Rod Stewart confirmed for Glastonbury legends slot

ROD Stewart will perform the legends slot at Glastonbury next year, marking his return to the iconic music festival more than 20 years after his last appearance. Organisers confirmed the news on Tuesday.

The 79-year-old British rock star said he was "thrilled" to take the stage at the globally renowned festival in southwest England. The event is expected to feature around 3,000 performers and draw an audience of 200,000.

Stewart, known for hits such as Maggie May and Stay With Me, announced the performance shortly after sharing his decision to stop "large-scale world tours," clarifying that he was not retiring.

"After all these years, I'm proud and ready and more than able to take the stage again to pleasure and titillate my friends at Glastonbury in June," Stewart said. His last Glastonbury performance was in 2002, sharing the bill with Coldplay and Stereophonics.

He will play the Sunday afternoon legends slot at the Pyramid stage, a spot previously held by artists like Lionel Richie, Dolly Parton, Kylie Minogue, and Shania Twain, who performed this year.

Stewart is the first confirmed act for the 2025 Glastonbury line-up. The festival, held annually at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, has been a key part of the British music scene since it began in 1970.

Tickets for next year’s event, priced at £373.50, sold out within 35 minutes earlier this month. By comparison, tickets for the 2002 festival, when Stewart last performed, were £97.

Glam rock band T.Rex headlined the inaugural Glastonbury. Over the decades, the festival has attracted legendary names such as David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Stormzy, and Elton John, who played his final UK show in 2023. This year’s line-up included Coldplay, Dua Lipa, and SZA.

(With inputs from AFP)