Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis confirmed on BBC Radio 4's PM programme on August 14 that all three 2027 headline slots are booked, while directly denying that Madonna is one of them. "No, it's definitely not Madonna, I'll tell you that," she said. She declined to say whether Taylor Swift is one of the three, laughing off the question instead.
Eavis was more forthcoming about the lineup's shape than about the rumors surrounding it. "We have got three headliners and we're very excited about it, it's all coming together really well," she said, adding a warning about the speculation that fills the gap before an official announcement: "Pretty much 95 per cent of the stories about Glastonbury you read are not true, and rumours are pretty much always wrong."
The festival sat out 2026 as a fallow year to let the ground at Worthy Farm rest, and it returns for its next edition June 23-27, 2027. Glastonbury typically waits until closer to the event to name its headliners.
Speculation around Madonna had built after she teased "something bigger" for next summer on The Graham Norton Show in June; asked whether it would happen in the UK, she gave little away, saying only, "It could be. Why do I have to tell you everything?" She was also rumoured for Glastonbury in 2024 before those talks fell through, and the latest chatter picked up around the release of her new album, Confessions II, and continued as her Kylie Minogue collaboration Love Sensation notched her best UK chart placement in 17 years.
Madonna isn't the only name swirling around next year's bill. Early bookies' favourites included Sam Fender, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Rihanna and Little Simz, alongside Harry Styles, Radiohead, Fontaines D.C., Muse and the Rolling Stones, whose members have hinted at a possible return to touring in 2027. Robbie Williams' announcement of two outdoor shows the week after the festival fueled talk he could slot into the Sunday Legends slot, one he's previously said he'd "slaughter" if offered; Duran Duran have said they'd only play if allowed to headline, while Brian May has ruled out a Queen appearance entirely.
The most recent edition of Glastonbury was headlined by The 1975, Neil Young and Olivia Rodrigo, with sets from Charli XCX, Wolf Alice, Rod Stewart, Doechii and Kneecap. The festival's return next June joins the rest of this year's dates on the festival tracker, alongside the rest of MusicSuey's pop coverage.
The facts
- Emily Eavis confirmed all three 2027 headline slots are booked
- She said definitively that Madonna will not headline
- She declined to confirm or deny Taylor Swift as a headliner
- Glastonbury sat out 2026 as a fallow year to rest the site
- The festival returns June 23-27, 2027
- Eavis said 95% of Glastonbury rumours reported in the press are not true
- Other rumoured 2027 names include Ed Sheeran, Rihanna, Harry Styles and the Rolling Stones
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