Glastonbury 2023 – latest: Elton John says thank-you to festival audience after farewell UK performance

Earlier this year, Mark Beaumont (currently on site at Worthy Farm) wrote an incredibly moving interview with Ian Broudie of The Lightning Seeds, who just closed their Glastonbury set with the inevitable “Three Lions”, Broudie’s football anthem with Frank Skinner and David Baddiel.

Have a read here:

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has been spotted at Glastonbury, further stoking rumours that the band will make a surprise appearance on stage tonight.

A mysterious band called The ChurnUps are scheduled to perform on the Pyramid Stage tonight and many are convinced that they are the Foo Fighters under an alias.

A Foo Fighters fanpage tweeted a photo of Grohl on-site on Friday afternoon:

FLO more than earning the Destiny’s Child comparisons in a set packed with tight harmonies and soaring riffs, girl band co-ordinated outfits and sexy-as-hell dance moves.

Also treated us to a cover of Jamelia’s “Superstar” and some retro chairography, which is always a win in my eyes – bring back chairography!

You can’t get into Glastonbury without a ticket – but the demand to be a part of the Worthy Farm fun is so high that some people are trying to get in by sneakier means.

While some people have been digging “Great Escape-style” tunnels, others have been using grappling hooks to enter the festival without paying.

Peony Hirwani has the full story:

Oh hey FLO! The three-piece R&B group, made of Jorja Douglas, Stella Quaresma and Renée Downer, are currently on the Woodsies stage, marking their Glastonbury debut.

We’re back with Flag Watch 2023 – spotted by Adam White, here’s a flag emblazoned with the McLovin ID card from Superbad.

And just underneath, there’s a second flag with the phrase “Flags Sold Here” – a flag and a savvy piece of marketing all in one.

Over at the Park Stage, jazz shaman Alabaster de Plume begins with a strong missive that involves thanking the audience and inviting them to leave their ego behind.

“Here you are and I see you and I get the f**k over myself…,” says the saxophonist, whose angular spiritual explorations are a necessary and often intense balm for Friday afternoon. “I love that you’re here and you’re exactly who you are… it’s a tough world to live in and you are living.”

That sort of hippie talk may raise eyebrows but if you choose to go along with him, his radical acceptance rituals of drums, chunky bass, existential intoning, and sometimes romantic, sometimes squalling sax can be more than rewarding, as it is the beating sunshine today.

For most music artists, there’s no stage more coveted than one at Glastonbury.

Carly Rae Jepsen will make her debut there on the Other Stage this afternoon, and she has spoken out about her excitement for the gig.

Speaking ahead of her set at 3.45pm, the “Call Me Maybe” hitmaker said the opportunity to perform at Glastonbury is “one of those bucket list, lifetime experiences”.

Maanya Sachdeva has the full story:

“This song is about my terrible terrible terrible taste in men,” Peters laments at the midpoint of her Pyramid Stage set, which gets by on pure pop-punk bravado. “Who’s the rock star now?” she yells to the crowd at the climax of pretentious artiste kiss-off “Not Another Rockstar”.

The teens in the crowd go wild. Peters is still only 23, and her banter is a bit of a tell (“Who here is already wasted!?”), but there’s a sweetness to her energy — like a high school prom queen who would never dare shove a geek in their locker.”

Peters’ second album, The Good Witch, is out today – you can read The Independent’s four-star review here.

Glastonbury’s official Twitter page has shared a reminder for everyone on the site to keep drinking water, available at more than 800 points around the festival.

“A reminder that all of our water is drinking water, and we have 800+ taps with the same quality water as your taps at home,” a tweet reads, adding: “Please refill your bottles for free throughout the Festival to stay hydrated!”

And if you’re not at Worthy Farm and reading this from elsewhere, consider this your reminder to get some water in you anyway – it’s good for you!