Glastonbury 2020 lineup: Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift and Paul McCartney confirmed headliners

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Jochan Embley13 March 2020

Kendrick Lamar will headline the Friday night of Glastonbury 2020, joining Taylor Swift and Paul McCartney on the lineup of one of the world's most famous festivals.

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the Worthy Farm extravaganza and hype seems to be bigger than ever, with ticket and coach packages selling out in just 27 minutes in October.

Michael and Emily Eavis are pulling out all the stops to make it one to remember, and with Lamar, Swift and McCartney now confirmed on the bill, along with Motown legend Diana Ross, excitement is reaching fever pitch already.

Motown legend Diana Ross on the lineup of one of the world's most famous festivals.

But who has been rumoured to join the two legends at Worth Farm next year? As always, a host of names have been linked to the festival, including The 1975 and Elton John.

Two early favourites were Led Zeppelin and Fleetwood Mac, but both have since been ruled out by organiser Emily Eavis.

Here, we’ve focused on confirmed names so far, plus a few of the most credible contenders for the final headline spot, and run the rule over the other favourites. ​

Confirmed line-up

Paul McCartney

AFP/Getty Images

Paul McCartney, chief among the bookies' favourites, has been confirmed to the bill on the Saturday night.

It will be his first time at Worthy Farm since 2004, when he also headlined, performing a huge 33-song set.

The 77-year-old will become the festival's oldest ever headliner, with the confirmation coming shortly after he tweeted a picture of Philip Glass, Emma Stone and Chuck Berry on Monday morning — with many soon realising that by taking segments from each name, the word “glas-ston-berry” could be spelled out.

Taylor Swift

Getty Images

The American megastar came back with a bang in August, releasing her seventh album Lover and announcing a string of tour dates. Eagle-eyed fans previously spotted a rather intriguing gap in her schedule, between an appearance at Oslo Sommertid on June 26 and Denmark’s Roskilde on July 1, and the singer confirmed the news on Twitter, writing: "I’m ecstatic to tell you that I’ll be headlining Glastonbury on its 50th anniversary - See you there!"

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Diana Ross

The US superstar will be taking the "legend" slot on the Sunday afternoon, with the 75-year-old describing it as a "dream come true". Emily Eavis said of the announcement: "I am delighted to say that one of the all-time greats, the wonderful Diana Ross, is coming to Glastonbury to play the Sunday legend slot on the Pyramid next year”.

The soul star who made her name in The Supremes, will perform in the Sunday afternoon slot which has previously played host to icons including Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie and Kylie Minogue.

Aerosmith

While the festival itself is yet to confirm Steven Tyler's stint on the Pyramid stage, Aerosmith appear to have let the cat out of the bag. The band have cited "Glastonbury UK" in the mailing list announcing their 2020 tour, a gig dated for June 27. The rockers won't, however, be taking the headline slot on the main stage, as Macca has already nabbed the coveted spot on that day. Regardless, we're sure you won't want to miss a thing.

Kendrick Lamar

Getty Images for NARAS

King Kenny took the last remaining headline slot, with his name added to the bill along with 90 other acts. He was the bookies' favourite to take the Friday slot for a while, with the US rapper already announcing a string of European festival dates for next summer. What's more, Emily Eavis also said the mystery headliner will be a male solo artist, playing Glastonbury for the first time. His was added to the bill alongside Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, Angel Olsen, Camila Cabello, Crowded House, FKA Twigs, Charli XCX, Haim and Kacey Musgraves.

Rumours

Spice Girls

PA

Could Spice Girls be destined for a slot at next year’s Glastonbury? If their recent, sold-out arena tour is anything to go by, then they could certainly pull in the numbers. And the prospect of such an appearance might even tempt a certain member back into action.

Speaking on the Jonathan Ross Show in September, Mel B was pressed on whether Spice Girls could be in line for Glasto. “You’re asking me, I’m always going to say yes,” she replied, “because I’m always the one that’s like ‘Spice Girls will live forever’.”

She added there had been “bits and bobs of conversations” with the other members about Glastonbury, with Victoria Beckham apparently interested in getting involved — she was absent from the recent tour.

The 1975

Getty Images

Asked in December last year whether The 1975 are ready to headline Glastonbury, frontman Matty Healy said: “Yeah, I think we are. I know that we are. Glastonbury, give us a year.”

By that logic, 2020 will be the year that Healy and co take top billing in Somerset. They were the headline act this year’s Reading and Leeds festivals, and seemed well-suited to the big time.

So could they be a good fit for the Pyramid stage? Emily Eavis responded soon after Healy’s initial comments, saying: “That’s good. Interesting. They’re great. Obviously we’d love to have The 1975.”

The other contenders

Elton John
AFP/Getty Images

Elton John — He’s announced his retirement from touring and has plenty of free time next summer as he takes a break from his farewell tour. It would be a fitting goodbye.

Green Day, Weezer and/or Fall Out Boy — The pop-punk heroes are touring Europe together next summer, and are free on June 28 between dates in Huddersfield and Dublin.

Foals — Perennial festival favourites, Foals have played Glasto five times now, the last of which was a raucous secret set. Could their sixth appearance be the biggest?

Arctic Monkeys — Too soon? It was only six years ago that Arctic Monkeys headlined Glastonbury, but you wouldn’t put it past them to make a triumphant return.

Coldplay — Chris Martin made a fleeting appearance playing guitar alongside Kylie on the Pyramid stage in 2019. Don’t count out him coming back with the rest of his band next summer.

The Kinks — They haven’t played together for 22 years, and traded insults in the press for decades, but Ray and Dave Davies are back together. In June 2018, they announced they were working on a new album and that they intended to play shows. What’s more, The Kinks were the first band to ever headline Glastonbury back in 1970. Could the planets align? The chances seem slim, although they are included among the bookies' favourites.

Ariana Grande
Getty Images for iHeartMedia

Ariana Grande — Glastonbury grows ever fonder of booking big pop acts, and at the moment they don’t come much bigger than Ariana Grande. She’s a possibility, for sure.

Blur — Damon Albarn and the gang played on stage together for the first time in four years back in March, and haven't ruled out reuniting again. Their 2009 Glastonbury set was one for the ages.

Oasis — It’s everyone’s favourite rumour: an Oasis reunion. It’s going to take something special for the brothers to put their (many) differences aside. Would a Glastonbury headline set be sufficient? For now, let’s just say definitely maybe.

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