flag, he was also flanked by bandmates holding the Union Flag and an LGBT+ pride flag.

McCartney’s marathon headline slot featured surprise guest appearances from Dave Grohl and Bruce Springsteen, with the latter joining McCartney for a rendition of “Glory Days”

He also performed a “duet” alongside his late bandmate John Lennon, using digitally isolated vocals and video footage.

McCartney’s record-breaking Glastonbury set also included a tribute to his other late bandmate, George Harrison.

Paul McCartney waves the Ukrainian flag while performing on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury Festival
Paul McCartney waves the Ukrainian flag while performing on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury Festival (Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

In a five-star review for The Independent, Mark Beaumont wrote: “By the time ‘Live and Let Die’ fills the sky with flames and drama, and ‘Let it Be’ and ‘Hey Jude’ have broken then repaired 100,000 hearts, the show is far and away the best this writer has seen on the Pyramid stage in 30 years of Glastonburies.

“When Macca returns to duet with the isolated Lennon vocal of ‘I’ve Got a Feeling’, creating the closest to a Beatles reunion we’re ever likely to see and giving Glastonbury all the feelings, it’s probably the best I’ve seen on any stage. [...] We’re gonna need a bigger star rating system.”

You can find a round-up of highlights from day four at Glastonbury, including Greta Thunberg’s surpirse apperance and Olivia Rodrigo’s blistering duet with Lily Allen directed at the Supreme Court over the recent Roe v Wade ruling, here.

You can follow along with the latest updates from Worthy Farm at our liveblog here.

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