Glastonbury 2024's best viral moments

Glastonbury 2024 has come to an end and and the festival clean up at Worthy Farm in Somerset is already under way. There have been mixed reviews for headliners Dua Lipa, Coldplay, and SZA as well as criticism of festival organisers for putting popular acts such as Sugababes and Avril Lavigne on smaller stages where fans overcrowded the areas in order to see them. Not to mention a few technical glitches.

But hidden among the headlines, Glastonbury 2024 was full of Easter Eggs for fans. Here are some of the best bits of the festival that weren't in the line-up.

Louis Tomlinson's football screening

Glastonbury organisers announced ahead of the festival that they would not screen the Euro 2024 matches due to scheduling clashes with live acts. So former One Direction star Louis Tomlinson took matters into his own hands England’s last-16 match against Slovakia on Sunday.

Tomlinson had planned to watch the game backstage, but due to a problem with the WIFI connection prompted him to buy a large flat-screen TV, a generator and an internet dongle and set them up in the campsite in order to view the match, with many other fans gathering round.

The singer told the Guardian: “It’s the second screen I’ve bought. The first got cracked. I wasn’t going to take credit for it because it looked like we were going to lose in normal time, but now that we’ve equalised I’m happy to.”

Michael J Fox

Coldplay invited Back To The Future star Michael J. Fox onto the Pyramid Stage to perform with them during their headline slot on Saturday night. Chris Martin told the crowd: "Why we're in a band is because of watching Back to the Future.

"So thank you to our hero forever and one of the most amazing people on earth, Mr. Michael J Fox." In the hit 1985 film, Fox's character Marty McFly travels back in time to 1955 plays guitar and sings at his parent's high school prom.

Fox, 63, played guitar on stage with Coldplay during their hit Fix You and said afterwards on social media that the experience, in front of the 10,000-strong crowd was "f**king mind blowing".

And the Teen Wolf star was not the only VIP guest watching Coldplay. Tom Cruise, Gillian Anderson and Simon Pegg were all in the crowd on Saturday night.

Baby Finlay

Finlay became the surprise star of Glastonbury after he was caught on the big screens during Annie Mac's DJ set opening the festival on Friday. The 10-week-old baby was at the festival with mother Rosie, sister Sofia and father Tom. He was caught on camera by the festival producers during the DJ set on The Other Stage wearing his stripy pyjamas and ear-defenders.

And while Finlay did not look particularly happy to be there - the crowds loved him, showering him with cheers and applause.

Spice Girl Mel C and Tilda Swinton

The run-up to Glastonbury the last few years has been packed with rumours that the Spice Girls would be reuniting to perform at the festival. Alas, yet again the rumour was not a reality. But regular Glastonbury performer Mel C did make yet another surprise appearance.

Sporty Spice popped up during Orbital's set on the Park stage on Saturday night. The electronic duo opened with their song Deeper, which was introduced by Hollywood actor and star of The Beach Tilda Swinton. Wearing a long white dress and illuminated glasses she performed the lyrics in front of the dance band.

Then later in the set Mel C popped on stage for their track Spicy, which samples Spice Girls songs including Wannabe. Sporty Spice was also wearing light-up specs, a white tracksuit and sang the lyrics while Orbital played the track behind her.

Shania Twain

Country star Shania Twain was performing in the Legends slot on the Pyramid Stage. But there was a chorus of That Don't Impress Me Much on social media from fans watching on TV, as they complained sounds problems were affecting her performance.

Avril Lavigne

Avril Lavigne performed on the Other Stage on Sunday. The Complicated singer sang hits from her debut album Let Go, 22 years on from its release. Dressed in a tiny kilt, with biker boots and ripped tights the 39-year-old S8er Boi star looked almost exactly the same as did when she burst onto the chart scene with Complicated back in 2002.

Nostalgic fans piled in to the small area to see Lavigne perform, prompting complaints it was "criminal" that she was not given a slot on the main stage.

Among those who joined the crowd to see Lavigne were Hollywood stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Cara Delevingne, who were spotted enjoying themselves in the VIP viewing areas throughout the festival.

Read more: Glastonbury

• Glastonbury attendees criticise organisers for ‘dangerous’ staging mishaps (Independent, 3 min read)

• Glastonbury 2024 fans say it's 'criminal' and festival 'messed up' as Avril Lavigne performs Manchester Evening News, 2 min read)

• Shania Twain at Glastonbury 2024 review: this legends slot had enough cowboy yeehaw to power a city(Evening Standard, 3 min read)