Britney Spears rumoured for surprise Glastonbury 2023 appearance

NME

Britney Spears fans are speculating if the pop star will make a surprise appearance at this year’s Glastonbury Festival.

• READ MORE: Glastonbury 2023: the most agonising set clashes

The rumours first arose following a recent interview with Elton John, in which he teased that some special guests would be joining him for during his closing headline set on Sunday (June 25).

While he failed to share any details on the guests he has lined up, some fans were quick to speculate which potential artists could take to the stage.

Among the names at the forefront was pop icon Britney Spears. Although nothing has been confirmed yet, and Glasto-goers will have to wait until the final night of the festival to see which artists are set to join the ‘Rocketman’ singer, the rumours arose after they released the collaborative single ‘Hold Me Closer’ last August – a mashup of her 1992 track ‘The One’ and his 1972 hit ‘Tiny Dancer’, marking her first new music since her 13-year conservatorship ended.

The rumours then gathered momentum when she posted that she’d be “going shopping in London” during the week of the festival in a now-deleted Instagram post, with a number of fans on social media assuming she’d be joining Sir Elton on stage while in the UK.

Britney Spears “going shopping in london” next week?

The same week #Glastonbury is on?

The same week Elton is performing and promised to bring out some massive guests?

Would be HUGE if she did, it’s been over 6 years since she performed! pic.twitter.com/XQ1i4PChFp

— Leon Sjogren (@Leonsjogren) June 14, 2023

RUMOR: Britney Spears may perform at the Glastonbury Festival with Elton John, questioned about the presentation the corner said it has several surprises, 'I have guests and I can't say who they are’.

Britney said “she was going to London” last week. pic.twitter.com/RuV02gz4Gu

— B Spears Promo (@BSpearsPromo) June 20, 2023

RUMOR: Britney Spears may perform at the Glastonbury Festival with Elton John.

When questioned about the presentation he said it has several surprises, 'I have guests and I can't say who they are’.

Last week Britney said “she was going to London”. pic.twitter.com/aNK05uEpUw

— Crave Britney (@cravebritney) June 20, 2023

However, the ‘Toxic’ singer recently put a dampener on the prospect of a surprise appearance at this year’s Glasto with a post on social media. Taking to Instagram, she shared footage of her while on vacation in Cabo San Lucas.

Unless the images are her trying to throw fans off the scent – as she often posts images and videos from past months and years rather than the present – the post seems to prove that she may not be in her wellies as part of the festival crowd and, sadly, not set to hit the stage anytime soon.

Other artists rumoured to be joining Sir Elton include folk-rock icon Brandi Carlile and pop sensation Dua Lipa – both of which also joined him for his final US show last year.

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A post shared by River Red (@britneyspears)

Sir Elton is set to headline the Pyramid stage on the final day of the festival (Sunday June 25), other headliners include Arctic Monkeys (June 23) and Guns N’ Roses (June 24). The slot will mark the last of his extensive Farewell tour, which has seen him perform over 350 dates across five years.

Earlier this week, the ‘Candle In The Wind’ singer confirmed that the upcoming set will be unlike any of his past performances, and will kick off with a song he hasn’t played in a decade.

“I’m starting with a song I haven’t played for about 10 years, so we’ll see how it goes,” he began. “I’ve got the set list down, I’ve got rehearsal dates booked for the guest artists, so we just have to hope the weather will still be nice.”

“It’s a different show to what people have been seeing. On Farewell Yellow Brick Road, there’s quite a lot of deep cuts, it’s not all hits, and you’ve got to keep people interested…towards the end of the show all hell breaks loose,” he added.

Thousands of fans were present for festival organiser Emily Eavis opening the gates at Worthy Farm yesterday (Wednesday June 21) with this year’s line-up including headline performances from Guns N’ Roses, Elton John, and Arctic Monkeys, alongside the likes of Lizzo, Lana Del Rey, Måneskin, Fred Again.. and Cat Stevens, Manic Street Preachers, Wizkid, Lil Nas X, Chvrches and The War On Drugs and more.

Doubt was cast over Arctic Monkeys’ headline set however, when the band were first to cancel a show earlier this week due to frontman Alex Turner coming down with laryngitis. Eavis then said that she was confident that the band would be performing, but that they “have a couple of back-up plans” just in case.

When the full line-up with stage times were revealed last month, much speculation arose around an unknown band called The Churnups appearing on the bill at 6.15pm on the Friday of the festival, playing on the Pyramid Stage before Royal Blood.

The most common theories are that it will be Foo Fighters, or returning Britpop veterans Pulp. The rumour mill then seemed to spin in favour of Foos, after Dave Grohl teased fans with a message that mentioned “churning up” emotions.

Known for joining the band on stage, Rick Astley also responded about the Foos rumours in a new interview with NME.

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