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Arcade Fire confirm Glastonbury Festival headline slot 2014

The Canadian rockers will be playing at Worth Farm in Somerset next June

Jess Denham
Friday 20 December 2013 07:13 EST
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Win Butler and his Canadian band Arcade Fire will play Glastonbury next June
Win Butler and his Canadian band Arcade Fire will play Glastonbury next June (Getty Images)

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It is the UK festival that consistently has music fans scrambling for tickets and next summer, Glastonbury will be welcoming Canadian indie-rock outfit Arcade Fire as headliners.

The band revealed their headlining status by posting a picture of the line-up on their official Twitter profile.

Organiser Emily Eavis later confirmed the news.

The inventive image showed a green board with a list of four tour dates chalked onto it, Glastonbury included. Scrabble tiles had been used to spell out 'Arcade Fire' underneath.

Other gigs announced included Rock In Roma, Villa Franca Di Verona and a date at Marlay Park in Dublin.

"We're very pleased to announce that Arcade Fire will headline the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2014 on Friday 27th June," a statement on the festival’s website read.

Arcade Fire’s fourth album, Reflektor, topped the UK Official Albums Chart in November, sparking rumours that they would be booked for Glastonbury.

Frontman Win Butler told Zane Lowe during a Radio 1 interview on Thursday that the band consider Glastonbury "a communal rite of passage". "Just on a musical level, we're super-excited to strap on our wellies and let it rip," he said.

Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis promised in September that all three headline acts for 2014 would be newcomers to the event, which will take place as usual at Worthy Farm in Somerset.

"They're three bands who haven't played Glastonbury, and that's important," he told NME. "There aren't many bands left who haven't played the festival and before we run out I'd like to persuade the ones on my wish list to come down. I think I've managed that with these three."

Current chart-topper Lily Allen self-confirmed last month that she has been booked to perform on the final day of next June’s event.

Other acts rumoured to appear include Daft Punk, Kanye West, Prince and Fleetwood Mac.

Last year’s festival was headlined by the Rolling Stones, Mumford & Sons and Arctic Monkeys.

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