The Glastonbury 2024 line-up is out – but not the part people want

Coldplay, Dua Lipa and Shania Twain have been announced for Glastonbury 2024 – and many newspapers are talking about how the ‘Glastonbury line-up’ is out.

But this line-up won’t sate the masses who will still be speculating about who the final, not yet announced headliner will be. The Glastonbury line-up of recent has been defined by headliners so legendary that you never thought you’d actually see them live. Paul McCartney, Elton John, the types who defined music scenes and birthed new eras.

Let’s face it: everyone is waiting for the third headliner of the main Pyramid Stage, which hasn’t been announced yet. This is the longest the festival has ever left it to announce their line-up, and rumours about the third major headliner have been swirling.

So who could that big name be? The most banded-about name has been Madonna, but it has been reported that talks broke down, and other names in the mix include the Spice Girls (!), Cher and Stevie Wonder. But none have so far come through.

Coldplay are divisive, a safe set of hands that appeal to the older crowd, while Dua Lipa will please some younger ticketholders – but who’s there to push the boundaries, generate the headlines and give a performance that goes beyond the (probably muddy) fields of Glastonbury by rewriting the rulebook on musical performance like McCartney did in 2022 when he used new technology to duet with the late John Lennon via a video screen link? The performance that will generate news.

Of course, Glastonbury don’t need to do this – as one of the greatest festivals on Earth, they have nothing to prove, and they will sell out anyway, regardless of booking another name like Elton John this year. And the myriad non-musical activities like the incredible theatre and circus fields and the healing fields offer hundreds of other things to do that have nothing to do with the main stages.

But it won’t stop people asking: just who will that third night headliner be?

Glastonbury returns this 26 – 30 June and you can view the line-up so far on the website