Samir Hussein
And just like that, it’s over. I’m talking of course about Glastonbury festival, when 210,000 people – this year Lily Allen, Paul Mescal and Harry Styles among them – descend upon Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, to dance in Hunter wellies and bucket hats, subsist off beer and baby wipes and watch some of the best music in the world.
This year, as ever, was one for the ages. We had Charli xcx burning her Brat flag to the ground, Doechii showing up in a trio of Vivienne Westwood looks and Lorde packing out a tent with a surprise pre-lunchtime set. But whether you were ankle-deep in the action or stuck at home watching on BBC iPlayer, there’s still plenty you might have missed out on (Doechii and Charli were on at the same time, for starters – shocking!).
Luckily, we’ve got you covered. Below are all the Glastonbury 2025 highlights you might have missed because a) you were miles away, or b) you were asleep by the stone circle.
The first day was a deluge
Glastonbury isn’t really Glastonbury without at least one day of dealing with pouring rain and mounting mud (and trying to assemble a tent in the process). Fortunately, the rain had cleared by Thursday night, meaning that we did not see a repeat of 2007 (the rainiest Glastonbury on record, during which more than a month’s worth of rain fell on the festival, meaning that people were practically floating in their tents while watching Arctic Monkeys).
The stars were in situ
British celebs looove Glastonbury. It’s almost a rite of passage at this point to spot the likes of Alexa Chung, Lily Allen, Pixie Geldof and a handful of radio presenters and models in and around the winnebagos and at the festival’s VIP bar, Moonbow. Confirmed sightings this year included: the very recently married Daisy Lowe (kind of chic to honeymoon at Glasto), Lennon Gallagher, Ncuti Gatwa, Pixie Geldof (of course), Andrew Garfield and Jessie Ware. Kate Moss was surely in there somewhere, too (it wouldn’t be the same without her).
Lorde did a “secret set”
Our favourite Kiwi star swung by the Woodsies stage before lunch on the Friday to play a surprise set to an incredibly packed-out crowd of excited onlookers. Wearing all-white with a silver bikini, the hitmaker gave a taste of her long-anticipated fourth album, saying, “I didn’t know if I’d make another record to be honest. but I’m back [and] completely free.” What’s that sound? Is it the approaching Lorde summer?
Neil Young was not televised
You won’t have been able to watch Neil Young sing “Heart Of Gold” on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday night because the folk legend opted out of televised coverage with the BBC. “At the artist’s request, we won’t be live streaming Neil Young’s set,” the BBC said in a statement to The Telegraph. “Our plans, including those for our TV highlights shows and on-demand coverage, continue to be finalised right up to and during the festival.” The decision follows a dispute in which the artist initially pulled out of Glastonbury due to the BBC’s involvement, before making a U-turn. Ah, well. Those stuck at home could watch Charli xcx instead.
Lewis Capaldi made an emotional return to the stage
It’s been two years since Lewis Capaldi stepped away from the spotlight to focus on his mental health. At Glastonbury 2023, the crowd memorably helped Capaldi, who has Tourette Syndrome, to finish his performance of “Someone You Love” when he faltered on stage and began experiencing pronounced tics. “Glastonbury it’s so good to be back,” he told the crowd on Friday. “I’m not going to say much up here today because if I did I might start crying.” You and us both, Lewis!
Kneecap’s much-discussed performance went ahead
While the Prime Minister felt that their planned set was “inappropriate”, and they were conspicuously absent from live coverage of the festival on BBC iPlayer, Kneecap’s Glastonbury performance very much went ahead. If, as supporters have claimed, calls for the band’s removal from the line-up were an effort to silence their pro-Palestinian advocacy, they may have had the opposite of the intended effect. A crowd of almost 30,000 flocked to the West Holts stage – which organisers were forced to close off around 45 minutes before Kneecap were due to appear – and the punk duo Bob Vylan, who had the preceding slot and did appear in the livestream, opted to amplify the same message.
Charli xcx staged a funeral for brat
Or did she? The now ubiquitous green brat curtain went up in flames at the start of the star’s performance – which featured none of the usual surprise guests (save for Gracie Abrams as Glasto’s Apple girl) and served as something of a solo victory lap for the cultural phenomenon she created. But as it drew to a close, the message on the screen read: “I think you all have proven to me that ‘Brat’ is forever.”
Doechii nodded to a festival legend
The rapper chose Vivienne Westwood (who else?) for her Glastonbury set, which saw her poke fun at that viral umbrella moment ahead of the Met Gala, as well as deliver storming versions of hits “Nissan Altima”, “Denial is a River” and “Anxiety”. “It’s this iconic British festival, so we really wanted to use an iconic British brand,” her stylist Sam Woolf told Vogue. Her looks included a microscopic miniskirt directly inspired by the one worn by Glastonbury legend Kate Moss on Westwood’s spring/summer 1994 runway.
Harry Styles partied with the rest of them
A Harry Styles sighting is like gold dust these days (the musician hasn’t been on tour for two years and is only ever occasionally spotted zipping around London or Berlin looking incognito in shades). He partied with the rest of them this weekend though, shuffling through the VIP section in his go-to red short shorts and a track top and, apparently, dancing into the night.
Olivia Rodrigo closed the weekend with a bang
This generation’s Avril Lavigne headlined the Pyramid Stage on the Sunday night with a performance that reviewers are already calling “the weekend’s best big set”. With a surprise appearance from The Cure’s Robert Smith (“a personal hero of mine”) and a mid-set outfit change into some Union Jack micro shorts, the 22-year-old pop-punk singer injected a shot of energy into proceedings (much-needed, I imagine, when everyone’s feeling fragile after camping and partying for five days). Surely the most fun Sunday night headliner in years?!
This article was originally published on British Vogue.
