Glastonbury 2024: Emily Eavis says Dua Lipa was “born to” headline festival
Ahead of Dua Lipa’s headline set on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival on June 28th, organiser Emily Eavis has defended the singer and said she was “born” to be a headliner.
Earlier this year, Dua Lipa released her third album, Radical Optimism, and further solidified her position as one of Britain’s most successful modern exports. Dua also has a storied history with Glastonbury, having previously performed on the John Peel Stage in 2016 and 2017. However, headlining the Pyramid Stage is a completely different proposition, but it’s a challenge Eavis firmly backs her to rise to.
“I’m looking forward to Dua Lipa tonight, you know, I feel like she’s really born to do this,” Eavis told BBC Radio 2. Eavis continued: “She’s a proper festivalgoer, she comes every year and… you can really tell whether someone really gets the festival and loves it.”
Eavis also defended the festival’s pop-heavy line-up, claiming 2024 isn’t the time to have a line-up that leans towards rock, stating, “I think the line-up reflects what’s happening in the music world at the moment – there aren’t a lot of new rock acts to choose from, if I’m honest.”
The Glastonbury co-organiser then stated she was hopeful that rock “will emerge again” like it did during her youth, remarking, “My heyday was 1995 with Pulp and Oasis and Radiohead and that was great, but music changes all the time and right now this is where we’re at.”
Furthermore, Eavis also understands that criticism is simply part of the territory when booking a festival of Glastonbury’s territory. However, she believes those who actually attend Glastonbury aren’t those who attempt to disparage it, adding, “Every year, we’ve been criticised for being too rock, too grime, too hip hop, too pop, it’s just part of our year. Generally it’s not from the public, everybody’s really happy and excited to be here.”
A stand-out moment from the first official day of the festival so far saw Paul Heaton reunite with his old bandmate in The Housemartins, Norman Cook, who later rose to fame as Fatboy Slim. Prior to introducing him, Heaton joked that they were both part of the first boyband ever before they erupted into ‘Happy Hour’ on the Pyramid Stage.
Heaton formed the Hull band The Housemartins back in 1983 alongside Stan Cullimore. Initially, the pair were purely a busking duo, but things got a little more serious after they recorded a demo later that year and eventually formed a band. They played their first gig at Hull University in October 1984.
Glastonbury Festival runs from June 26th until June 30th and Far Out is on the ground at Worthy Farm to provide coverage directly from Pilton. This year’s event will be headlined by Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA.
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