Jeremy Corbyn at Glastonbury: Labour leader gives rousing speech before Run The Jewels set
Reports suggest crowds at the Pyramid Stage were the biggest seen since The Rolling Stones performed in 2013
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Jeremy Corbyn took to the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival where he addressed thousands of revellers before Run The Jewels performed.
The Labour leader had arguably been one of the most anticipated “acts” to appear at the event, despite admitting he has little musical talent himself.
The now-famous chant of “Ohh, Jeremy Corbyn” to the tune of Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes was heard for at least 20 minutes before he appeared on stage.
Early reports suggest that he drew the biggest crowds of this year’s festival so far, with one person on Twitter saying they hadn’t seen an audience of that scale since The Rolling Stones performed in 2013.
“Hoping to get on the sesh with him later,” one reveller told our reporter on the ground, while another joked: “We’re popping pills for him.”
Another fan who gave her name as Frankie said: “I shook his hand in a tiny tent. He was lovely, and I’m absolutely hyped.”
Introduced by Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis, Corbyn took to the stage to deafening cheers and applause.
“Michael, don’t go!” he said, calling Eavis back. “Can you all give it up for Michael Eavis please? Thank you for all you’ve done.
“I wanna say thank you to Michael for lending us his farm, for giving the space all those years ago, for people to come here and enjoy music, good company and inspiring thought. You paved the way for all of us.
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“You brought the spirit of music, the spirit of love, the spirit of ideas, and you brought the spirit of great messages. There’s a message on that wall for President Donald Trump,” he pointed out. “Build bridges, not walls.”
“Politics is actually about everyday life. It's about all of us, what we dream, what we want, and what we want for everybody else.
“The commentariat got it wrong. The elite got it wrong. Politics is about the lives of all of us, and the wonderful campaign that I was involved with, that I was so proud to lead, brought people back into politics because they believed there was something on offer for them.
“But what was even more inspiring, was the number of young people who got involved for the first time. Because they were fed up with being denigrated, fed up with being told they don’t matter. Fed up with being told they never participate, and utterly fed up with being told that their generation was going to pay more to get less in education, in health, in housing, in pensions and everything else.
“That they should accept low wages and insecurity, and they should see it as just part of life. Well it didn’t quite work out like that, did it? That politics that got out of the box, is not going back in any box.”
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