Glastonbury 2024 highlights: Coldplay dazzles, unexpected celebs and special guests

The year's Glastonbury Festival is over in a flash and what a weekend it was. More than 200,000 revellers packed into Worthy Farm to enjoy days of sensational music, raves and headline sets from Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA.

It was a Glastonbury Festival full of surprises, secret sets and cameos and it's fair to say fans loved them all. Some rumoured sets from Britpop legends Pulp or even Kings of Leon turned out to be nothing more than online speculation and Chinese whispers, but it was nevertheless, an epic festival.

Here are the highlights from Glastonbury Festival 2024.

Coldplay's record-breaking and memorising set

It was 25 years since their Glastonbury Festival debut and with five headline performances now under their belt, they had to make it something memorable. Even casual fans or even those who dismiss Coldplay couldn't help but be taken aback by the lights in the crowd sparked by revellers' LED wristbands, countless fireworks and confetti cannons firing over the crowd.

The gig was jam-packed full of classics, namely Yellow, Clocks, Adventure of a Lifetime, The Scientist, Paradise, Viva La Vida, Higher Power. Their cameos of Michael J Fox playing guitar and Little Simz previewing a new single were also memorable highlights.

Even the band's special guest, singer and pianist Victoria Canal deserves a mention. She was born with one fully functioning arm due to amniotic band syndrome having restricted blood-supply to the other in the womb.

But she gave a passionate and stunning performance as they performed Paraside. Martin peered over Canal's piano, they both sang "And so lying underneath those stormy skies. She'd say, 'Oh, I know the sun is meant to rise."

It was a headline performance that shows why Coldplay are the band they are.

'Dream come true' for Dua Lipa

Dua Lipa said she was living out a dream as she performed hit after hit during her headline Glastonbury Festival slot.

The pop star described the experience as "the maddest night of my life" as she treated revellers to a selection of her popular tracks, including These Walls, Break My Heart, Hallucinate, Electricity, Physical and Don't Start Now.

The 28-year-old opened and closed her Pyramid stage performance with tracks from her third studio album Radical Optimism, kicking off with Training Season and finishing with Houdini, as fireworks shot through the air.

"This has been a massive dream come true," she said, before adding "Glastonbury, I love you".

During her one hour and 45 minute set, which saw impressive choreography and several outfit changes, Dua Lipa noted several times that she had "manifested" the performance.

Louis Tomlinson hosting an England game

I am not making this one up because it genuinely happened. The One Direction star delighted Glastonbury attendees by bringing along a television to watch England play Slovakia in Euro 2024.

The singer attempted to watch the game in the festival's hospitality section but after getting a bad reception instead nipped down to a nearby Argos to purchase his own TV and generator. He set up the TV in the camping section and hundreds of people gathered to watch England nearly crash out of the Euros before scoring two crucial goals.

Louis Tomlinson told The Guardian: "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."

It was a DIY fix to Glastonbury Festival's stance that they won't be screening any Euros games at Worthy Farm.

Tom Cruise among celebrities enjoying Glasto

Tom Cruise said Coldplay's headline performance was "awesome" as he partied on a raised platform with Mission Impossible co-star Simon Pegg and actress Gillian Anderson. The three were captured singing and dancing to "Don't Look Back in Anger" by Oasis ahead of Coldplay's performance.

While Simon Pegg and director Edgar Wright were interviewed by Rolling Stone, actress Florence Pugh made a surprise appearance. Reacting to the 20th anniversary of Shaun of the Dead, she said she "grew up" with the film.

Rock stars Noel Gallagher and Dave Grohl enjoyed the weekend as they watched various acts while Anya Taylor-Joy, Minke, Cara Delevingne and Stella McCartney were spotted during Glastonbury Festival.

Secret sets

The secret set is one that many will speculate over for several weeks and months and see fans studying various acts' tour dates for a Glastonbury-shaped gap. Kasabian announced they would be the surprise act on the Woodsies Stage hours before and led to thousands of revellers flocking to the stage.

There were so many that the area was closed off almost an hour ahead of the group's start time as too many people turned up. It is fair to say they delivered an electric set which saw frontman Sergio Pizzorno crowd-surfing.

Surprise cameos

Some rumoured sets from Britpop legends Pulp or even Kings of Leon turned out to be nothing more than online speculation and Chinese whispers. But there were many musicians who swung by Worthy Farm to help out their friends.

Damon Albarn made a surprise appearance with Bombay Bicycle Club's, urging fans to make their voices heard in the upcoming UK election. On the Pyramid Stage, Fatboy Slim picked up a bass guitar and joined his former Housemartins bandmate Paul Heaton for a run-through of their 80s classic Happy Hour.

Michael J Fox made an emotional cameo when Coldplay headlined Glastonbury Festival on Saturday night and he was clearly having the time of his life as they performed one of their hit tracks. Sam Smith joined Disclosure for a live performance while Sophie Ellis Bextor performed Murder on the Dancefloor at Peggy Gou's set at the Park Stage.

Seventeen wows Worthy Farm

Despite being the first K-pop act to appear at Glastonbury Festival, Seventeen confidently strolled onto the Pyramid Stage and delivered an electric and crowd-pleasing set.

"We are just extremely honoured to be here" they said as they took to the stage and later unveiled a flag with the message "Seventeen right here making history at Glastonbury". Fans at the Pyramid Stage, many of whom likely waiting for headliner Dua Lipa, were thrilled with some revellers streaming for the band.

There's no doubt they will have created some new fans and left some Googling who they are. The reaction online was similar with many impressed with their routines, songs and overall performance.

Many fans shared they were "proud" to see the huge band make their Worthy Farm debut. One shared: "I am so proud to see Seventeen at Glastonbury! What a performance".

The epic flags

Love them or hate them, wacky flags are an integral part of the Glastonbury Festival atmosphere. Whether it's supporting a favourite football team, sending a message or trying to embarrass a friend, revellers will splash out to make sure their flags stand out.

This year's festival was no different with many flags scattered across the crowds at Worthy Farm.

Palestine flags were arguably the most common flags seen across the site, but there were flags dedicated to Coronation Street character Gail Platt, the awful Wonka event in Glasgow, politically inspired flag that said "No one had Sky TV in the 80s" and "the nation of Whales" seeing a red whale on the white and green flag.

Avril Lavigne rolls back the years

The Canadian artist wowed the crowd at Worthy Farm as she kicked off her set on the Other Stage with her popular track Girlfriend. Dressed in a tartan skirt, fishnet tights and a black and red jacket, Avril performed to a packed audience in Somerset on the final day of the festival.

Accompanied by a band, she later thrilled the massive crowd with her 2002 debut single Complicated, with The Guardian reporting that security had to prevent more people from entering the field.

Avril expressed to the Worthy Farm crowd her fondness for performing in the UK. Prior to playing her song Losing Grip, she asked: "This song is off my first album called Let Go, does anyone out there have a copy of my first album? "

The 39 year old delighted festival-goers with performances of hits like Here's To Never Growing Up, My Happy Ending, He Wasn't, and What The Hell during her set. Viewers tuning in from home via the BBC seemed to echo the sentiment of those at the event, suggesting that Avril Lavigne deserved a spot on the more prestigious Pyramid Stage.

Baby Finlay upstages Annie Mac DJ

A 10-week-old baby stole the show as Annie Mac opened the Other Stage at Glastonbury Festival.

Baby Finlay was met with cheers as he appeared on the big screen multiple times while Irish DJ Mac opened Worthy Farm's second biggest stage with an hour-long set of dance hits from 11.30am on Friday.

Wearing his striped one-piece pyjamas and ear protectors, the 10-week-old was met with a rapturous reception from atop his father Tom Kay's shoulders as special effects on stage saw his image turn into a hallucinatory dance visual.

"Oh my god, this baby, what a little legend," Mac said to the crowd of thousands as Finlay appeared again.

Sign language singer steals the show during Olivia Dean's set at Glastonbury

A sign language interpreter has stolen the show during Olivia Dean's set at Glastonbury. Clare Edwards featured on the BBC's coverage of the five-day festival and fans were quick to give her a shoutout online.

During Olivia Dean's performance, fan James Buttler wrote they "only have eyes for the wonderful lady signing and dancing for the deaf". He went on to say that "they are always brilliant every year".

And Riley Taylor was equally besotted, writing: "BIG SHOUT OUT TO this sign language interpreter of Clare Edwards (on the Pyramid stage stream on BBC iPlayer!