Male musicians continue to dominate British music festivals with almost two-thirds of Glastonbury’s line-up so far made up of acts featuring only men.
Organisers of the Somerset festival revealed a stellar list of 86 artists on Thursday including the likes of Stormzy, Biffy Clyro, Dizzee Rascal and Alt-J.
However, despite the inclusion of US pop star Katy Perry, New Zealand singer Lorde and Scottish songstress Emeli Sande, just one in four of the acts announced so far are female and the main stage’s headline acts feature only men.
British festivals have faced fierce criticism in recent years for male-dominated line-ups and in 2016 Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis admitted they needed to “go further” in supporting female musicians in an interview with Vice magazine.
According to the line-up announced by Emily on Thursday, in total 19 all-female acts will play this summer’s festival, compared with 54 all-male acts and the remainder a mix of genders such as The xx.
Earlier this year, fans hit out at Reading and Leeds after 80 of the 97 announced performers were male solo artists or all-male bands.
Historically, only five female artists have topped Glastonbury’s bill in its 47-year history, around one in 14 of the total, according to research by the Press Association.
Adele, Beyonce, Shakespears Sister, Sinead O’Connor and Suzanne Vega are the only all-female acts to have graced the Pyramid Stage as headline acts while eight bands, including Florence & The Machine in 2015, have included at least one woman.
This year’s event is headlined by Radiohead, Foo Fighters and Ed Sheeran.
More acts for this year’s event are still to be announced.
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