Kendrick Lamar kicks off debut Glastonbury set as he brings festival to a close

The US rapper, 35, opened his set with a group of male dancers all dressed in white shirts and black trousers with a red robe on their arms as female dancers wearing red flowing dresses danced through them.

As they stilled, Lamar stepped up to the mic with what appeared to be a crown of thorns on his head to perform his opening song of United In Grief.

He has so far treated the packed crowd of adoring fans to a selection of his hit song including Money Trees, Backseat Freestyle, B**** Don’t Kill My Vibe, m.A.A.d city and King Kunta.

As they audience chanted the opening lyrics to his track Swimming Pools (Drank) as he watched on he asked them “Glastonbury are you ready?”

The female dancers later returned to the stage to flow elegantly around Lamar as he rapped Count Me Out and red light beamed down upon them.

Lamar told the crowd he liked “where the energy is at right now” as they continued to chant and dance to his headline set.

The US rapper added that he wanted to “check the temperature” of the audience by getting each section to scream back at him, causing rapturous applause.

After amplifying the energy he performed his track i followed by Alright.

It was announced in 2020 that the Grammy-winning singer would headline Glastonbury’s 50th anniversary but the festival has faced two years of delays due to the pandemic.

Ahead of Lamar’s set, pop star Lorde took to the Pyramid Stage to deliver a set which moved from melodic moments to high octane energy.

She also called on women to access their inner wisdom during the set in the wake of the US Supreme Court’s decision to end the country’s constitutional right to abortion.

Ahead of Lorde, the Pyramid Stage hosted rock band Elbow, who were joined by a giant puppet of a 10-year-old Syrian and a choir of refugees.

Meanwhile Diana Ross reeled off hit after hit when she took to the stage earlier in the day for the Sunday teatime legends slot.

She kicked off her set with 1980 classic I’m Coming Out drawing rapturous applause while wearing a sparkly dress with a matching white cape and headpiece ensemble.

The soul singer treated the crowd to a selection of classics including Baby Love, You Can’t Hurry Love, Stop! In The Name Of Love and at the conclusion of Chain Reaction pink confetti was launched from the stage.

She also performed I Will Survive and Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, which she released a hit version of in 1970.

Earlier on Sunday, George Ezra confirmed he was the secret guest on the John Peel stage on Sunday, three days after pulling out of Tinderbox Festival in Denmark due to a “nasty bout of laryngitis”.

Ezra got his set off to an electrifying start, walking onto the John Peel Stage to Anyone For You before launching into a rendition of Cassy O’ with hits Hold My Girl, Paradise and Blame It On Me also featuring.

The Hertfordshire singer-songwriter departed the stage to rapturous applause following a rendition of Shotgun.

On Saturday evening, Sir Paul McCartney wowed the crowds with a show-stopping set list which included surprise guest appearances from Bruce Springsteen and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl.

As he took to the Pyramid Stage, the former Beatle became the festival’s oldest solo headliner, a week after he celebrated his 80th birthday.

During his more than two-hour set, he played a range of classic songs including Hey Jude, Blackbird, Live And Let Die, Ob-La-Di, Ob‐La‐Da and Get Back.

The electrifying show was further amplified as he introduced Grohl to the stage to sing I Saw Her Standing There and Band On The Run, marking Grohl’s first public performance since the death of his Foo Fighters bandmate, drummer Taylor Hawkins.

Springsteen took to the stage to play Glory Days and I Wanna Be Your Man alongside Sir Paul.

As part of the encore, through special technology which could isolate John Lennon’s vocals from old recordings, Sir Paul was able to duet The Beatles’ track I’ve Got A Feeling alongside his former bandmate on the Pyramid Stage.

Billie Eilish headlined the Pyramid Stage on Friday night, becoming Glastonbury’s youngest ever solo headliner.