Glastonbury 2023: Latest news, weather forecast, BBC schedule and lineup including Elton John

The gates to Glastonbury 2023 will open tomorrow (Wednesday 21 June) at 8am, officially launching the start of this year’s festival.

Thousands of music fans will flood the fields of Worthy Farm, Somerset, and set up camp for the next five days, to see headliners Arctic Monkeys, Guns N’ Roses and Elton John, along with hundreds of other artists.

The weather for this year’s festival is predicted to be a mixture of sun and rain, after a month’s worth of rain fell in the UK last weekend.

Forecasters say higher temperatures of 27C could be reached later in the week, but the first few days are currently expected to be grey, with some rain and highs of 23C.

Arctic Monkeys fans were alarmed this week after the Sheffield-formed rock band were forced to cancel the last show before their Friday headline performance on the Pyramid Stage, after frontman Alex Turner was diagnosed with acute laryngitis.

Live coverage of Glastonbury Festival 2023 will be aired by the BBC across TV, BBC Radio, Sounds and iPlayer. This year, broadcaster has also launched a brand new channel, Pyramid Stage – Signed, which will feature British Sign Language performances of every show on the main stage.

Glastonbury 2023 talking points

• 30,000 steps a day and ‘Glasto Lip’: What it’s like to work at Glastonbury Festival

• Elton John drops hints about surprise guests in ‘brand new’ Glastonbury headline set

• Full lineup and stage times for Glastonbury 2023

• See the latest weather forecast for Worthy Farm

The 22 greatest Glastonbury performances ever, from Beyoncé to Paul McCartney

14:59 , Roisin O'Connor

Ahead of the festival’s return to Worthy Farm, Mark Beaumont picks some of Glastonbury’s greatest ever music moments

The 22 greatest Glastonbury performances ever

The earthy magic and lawless energy of being a child at Glastonbury festival

14:31 , Roisin O'Connor

Adam White recalls the years he was more interested in seeing The Corrs than Courtney Love, and when the colours, noise and fire-breathing spiders gripped his imagination

The earthy magic and lawless energy of being a child at Glastonbury

Glastonbury 2023 lineup: Who is headlining this year’s music festival?

13:45 , Roisin O'Connor

30,000 steps a day and ‘Glasto Lip’: What it’s like to work at Glastonbury Festival

13:26 , Roisin O'Connor

Glastonbury is back. This week sees the UK’s biggest music festival return for another anticipated event at Worthy Farm.

For a five-day period from Wednesday 21 June to Sunday 25 June, the Glastonbury site in Somerset is playing host to a number of the world’s biggest music acts, including headliners Arctic Monkeys, Guns N’ Roses, and Elton John.

Ahead of the festival, The Independent spoke with Niki Green, one of the stewards stationed at the gates of Glastonbury, for an insider’s perspective on what goes on behind the scenes.

My colleague Louis Chilton reports:

30,000 steps a day and ‘Glasto Lip’: What it’s like to work at Glastonbury Festival

Elton John drops hints about surprise guests in ‘brand new’ Glastonbury headline set

12:40 , Roisin O'Connor

Elton John has dropped hints about his forthcoming headline performance at Glastonbury Festival.

The 76-year-old musician, who is currently playing the final leg of his much-delayed Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour in Europe, will headline the Pyramid Stage on Worthy Farm on Sunday (25 June) night.

The set, which is scheduled to stretch over two hours in length, marks not only John’s first time playing Glastonbury, but his final ever UK tour date.

Speaking in a new interview with BBC Radio 1, the “Rocket Man” singer let slip some more clues about his “brand new” set, which he said will heavily focus on hits.

“I’m starting with a song I haven’t played for about 10 years, so we’ll see how it goes,” John told Clara Amfo.

Elton John hints at surprise guests in ‘brand new’ Glastonbury headline set

Full lineup and stage times for Glastonbury

12:20 , Roisin O'Connor

It might not be quite the same as being amongst the fields of festival flags, but if you missed out on tickets, there are still plenty of ways to tune into Glastonbury festival from home.

Live sets from Worthy Farm will be broadcast on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds throughout the festival, which runs from Wednesday 21 – Sunday 25 June.

Coverage will be brought to audiences by presenters such as Jack Saunders, Clara Amfo, Jo Whiley and Lauren Laverne who will be joined by guests and artists at the festival.

BBC iPlayer’s dedicated Glastonbury channel will be live from Friday 23 June – Sunday 25 June (12pm–late), presenting 40 hours of coverage including live performances, preview programmes and more

The channel will feature the biggest sets from the Pyramid, Other, West Holts, John Peel and Park Stages.

Check out all the details here:

How to watch the BBC’s live Glastonbury coverage

What’s the weather looking like for Glastonbury 2023?

11:43 , Roisin O'Connor

Glastonbury revellers are no doubt hoping the weather holds out for this year’s festival, after a month’s worth of rain fell in the UK last weekend.

You can find the latest forecast here:

Glastonbury weather forecast – all the updates you need

Welcome to Glastonbury 2023!

10:47 , Roisin O'Connor

Hello and welcome to The Independent’s liveblog of Glastonbury 2023.

As is tradition, I’ll be manning the liveblog with help from our incredible editorial team, while our intrepid reviewers and reporters head to Worthy Farm, Somerset for the main event.

Stay tuned for the latest news, updates, gossip, pictures and video, plus reviews of this year’s headliners – Arctic Monkeys, Guns N’ Roses and Elton John, and other highlights.