Glastonbury 2025 is in full swing, with artists including Charli XCX, The 1975, Olivia Rodrigo, Neil Young, Rod Stewart, and Alanis Morissette among the stars set to entertain the masses this year.

But politicians who won’t even be setting foot on Worthy Farm in Somerset have been making their thoughts known about this year’s line-up – in particular the Irish-language rappers Kneecap, who are on the bill on Saturday.

The trio made a huge Glastonbury debut last year – impressing the likes of Noel Gallagher, who turned out for a set. But the path to a bigger stage this time round has made headlines for different reasons.

Outspoken on the war in Gaza, Liam O’Hanna, or Liam Og O hAnnaidh, appeared in court earlier this month charged with a terror offence, for allegedly displaying a flag in support of the proscribed group Hezbollah at a Kneecap gig in London last November.

He is due back in court in August. On social media, he denied support for Hezbollah after the charge was announced, but the trio have held firm on their support for Palestinians.

Removed from the bills of some festivals in the run-up to Glastonbury, there were calls from some for them to be taken off here, too – including from the prime minister.

When asked by The Sun, Sir Keir Starmer said it was not “appropriate”, and he did not think they should play.

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In an interview with The Guardian as the festival got under way, O hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was asked if he regretted what was depicted in a video of the alleged offence that circulated on social media.

“It’s a joke,” he replied. “I’m a character. Shit is thrown on stage all the time. If I’m supposed to know every f****** thing that’s thrown on stage, I’d be in Mensa.”

He told the newspaper he did not know every proscribed organisation, saying he had enough to think about when he is on stage.

“I’m thinking about my next lyric, my next joke, the next drop of a beat.”

Dilemma for the BBC

For the BBC, which broadcasts a lot of the main sets live, it poses a dilemma.

When asked if it would be showing Kneecap’s set live, a spokesperson said artists were booked by festival organisers and their own plans would ensure editorial guidelines are met.

“Whilst the BBC doesn’t ban artists, our plans will ensure that our programming will meet our editorial guidelines,” they said. “Decisions about our output will be made in the lead up to the festival.”

Which means it’s unlikely they’ll be streaming Kneecap live – but some of their set at least may be made available later.

To those who object to them being allowed a stage here at all, it’s still allowing the band a very prominent platform.

But Glastonbury has always leaned left, featuring acts unafraid to share their political views – and hosting former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on stage in 2017.

Festival founder Michael Eavis told the Glastonbury Free Press that people have always come to the festival for these reasons – and made his views clear: “People that don’t agree with the politics of the event can go somewhere else.”

Singer and activist Billy Bragg, who organises the Left Field stage each year, said Glastonbury has always been political.

“When I first came here in 1984, it was a CND (Campaign For Nuclear Disarmament) festival, and everybody was in opposition, or every young person, was opposed to Margaret Thatcher’s policies. And whatever issues – CND, the miners, gay rights, they came, it’s always been that.

“So I don’t know why everyone’s saying this year it’s a bit political. It’s always been political. I suppose the prime minister saying who can and who can’t play might have something to do with it.”

Bragg said he was “proud” of Glastonbury organisers for “standing up to it” and ignoring the noise.

Accusations of ‘corporate control’

Politics and pop have always been intertwined for older acts such as Neil Young, who headlines the Pyramid Stage on Saturday – and we know the BBC won’t be showing this one live, but perhaps for different reasons.

Before his headline slot was confirmed, Young, who began his career in the 1960s with the band Buffalo Springfield, said he had initially turned down the offer to perform, saying the festival was “under corporate control” of the broadcaster.

Earlier this week, the corporation confirmed it would not show the set live “at the artist’s request”.

Singer-songwriter John Fogerty, one of the founders of US blues rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, is also on the bill this year – and said songwriters should talk about what’s going on in the world around them, “certainly if they have a point of view and they’d like to share it”.

There’s a balance, he added. “I was happy to write Proud Mary, which is sort of Americana, you know, sort of love song to America, really.

“But I wrote Fortunate Son right in the middle of the Vietnam War in the late 1960s. And that has a place too. People need to feel free to write more music like that.”

With Donald Trump back in power, the US is in “political turmoil”, Fogerty said. “It’s almost, you know, I should go sit down somewhere and write a song about this – and then you go, oh my goodness, I already did.”

For fans at Glastonbury, music as ever is the focus here – and the feeling from most is that politicians should stay out of it.

“The prime minister and pop music don’t really go together,” said Bragg. “I don’t think anybody, leader of the opposition either, should say who can and who can’t play at a festival.”

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s star-studded wedding celebrations in Venice have begun, with VIP guests including the Kardashians descending on the Italian city.

The billionaire Amazon founder and his journalist fiancee waved to onlookers as they left a luxury hotel to travel to their pre-wedding reception by water taxi on Thursday evening.

Hollywood star Orlando Bloom was seen flashing a peace sign to fans as he left Venice’s Gritti Palace Hotel and he was soon followed by TV presenter Oprah Winfrey, who smiled and waved.

Kim and Khloe Kardashian travelled to the reception with their mother Kris Jenner – who snapped a picture of the pair on a water taxi – and other notable figures in town for the nuptials include Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.

Some 200-250 A-list guests from showbusiness, politics and finance are expected to attend the events, with the wedding and its parts estimated to cost €40m-€48m (£34m-£41m).

Bezos, his soon-to-be wife and their famous guests have taken over numerous locations in the city, with the couple staying in the luxury Aman hotel, where rooms go for at least €4,000 per night.

The first of the weekend’s many wedding parties is taking place in the cloisters of Madonna dell’Orto, a medieval church that hosts masterpieces by 16th century painter Tintoretto.

While the couple and their A-list guests were all smiles, some in Venice are not happy about the wedding – with protesters seeing it as an example of the city being gift-wrapped for ultra-rich outsiders.

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An activist climbed one of the poles in the main St Mark’s Square on Thursday, unfurling a banner which said: “The 1% ruins the world.”

Elsewhere, a life-size mannequin of Bezos clutching an Amazon box was dropped into one of the city’s famous canals.

In a bid to keep demonstrators away from Thursday’s party, the city council banned pedestrians and water traffic from the area surrounding the venue, from 4.30pm local time to midnight.

The couple will exchange their vows on Friday, on the small island of San Giorgio, opposite St Mark’s Square.

Another party will follow on Saturday – the venue for which was changed at the last-minute earlier this week.

A convicted killer previously jailed for stalking Girls Aloud singer Cheryl has admitted another breach of his restraining order after turning up at her home.

Daniel Bannister, 50, pleaded guilty to the new charge at Reading Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

Confirming his plea, he told the court he attended an address he “reasonably believed or suspected” was the star’s home.

A court previously heard Bannister “can’t stay away” from the 41-year-old singer.

He was jailed for 16 weeks in March for repeatedly turning up at Cheryl‘s Buckinghamshire home while under a restraining order.

He had initially been jailed for four months in September last year and was handed a three-year restraining order, which he breached when he turned up at her home unannounced in December 2024.

At the March hearing, Cheryl said she “immediately panicked” when he rang the bell at the gate and was “terrified” when she saw him – fearing for the safety of her eight-year-old son Bear.

In 2012, Bannister killed 48-year-old Rajendra Patel in an attack at a south London YMCA shelter and pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

He was remanded in custody on Friday and will appear at Reading Crown Court on 23 September.

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Bear’s father, former One Direction star Liam Payne, died last October in Buenos Aires, Argentina, after falling from his third-floor hotel balcony.

Cheryl described his death as “indescribably painful“, as she voiced fears about protecting their son.