Dua Lipa headlines the first night as Glastonbury festival kicks off in the UK

BritishAlbanian pop singer Dua Lipa was to headline the first night of the Glastonbury festival on Friday which has again drawn tens of thousands of fansRows of tents dotted the fields at Worthy Farm in the village of Pilton in southwest England where the iconic festival has become a fixture of British culture since 1970This years three main headliners Dua Lipa Coldplay and SZA are joined by country star Shania Twain Nigerian rapper Burna Boy and 1980s star Cyndi LauperDua Lipa who played at the event in 2017 is headlining for the first timeGrammy and Brit winner SZA whose real name is Solana Imani Rowe headlines on Sunday nightIt will be the first time that the RampB singer who is known for the songs Snooze and Ghost In The Machine will perform at the festivalColdplay appear on Saturday becoming the first act to headline Glastonbury five timesAlongside around 3000 performances set to take place across some 80 stages the festival also features nightlong parties art installations and lively paradesThe standard ticket for the event this year was priced at pound355 448Dressed in a multicoloured outfit 38yearold Will Hall said the festival gives an energy and you take that energy and then give that energy backI walk around here with confetti cannons and bubble guns and all these wonderful things just to create smiles and positive energy said Hall who works for Britains health serviceClarissa Hall 29 said she felt super lucky to be at the festival which is also where she chose to announce her pregnancyThis was such a perfect opportunity to announce it she added Vote calls Less than a week before Britains general election the festival which has become known for political activism is urging attendees to voteScreens at the Pyramid stage showing Dua Lipa were interspersed with reminders to VOTE VOTE VOTE with another banner reading vote out to help out echoing Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks eat out to help out slogan to boost hospitality business during the Covid19 pandemicOne drag act was openly political on Thursday closing by saying lets vote those Tories outDozens of Palestinian flags were hung across the sprawling festival site with one banner calling for a ceasefire in GazaGlasto as the festival is popularly known was inspired by Britains 1960s counterculture and hippie movements with its first iteration as the Pilton Festival in 1970Glam rockers TRex were the first headliners Since then it has attracted cult status and big names from David Bowie and Paul McCartney to Stormzy and Elton John who last year played his final UK gigFor the first time the festival this year has a dedicated South Asian stage called ArrivalsArtists gracing the stage include Manara Anish Kumar and DJ Ritu famed for her involvement in the UKs underground South Asian music scene in the 1990s