GLASTONBURY: British-Albanian pop sensation Dua Lipa headlined the first night of the Glastonbury festival on Friday which has again drawn tens of thousands of fans.

Rows of tents dotted the fields at Worthy Farm, in the village of Pilton in southwest England, where the iconic festival has become a fixture of British culture since 1970.

This year’s three main headliners Dua Lipa, Coldplay, and SZA are joined by country star Shania Twain, Nigerian rapper Burna Boy and 1980s star Cyndi Lauper.

Dua Lipa, who played at the event in 2017, is headlining for the first time.

Grammy and Brit winner SZA, whose real name is Solana Imani Rowe, headlines on Sunday night.

It will be the first time that the R&B singer, who is known for the songs “Snooze” and “Ghost In The Machine”, will perform at the festival.

Coldplay appear on Saturday, becoming the first act to headline Glastonbury five times.

Alongside around 3,000 performances set to take place across some 80 stages, the festival also features night-long parties, art installations and lively parades.

The standard ticket for the event this year was priced at 355 ($448).

Dressed in a multicoloured outfit, 38-year-old Will Hall said the festival “gives an energy and you take that energy and then give that energy back”.

“I walk around here with confetti cannons and bubble guns and all these wonderful things just to create smiles and positive energy,” said Hall, who works for Britain’s health service.

Clarissa Hall, 29, said she felt “super lucky” to be at the festival, which is also where she chose to announce her pregnancy.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2024