Glastonbury is no stranger to a political debate, having hosted its fair share of MPs and other public figures over the decades. This year, however, could be particularly eventful as the festival is taking place less than a week before the UK snap general election on 4 July. Prime minister Rishi Sunak announced last month that the election would take place, during a rain-soaked speech outside 10 Downing Street.
After Glastonbury organisers announced the full set times on Tuesday (4 June), it emerged that, as with each year, a number of debates will be held, including on its Left Field stage. One such talk is “ Election 2024 : A Change is Gonna Come” on Saturday 29 June, featuring Labour MP Angela Rayner and the Green Party’s Caroline Lucas, along with NEF CEO Danny Sriskandarajah, and journalists Stephen Bush and John Harris. The day before, Harris will also take part in a debate on “Israel and Palestine: Hope and Solidarity in Action” with Palestinian journalist Ahmed Alnaouq.
They will be joined by representatives from Na’amod, a movement of British Jews seeking to end their community’s support for the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip; journalist and author Rachel Shabi, and journalist, politician and stand-up comedian Shaista Aziz. Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis has long been a staunch campaigner for peace, and in 1981 famously donated festival proceeds to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), in a partnership th.