With just a couple of days until the first batch of tickets for the 2020 edition of Glastonbury go on sale, excitement is reaching fever pitch.
Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the world-famous festival, and fans are predicting organisers Michael and Emily Eavis will be pulling out all the stops to make it one to remember.
So, who is going to headline? Glastonbury won’t release its line-up until a couple of months before the festival — it never does — but there are plenty of rumours swirling as to who might take the top spot on the bill.
Here, we’ve focused on a few of the most credible contenders for the headline slot, and run the rule over the other favourites.
Taylor Swift
The American megastar came back with a bang in August, releasing her seventh album Lover and announcing a string of tour dates. Eagle-eyed fans have spotted a rather intriguing gap in her schedule, between an appearance at Oslo Sommertid on June 26 and Denmark’s Roskilde on July 1.
It would leave her enough time to hop over from Scandinavia to Somerset to perform on either the Saturday or the Sunday, leading to inevitable speculation she’s bound for the Pyramid Stage. Swift has so far remained silent on the matter, though.
Fleetwood Mac
“I think I’ll burn in hell if we don’t do it one day,” Mick Fleetwood told the Independent back in April when asked about the possibility of headlining Glastonbury in 2020. If he does want to avoid eternal damnation, then the 50th anniversary of the festival would be a fitting opportunity. Incredibly, Fleetwood Mac have never played in Worthy Farm, despite being asked to do so in the past.
A few months after the interview, as he stood on stage at Wembley Stadium, Fleetwood told the thousands watching that the band “still had a big field to play”. What was Michael Eavis’ reaction? “I can’t afford them,” he said. “They’ll have to bring their price down.”
Spice Girls
Could Spice Girls be destined for the Legends’ slot at next year’s Glastonbury? If their recent, sold-out arena tour is anything to go by, then they could certainly pull in the numbers. And the prospect of such an appearance might even tempt a certain member back into action.
Speaking on the Jonathan Ross Show in September, Mel B was pressed on whether Spice Girls could be in line for Glasto. “You’re asking me, I’m always going to say yes,” she replied, “because I’m always the one that’s like ‘Spice Girls will live forever’.”
She added there had been “bits and bobs of conversations” with the other members about Glastonbury, with Victoria Beckham apparently interested in getting involved — she was absent from the recent tour.
Paul McCartney
By design or otherwise, Michael Eavis has always been rather loose-lipped when it comes to the identities of future headliners. Speaking to BBC Somerset back in April, he was asked whether Paul McCartney might be coming to Worthy Farm.
“Hopefully for the 50th,” Eavis replied. “Don’t make a big thing of it though, will you?”
Naturally, everyone made a big thing of it. Macca is one of the bookies’ favourites to take the top spot on the Pyramid Stage, and has added fuel to the fire himself, saying he was “starting to think about it”.
“It’s starting to become some remote kind of possibility,” McCartney told BBC Radio 2 in September. “People are saying that it will be good if I did it, so I’m starting to think about whether I can or whether it would be a good thing.”
He added: “We played there quite a long time ago so maybe it is time to go back. I don’t know. I’d have to put a few things in place.”
The 1975
Asked in December last year whether The 1975 are ready to headline Glastonbury, frontman Matty Healy said: “Yeah, I think we are. I know that we are. Glastonbury, give us a year.”
By that logic, 2020 will be the year that Healy and co take top billing in Somerset. They were the headline act this year’s Reading and Leeds festivals, and seemed well-suited to the big time.
So could they be a good fit for the Pyramid stage? Emily Eavis responded soon after Healy’s initial comments, saying: “That’s good. Interesting. They’re great. Obviously we’d love to have The 1975.”
The other contenders
Elton John — He’s announced his retirement from touring and has plenty of free time next summer as he takes a break from his farewell tour. It would be a fitting goodybe.
Green Day, Weezer and/or Fall Out Boy — The pop-punk heroes are touring Europe together next summer, and are free on June 28 between dates in Huddersfield and Dublin.
Foals — Perennial festival favourites, Foals have played Glasto five times now, the last of which was a frenzied secret set. Could their sixth appearance be the biggest?
Kendrick Lamar — The finest rapper of his generation, he hasn’t played in the UK since summer 2018. He would undoubtedly bring something special to the Pyramid stage.
Arctic Monkeys — Too soon? It was only six years ago that Arctic Monkeys headlined Glastonbury, but you wouldn’t put it past them to make a triumphant return.
Coldplay — Chris Martin made a fleeting appearance playing guitar alongside Kylie on the Pyramid stage in 2019. Don’t count out him coming back with the rest of his band next summer.
Led Zeppelin — It seems unlikely, with Jimmy Page and Robert Plant hardly itching to reunite, but Led Zep are one of the British titans to have never played at Worthy Farm. It’d be a huge surprise, but it would be incredible if they did in 2020.
The Kinks — They haven’t played together for 22 years, and traded insults in the press for decades, but Ray and Dave Davies are back together. In June 2018, they announced they were working on a new album and that they intended to play shows. What’s more, The Kinks were the first band to ever headline Glastonbury back in 1970. Could the planets align? As with Led Zeppelin, the chances seem slim, although they are both included among the bookies' favourites.
Ariana Grande — Glastonbury grows ever fonder of booking big pop acts, and at the moment they don’t come much bigger than Ariana Grande. She’s a possibility, for sure.
Blur — Damon Albarn and the gang played on stage together for the first time in four years back in March, and haven't ruled out reuniting again. Their 2009 Glastonbury set was one for the ages.
Oasis — It’s everyone’s favourite rumour: an Oasis reunion. It’s going to take something special for the brothers to put their (many) differences aside. Would a Glastonbury headline set be sufficient? For now, let’s just say definitely maybe.
