We’d love to pretend that Glastonbury is all about the arts and music, but I’m afraid the celebrity spotting is of equal importance. There is no higher concentration of “famous people off the clock” in the world than on Worthy Farm the last weekend of June every year and though, obviously, one must act normal and pretend to be indifferent, bumping into one of them is the most exciting that can happen all festival.
You’ll notice the conspicuous absence of Britpop stars or early Noughties It girls: it hasn’t been a vintage year. None of Kate Moss, Alexa Chung, Nick Grimshaw and posse, Cara Delevingne, Pete Doherty or either Gallagher brother has been spotted by our contacts in the wild – a shocking result, given you can usually find them skulking about somewhere between the Pyramid and Other stages. But we kept our eyes peeled and we love to name drop, so no order, here’s who we saw.
We sat for 20 minutes next to Andrew Garfield on a picnic bench, looking like an off-duty cricket player in a navy baseball cap, before we realised who it was, went silent, and made things awkward enough for him to turn around and leave. Whoops.
Rumours of a Britney Spears cameo at Elton John’s show circulated all weekend and supposed sightings followed. Was it really her watching Guns N’ Roses on Saturday night? She was in London last week – and is famously a fan…
Elsewhere we saw Matty Healy in the hospitality area, looking bedraggled in a stripy shirt. Jonathan Bailey in the portaloo queue I in a straw hat and white t-shirt, looking fresh. Stormzy watching Aitch in white heart-shaped sunglasses. Louis Theroux heading into the thick of the Guns N’ Roses crowd wearing a grey balaclava, a grey baseball cap, only eyes and nose visible, with a big backpack on. Cate Blanchett looking chic, watching Shygirl. Peter Crouch looking fresh in the hospitality campsite. Emma Mackey in baggy black jeans marching toward the Pyramid Stage. Tilda Swindon wearing blue and walking from the Park Stage to the Other Stage. Olivia Bentley from Made in Chelsea in a skirt and a black hoodie. Paul McCartney at the side of the Pyramid Stage watching Foo Fighters. Ben Whishaw at the Park backstage bar. Princess Beatrice at the Park backstage bar. Billie Piper, Gemma Chan, a bewigged Lily James, Dominic Cooper, and Douglas Booth all dancing late late into the night also at the Park backstage bar on Sunday – most of them in silly hats for disguise.
And Holly Willoughby in a black fedora, cut-off jeans, a stripy Peruvian knit and huge sunglasses, walking out of the hospitality area towards Woodsies. Wonder what she made of all the Phillip Schofield flags – or the man walking in the opposite direction past her wearing a t-shirt with photo of Willoughby having a flag with the quote, “Are you okay?”