Glastonbury boss Emily Eavis says lack of female headliners is due to a ‘pipeline problem’

Glastonbury boss Emily Eavis has spoken out about the controversial 2023 festival line-up, which contains a serious lack of female headliners, particularly on the Pyramid stage.

She explained to The Guardian that a female headliner – which fans believe to be Taylor Swift – pulled out due to a change in touring plans. And due to the festival’s choice of replacement for her, we are left with a lineup of all-white, all-male headliners for this year’s event.

Arctic Monkeys are set to headline Glastonbury on Friday, which will be their third time closing the Pyramid stage, while Guns N’ Roses will helm the stage on Saturday.

Eavis has blamed the lack of female headliners as a “pipeline problem” in the industry. “This starts way back with the record companies, radio. I can shout as loud as I like but we need to get everyone on board,” she explains.

Lizzo is set to open for Guns N’Roses, and technically has joint headline billing with the rockers, but will not hold the headline set herself.

“She could totally headline,” Eavis has said. “Many of the artists could. But the headline slot had already been promised to someone else.”

Lana Del Rey is also set to headline the Other stage, and we’ll see debut performances Eurovision winners Måneskin, the Brit award-winning girl band Flo and the US country stars The Chicks.

But some still feel disappointed by the lack of female musicians in the top billing performing slots. Fans have called the line-up the “biggest disappointment of my life” finding the lack of female headliners “grim and exhausting”. 

Another tweeted: Yea not only all male but all white, and either pensioners or middle age. @emilyeavis what happened to diversity. So so disappointing.”