Beyoncé brought Glastonbury to a bootylicious climax on the Pyramid Stage in 2011 and fans get to relive the iconic performance this evening as the music festival virtually celebrates its 50th anniversary
Pop sensation Beyoncé Knowles fulfilled her lifelong dream when she got the chance to perform at Glastonbury Music Festival in 2011.
The Single Ladies hitmaker, 38, made her debut at one of the world’s biggest live music events nine years ago and she is back as a Glastonbury 2020 headliner, thanks to the virtual line-up put together by the BBC.
Beyoncé’s 90-minute 2011 headline set list was made up of a mixture of her own solo hits and some fan-favourites from her time in Destiny’s Child, in a medley which also gave a nod to Lady Gaga as she perfumed their pop duet Telephone.
Speaking to a sea of screaming fans crammed in front of the main Pyramid stage, Beyoncé said: “I want you all to know right now you are witnessing my dream.
Beyoncé is set to headline Glastonbury 2020 as BBC revisit her iconic performance as part of their virtual 50th anniversary celebrations (Image: Corbis via Getty Images)
“I always wanted to be a rock star and tonight we are all rock stars… I want you to get lost in this music tonight.
“I still can’t believe I’m performing at Glastonbury.”
According to NME, Beyonce’s set list was approved by Chris Martin ahead of her performance, with her describing the Coldplay frontman as “the master of this”.
The 17-song set list, which included her well-known hits including Naughty Girl, End Of Time and Halo, also featured two stunning covers as she performed her own version of Prince’s The Beautiful Ones and Kings Of Leon’s Sex On Fire.Safer Online TipsThis Simple Trick Will Block All Ads On Your Windowsby TaboolaBeyonce’s Glasto performance is still widely regarded as one of the best headline sets ever seen at Worthy Farm (Image: PA)
Kings of Leon frontman Caleb Followill loved her cover of Sex On Fire so much that he went on the record to say: “Beyonce made me masturbate to my own song.”
Meanwhile, her headline set came three years after her husband Jay-Z proved the doubters wrong with a set that helped put hip-hop on the Glastonbury map.
Beyonce’s Glasto performance is still widely regarded as one of the best headline sets ever seen at Worthy Farm.
Beyoncé gave a subtle nod to pal Lady Gaga during her 90-minute performance at Glastonbury (Image: Getty Images for AT&T)
The Guardian’s Alexis Petridis described her set as having “fireworks, slick choreography and all the hits”, with the writer adding: “Beyonce didn’t put a foot wrong during her Glastonbury set.”
Tim Chester of NME wrote that Beyonce’s performance had proved that “in terms of Glasto moments on the big stages at least – this was the year of pop”.
The coronavirus pandemic may have put the music festival on hold this year, but that will not stop fans enjoying themselves this weekend.
Glastonbury may not be happening for real, but the BBC have given Queen B her second Worthy Farm headline slot this year.
Fans will have the chance to be blown away by The Crazy In Love singer’s iconic performance once again this weekend.
BBC iPlayer has a dedicated Glastonbury channel for the whole weekend, which will hopefully make it quick and easy to find our favourite performance seen at Worhy Farm in years gone by.