The day has come. Right now, tens of thousands of campers are fleeing London, handing their tickets to stewards in Somerset, pitching their tents and cracking open one of the only cold cans of the weekend. And Glastonbury 2025 is slightly more meaningful than most: it’s the last festival before a fallow year, allowing the land to recover. It’ll be back in 2027, but to Glasto-goers, that just means packing two years of partying into one weekend.
Even watching from afar can be overwhelming — the BBC is offering more than 90 hours of live music coverage. So let’s save everyone some time, stress and shoe leather. Whether you’re heading down to Worthy Farm or watching from your sofa, here’s the inside scoop on Glastonbury 2025.
The VIP List
Glastonbury is as star-studded as festivals get, with many celebrities taking advantage of its size to slip through the cracks and enjoy a “real” experience. Attendees can expect to see Charli xcx stomping around with fiancé George Daniel, given she is performing on the Other Stage on Saturday, while Daniel’s band The 1975 are headlining the Pyramid Stage on Friday.
Then there’s the host of actors scheduled to give talks this year — Margot Robbie, Paul Mescal, Andrew Garfield, Tilda Swinton, Ncuti Gatwa, Jodie Comer and Taron Egerton are all on the bill.
Look out for Mescal in the crowd at the Other Stage on Friday — rumoured girlfriend Gracie Abrams is performing.
Cara Delevingne, Sienna Miller, Alexa Chung and Nick Grimshaw are all regulars, as is Kate Moss. She recently released a festival-themed collection with Zara, which could be handily promoted by... going to Glastonbury.
What to eat and drink
The main focus of Glasto drinking is portability: the more you can fit into a crossbody bag, the better. For this reason, expect an influx of tiny premixed cocktails, such as the Gen Z favourite, BuzzBallz. They may resemble Christmas tree baubles, but don’t be fooled by their whimsical packaging: at 13.5 per cent, those 200 millilitres pack a real punch.
As for sustenance, the true insiders will be dining at the Soho House (yes, Glastonbury has a Soho House now) between the Pyramid and Other Stage. Called “The Hideout”, the exclusive area offers frozen paloma cocktails, picantes, “dirty” burgers and pizzas. Good luck getting in without a hospitality ticket and a special keycard, though.
Then there’s the Deluxe Diner, situated between Shangri-La and the Unfairground, which offers proper, sit-down meals courtesy of award-winning head chef Andy Evans. As for the food stall offerings, Kolkati’s paneer paratha wraps are particularly beloved, as are Mexican Seoul’s fried chicken and Moony’s halloumi fries. For those after something less gentrified, venture to Fat Belly’s Cafe in the Green Fields for organic food joy.
What everyone will be talking about
Certain aspects of this year’s festival have already got tongues wagging — the Prime Minister’s included. Northern Irish rap group Kneecap are set to make even more headlines with their 4pm performance this Saturday, after one of their members was charged with terrorism offences. Liam O’Hanna has pleaded not guilty to allegations that he displayed a flag in support of Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah. The Prime Minister has called for them to be removed from the line-up, but organisers have given their set the go-ahead. Kneecap are sure to address the controversy on stage.
On Friday, expect plenty of conversation around The 1975 frontman Matty Healy, who is known for stunts like eating raw meat on stage. The next day, festival-goers will have to navigate the “mega-clash”, with Charli xcx, Doechii, Neil Young and Scissor Sisters all overlapping on the schedule.
On the Sunday, Olivia Rodrigo will make history as the first Glastonbury headliner to have broken through in the 2020s, as well as the second-youngest ever. Her set is also the victim of a significant clash with The Maccabees, Overmono and The Prodigy.
The secret sets
Kiwi singer Lorde’s new album is set for release on Friday, the same day an unknown “TBA” artist is listed to play Woodsies at 11.30am — merely a coincidence? Meanwhile, American indie band Haim were effusive about their love of playing the Park stage in a recent BBC Radio 2 interview, suggesting they may be filling the 7.30pm TBA slot there on Saturday. The band released their fourth studio album last week, so it checks out.
The biggest TBA is the mysterious “Patchwork”, who are due to play the Pyramid stage at 6.15pm on Saturday. Rumour has it they are actually Britpop legends Pulp, who released their first album in 24 years this month. The reasoning? Patchwork is made of mismatched bits of material, much like Pulp. We’ll see...
On Friday there’s another TBA on the Pyramid stage that’s notably short, clocking in at 35 minutes. The streets are saying this is Lewis Capaldi, whose 2023 Glastonbury performance of Someone Like You had to be sung by the crowd when Capaldi’s Tourette syndrome made it difficult to perform. According to rumours, the singer wants to return to the festival to “finish” his 2023 set, which would make for quite an emotional moment.
