Emily Eavis confident Arctic Monkeys will play Glastonbury but they “have a couple of back-up plans”

Emily Eavis has said she’s confident the Arctic Monkeys will play Glastonbury, but that they “have a couple of back-up plans” just in case.

• READ MORE: Check out the full Glastonbury 2023 line-up and stage times here

The band cancelled their Dublin show slated for June 20 due to frontman Alex Turner dealing with an acute case of laryngitis. The announcement came just days ahead of their scheduled headline performance at this year’s Glastonbury on Friday (June 23).

Eavis, the festival’s co-organiser alongside her father, told reporters at the gates of the festival’s opening day (June 21) that she believes the band will still headline on Friday despite Turner’s illness.

“I think we are going to be all right. They’ve cancelled that, he’s recovering. I’m sure we’re going to be all right,” Eavis said (via The Times).

She added: “We’ve got a couple of back-up plans if not. We’ve always got back-up plans for everything.”

This year’s set would mark the third time Arctic Monkeys have headlined Glastonbury, with their first time being in 2007 and their second in 2013.

When asked about the speculated appearance of the Foo Fighters, and if they could take the headline slot if Arctic Monkeys cancelled, Eavis said: “I wouldn’t like to give anything away. You’ve got to allow the surprise to happen. It’s all about the surprise.”

This year’s edition features headline performances from Guns N’ Roses and Elton John, alongside the likes of Lizzo, Lana Del Rey, Måneskin, Fred Again.., Cat Stevens, Manic Street Preachers, Wizkid, Lil Nas X, Chvrches and The War On Drugs.

Check back at NME here for the latest news, reviews, interviews, photos and more from Glastonbury 2023.