A major clean-up operation has begun at Glastonbury Festival, aiming to transform the site from a temporary town of 200,000 music fans into a Somerset dairy farm.
The festival's cleanup team began collecting thousands of discarded items, including paper cups and food containers, as festival-goers began to head home, leaving the festival in a steady stream.
Cleaners tackled overflowing trash bins and large items such as folding chairs and air mattresses, as well as slippers, flip-flops and shopping bags.
Glastonbury will not return in 2026 as the festival enters a quiet period to give the soil time to recover before the next event in 2027.
Organiser Emily Eavis told local newspaper the Glastonbury Free Press that she has a “massive list of things” to do to improve the festival before its next edition.
She said: “We're always trying to make it better. Details are key. Even a small touch – like putting in a new fence – can make a real difference.
“That’s what years of rest are for: you give ground for rest and come back stronger.”
This year's festival featured punk duo Bob Wylan and Irish rap trio Kneecap, with their performances assessed by Avon and Somerset Police on Saturday to determine whether any offences had been committed.
Bob Vylan's Bobby Vylan led the crowd on the festival's West Holts Stage in chanting “death, death to the IDF”, before the Kneecap member suggested fans “riot” outside his bandmate's upcoming court hearing and led the crowd in chants of “f**k Keir Starmer”.
Ahead of the festival, Mr Starmer said he believed Kneecap's performance was “inappropriate” at Glastonbury.
On Friday, festival-goers were treated to surprise performances from alternative pop star Lorde, who performed her new album Virgin in its entirety, and Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi, who performed at the festival two years after a show in which he struggled with symptoms of Tourette's syndrome.
The 1975 band took to the Pyramid Stage as headliners that night, with lead singer Matty Healy jokingly calling himself the “best songwriter” of his generation during their set. The band performed songs such as Chocolate, Love Me and About You.
As it turns out, Pulp is the band billed as Patchwork, who appeared on the Pyramid stage on Saturday to a backdrop that paid homage to their classic 1995 performance.
Their appearance comes 30 years after their breakthrough performance as festival headliners, when they replaced The Stone Roses after the Manchester band's guitarist John Squire was injured in a bike accident.
Candida Doyle, the band's keyboardist, previously confirmed that the band would not be playing the festival despite wanting to, telling BBC Radio 6 Music last week that “they (Glastonbury) weren't interested.”
Also on Saturday, Haim made a surprise appearance on the Park Stage, opening with one of his best-known songs from The Wire and then performing a mix of older songs like “Summer Girl” and newer singles including “Relationships.”
The day's featured guest was veteran rocker Neil Young, who performed some of his most famous songs, including Cinnamon Girl, Like A Hurricane and Rockin' In The Free World, and at one point featured Hank Williams on guitar.
Brat star Charli XCX headlined the Other Stage on Saturday, performing tracks from last summer's sensations 360, Von Dutch and Club Classics.
Sir Rod Stewart took to the Pyramid Stage for a performance of legends on Sunday, bringing out former Faces bandmate Ronnie Wood for Stay With Me, Lulu for Hot Legs and Simply Red's Mick Hucknall for his band's If You Don't Know Me By Now.
He was also joined by festival founder Sir Michael Eavis, who was brought on stage by his daughter, organiser Emily Eavis.
Pop rocker Olivia Rodrigo took to the Pyramid Stage on Sunday night, inviting The Cure frontman Robert Smith to perform her band's songs Just Like Heaven and Friday I'm In Love.
As the 66-year-old indie goth star took to the stage on Sunday night, Rodrigo said: “Glastonbury, please give Robert Smith a big welcome, give him a big welcome, come on.”
At the end of Just Like Heaven, the pair hugged and then Rodrigo said, “Guys, give Robert Smith a round of applause,” before adding, “It was an honor for her to play with him tonight.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
