Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA go all out as festival draws to a close

SZA performs Sunday night’s show at Glastonbury.

Courtesy of Joseph Okpako/Getty Images

It was a Glastonbury of old and new – reliable performances from festival legends Coldplay and music veteran Shania Twain, plus Worthy Farm debuts from Dua Lipa and SZA.

But the UK’s most popular music festival draws to a close on Monday and 210,000 people will now head home after five days of surprise guest stars, crazy sets and a European Championship football match no one could bear to miss.

Houdini Singer Dua Lipa kicked off performances on the Pyramid’s main stage on Friday night by thanking fans for “making my dreams come true.” It was a solid, smooth set from the British pop star who was able to enjoy the rest of the festival with her nerves on edge. She delighted fans by bringing out Taming the Impala star Kevin Parker for the duet’s rendition of “The Less I Know The Better.”

On Saturday night, Chris Martin and his band headlined the festival for a record fifth time (the first time was in 2002). The crowd was sold out, with stars like Tom Cruise, Gillian Anderson and Florence Pugh in attendance. Martin quickly took the time to thank the fans who waited all day at the gate for the perfect view. “This is our favorite thing to do on earth, so thank you for letting us do it,” the singer said.

And in a move that no one could have predicted, Michael J. Fox, star of Back to the future trilogy, joined Coldplay on stage to play guitar on their hit “Fix You.” “There’s a time for every band and a band for every moment,” the Parkinson’s activist later wrote alongside a carousel of photos on Instagram, including one of him and his crew members sitting in a wheelchair in front of an “optimism is a sign” political act. “It’s @coldplay time.”

It was a visibly tense SZA who took the main stage on Sunday evening, a little more at ease than Martin, the veteran Glastonbury artist. But after a technically shaky start where the singer-songwriter’s mic seemed muffled, she released big hits like “Kill Bill” and “20 Something.” The star admitted she was “very nervous” to perform at the world-famous music festival and wished everyone who attended a safe trip home, but unfortunately for SZA, quite a few of they had retired for other concerts on the last evening of the event.

For the Legends slot, Shania Twain also faced some sound issues. The 58-year-old country star performed her set on Sunday, starting with the crowd-pleasing hit “That Don’t Impress Me Much.” But fans noticed the singer playing with her earpiece and microphone, leading many to believe there were glitches behind the scenes that were interfering with the set.

Seventeen made history by becoming the first K-pop group to perform at the festival. British pop group Sugababes and Canadian punk queen Avril Lavigne performed on the smaller stages, while Camila Cabello had a moment with dancers wearing dog masks melting ice cream on her body during her set. British rapper Little Simz wowed the crowd with a performance on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday, telling fans, “I need you to understand that you are witnessing greatness. I say that not with arrogance, but with confidence.”

And former One Direction star Louis Tomlinson has thought of everything ahead of his trip to Worthy Farm. Glastonbury has a policy of not showing any football matches if they clash with major acts, but the singer is expecting an entertaining UEFA European Championship clash between his beloved England and Slovakia on Sunday night. He brought a TV so fans could be in one of the campsites to watch the match. As festival-goers slowly realised who was responsible for the underhanded staging, Tomlinson became the hero of the moment. England won the match thanks to extra-time goals and qualified for the next round of Europe’s biggest football tournament. At Glastonbury, there’s always a way.