One of the world’s biggest and best-known music festivals is back with a bang this summer. Known for its eclectic music and often muddy fields, the United Kingdom’s Glastonbury Festival has provided some of pop music’s highest highs over the years, from David Bowie at the zenith of his powers in 1971 to Pulp’s triumphant, last-minute headlining performance in 1995. From the list of artists in this year’s line-up, 2022 will be no different.

Music fans’ expectations will be even higher this year due to the fact that the festival has not been held since 2019 due to COVID-19 concerns, bringing the anticipation of a return to a fever pitch.

As usual, the festival will be covered on TV and radio in its entirety by the BBC. So what does the corporation have in store for us this year? Here’s a rundown of what to expect from Glastonbury Festival 2022.

A Birthday Celebration for Paul McCartney

     BBC

Having turned 80 last weekend, Paul McCartney will become the oldest Glastonbury headliner in history this Saturday when he closes out the day’s events on Glastonbury’s famous Pyramid Stage. It won’t be the former Beatles’ first appearance at Glasto, having also headlined in 2004. This will be McCartney’s first large festival appearance since the release of Peter Jackson’s documentary film of the band’s final concert debuted in theaters earlier this year.

Expect McCartney to be on top form, having just completed a stadium tour of the United States last week.

Warming up the crowd earlier in the evening will be Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. They are expected to perform several new songs from their latest album, due to be released later this year. Also performing are Los Angeles’ Grammy-winning pop trio Haim, and West London rapper AJ Tracey.

Billie Eilish Makes Glasto History

     Vevo

The list of Pyramid Stage headliners is rounded out by Billie Eilish on Friday night and Kendrick Lamar on Sunday night. Fresh from her Golden Globe victory for Best Original Song in January, the 20-year-old Eilish will become the youngest headliner a day before McCartney’s appearance.

The singer made waves recently when she expressed surprise that Glastonbury would be held in the decidedly un-rock-n-roll environs of Somerset’s Worthy Farm. It is home to the Eavis family, who have played host to the festival since its inception. Eilish is currently on the European leg of a world tour to promote her second album, Happier Than Ever, released last July.

Meanwhile, Lamar is on a high at present, having performed at this year’s Super Bowl and released his latest album, Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, to widespread critical acclaim last month. Lamar was due to headline the festival in 2020 before the arrival of Covid nixed the plan.

Glastonbury Festival’s Other Stage

     NBC

The Glastonbury Festival isn’t all about the main stage, however. The huge variety of performing spaces available ensures something for everyone, regardless of their musical tastes. “If in doubt, just wander,” proclaim the festival’s organizers, and the enormity of the festival site, nestled in the folds of the Somerset Levels, certainly repays the advice.

The Other Stage will play host to Foals, Megan Thee Stallion, and Pet Shop Boys on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, respectively. All three have new singles out at the moment and will be worth watching, but Megan Thee Stallion’s set is particularly hotly anticipated. 2022 represents her first appearance at the festival. Her release earlier this year of new tracks “Sweetest Pie” and “Plan B” offer tantalizing glimpses of the material to appear on her second album, widely rumored to be slated for release before the end of the summer.

Elsewhere, Glastonbury old-timer, curator, and folk-punk legend Billy Bragg headlines the Left Field on Friday evening. Grammy-nominated soul singer Yola closes out the same space on Sunday night. Meanwhile, there are ample opportunities for EDM fans. In the 1980s and early 1990s, dance music fans were largely left out in the cold by Glastonbury, but Orbital’s famous set at the 1994 festival ushered in a new era of trance, techno, and house acts appearing at Worthy Farm. Carl Cox and Jon Hopkins are among the performers turning in sets at Arcadia. Glastonbury’s go-to venue for clubbers, Sonic, will feature sets from Fatboy Slim, drum ’n’ bass act Sasasas, and Australia’s Logic1000.

Fans of 1970s punk rock will be delighted to find a handful of bands from the period making an appearance. Chief among them are master mischief-makers The Damned, known for classic punk anthems such as “Smash It Up” and “New Rose,” who headline the Avalon Stage on Friday night. Also appearing are the Tom Robinson Band and Northern Ireland’s the Undertones.

How to Watch

BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds will broadcast Glastonbury Festival 2022 from June 22 through June 26.