Another year, another fantastic festival as Glastonbury 2024 closes its doors. As Worthy Farm empties today, many have reflected on the historic moments from the weekend, particularly the opportunity for two female-led acts to grace the Pyramid Stage as headliners: Dua Lipa and SZA.
But unfortunately, many fans have reflected that SZA, as well as some other popular female acts such as Avril Lavigne and the Sugababes, were potentially not given the opportunity to shine as bright as they could on stage.
“Glastonbury has let down a lot of its biggest female acts this year,” music critic Roisin O’Connor posted on X, previously Twitter, adding that: “SZA should have been Fri or Sat headliner, Avril, Janelle and Sugababes on bigger stages, Shania and Cyndi without being plagued by sound issues.”
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When an X user responded that SZA’s small audience was due to the fact that she shouldn’t have been performing at the Pyramid Stage in the first place because she “hasn’t got the pull”, O’Connor pointed out that SZA had been “lumped” with the Sunday night slot, which is typically plagued with Sunday night exodus and stage clashes.
This comes after critics pointed out that Sugababes’ wildly popular performance should’ve been on the Pyramid Stage, with crowds being crushed due to the sheer numbers who flocked to the (smaller) West Holts stage. Signs eventually went up to tell people to stay away due to overcrowding.
Many fans felt the power and popularity of a female act like Sugababes had been underestimated by organisers, similar to Avril Lavigne’s performance – where critics pointed out her stage was “too small” for the audience demand.
Joe Maher