Pop legend to headline Glastonbury as two female stars top bill for first time

04 November 2023 , 18:43

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Pop legend to headline Glastonbury as two female stars top bill for first time

Glastonbury is set to feature two female headliners for the first time in its history next year as legendary US pop star Madonna takes to the stage alongside Dua Lipa and Coldplay.

It's been agreed these three huge acts will headline the world-famous Pyramid Stage, with Madonna bringing the main stage to a close on Sunday night. Dua Lipa is expected to headline on Friday while Coldplay will perform on Saturday. 

"It’s the dream line-up, a brilliant mix of different music and different atmospheres. Then, of course, you have Madonna on the final night, which will be epic," an insider told the Mail on Sunday.

Madonna has never performed at Glastonbury while it will be Dua Lipa's first headline performance at the iconic festival. Meanwhile, Coldplay are very family with the festival, having headlined four times before in 2002, 2005, 2011 and 2016.

Madonna is set to close the festival (madonna/Instagram)

Dua Lipa will headline for the first time (Getty Images)

Speaking about next year's festival last month, organiser Emily Eavis, daughter of Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis, revealed that a legendary US star's team got in touch to confirm they were available.  She revealed: "2024 is still a little up in the air, and I thought it was taking shape, then last week I just got a call, and this is what happens if you wait a little longer, because often we’ll be booked up from July.

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"This year we’re holding out for a little bit longer and last week I got a call from a really big American artist saying this person’s around next year, and I was like, 'Oh my God, this is incredible.' Thank God we held the slot."

Addressing criticism over the festival's lack of women headliners, Emily told Annie Macmanus and Nick Grimshaw on their podcast Sidetracked: "I’ve always been really passionate about gender split [on festival line-ups] and I think, actually, our problem was that I’d been so outspoken about it that having a year when there wasn’t a female sent people a bit mad – or some people.

"And we did have a female – she pulled out and we replaced them with Guns N’ Roses. But everyone knows that it’s top of my list.

"It is difficult with female artists because there aren’t enough headliners. But we’re also creating them. We’re putting the bands and female artists on smaller stages and bringing them through all the time. And who knows? Next year we might get two. And certainly, I can say that the Legend is female."

Charlotte McIntyre