Stormzy’s headline slot at Glastonbury will be a “pivotal” moment in the festival’s history, organiser Emily Eavis has said.
The grime star was the first black, male British solo artist to headline when he took to the famous Pyramid Stage on Friday evening.
His performance was lauded by industry figures including Adele, Drake and Ed Sheeran, while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said it will “go down in our country’s cultural history”.
Eavis, who decided Stormzy should headline after watching him on the Other Stage in 2017, told Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 2 his Friday performance was a “momentous moment”.
She said: “Stormzy last night was insanely good. It was such a big moment, like really felt like one of those pivotal Glastonbury headline slots.
“So I think we’ll always remember that. Now I just desperately want to relive it but I’m not going to be able to do that until next week when I watch it.
“In the field, amazing, momentous moment.”
Croydon-born Stormzy, 25, whose real name is Michael Omari, thanked Eavis for having faith in him and making him second youngest solo act to headline Glastonbury, after a 24-year-old David Bowie in 1971.
Eavis said: “We booked him straight after the last festival in 2017. I actually confirmed it last autumn but I knew as soon as he walked off stage that he needed to headline the Pyramid.
“Sometimes you see it on the other stage or sometimes smaller stages, ‘this person needs to be headlining’.
“And he totally pulled it off. I felt so proud, it was just an amazing moment.”
Speaking about the festival as a whole, Eavis, who began working on Glastonbury following her mother’s death in 1999, said the week had been “incredible”, thanks in part to the “blissful weather”.
“I can’t even imagine what it’s like when it rains now”, she said.
Eavis, the daughter of Glastonbury founder Michael, added: “There’s so many people who make it work, so many crew, so many area organisers, and it’s just a phenomenal year.
“After the fallow year everybody has put so much into this one, there’s so much love, so many new ideas and so much creativity. It’s a joy to behold.”
Glastonbury Festival continues until Sunday, when The Cure will headline.
