Beyoncé 2011 Glastonbury performance

American singer and songwriter Beyoncé headlined the 2011 Glastonbury Festival alongside acts U2 and Coldplay, performing on June 26, 2011 at the Pyramid Stage in Pilton, Somerset, England. She was the first solo Black woman to headline the Pyramid Stage, and became the first solo female artist to headline the festival since Sinéad O'Connor in 1990 (and Kylie Minogue in 2004, who was forced to cancel her performance due to a breast cancer diagnosis). While her festival headline announcement was initially met with skepticism from rock and indie music purists who considered the placement "a little too pop" for the festival, Beyoncé's performance was immediately met with critical acclaim, heralded by The Daily Telegraph as a "sassy triumph", "career-defining" by Billboard, and by others in the media as a "masterpiece", "killer", and "90 minutes of pure Bey greatness." The performance, which acted as the festival finale, generated over 2.6 million views individually, breaking the record at the time for most television views for a single performance according to BBC.

Background and development
Beyoncé was inspired by her husband's controversial 2008 Glastonbury performance, which broke ground as the first rap headline in the festival's then 38-year history. It was also mentioned by Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis in an interview that Coldplay lead singer and close friend Chris Martin helped convince Beyoncé to perform, securing Beyoncé for the final headline slot. Beyoncé was announced as the Sunday headliner on February 10, 2011 in Billboard with the following statement: “This really is the biggest festival in the world and I cannot wait to perform there. Everyone who attends is really appreciative of music and is in such a good mood that entire weekend... I’m pumped just thinking about that huge audience and soaking up their energy.”

Leading up to the performance, it was believed by BBC that Beyoncé and her team had spent three weeks at a London rehearsal studio to prepare, with her Destiny's Child bandmates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams rumored to appear. Beyoncé was subsequently announced as a performer on the 2011 BET Awards in the weeks leading up to the Glastonbury performance, and a portion of her performance ("Best Thing I Never Had" and "End of Time") was sent via satellite, airing simultaneously that evening in North America.

Set list
Interviewed by BBC, Knowles mentioned that she sent close friend and co-headliner Chris Martin of Coldplay her set list in advance: "I made sure he approved it". She also reportedly sought advice from co-headliner U2 as well. Knowles' performance promoted the recent release of her fourth solo studio album 4 (2011) as all four pre-released tracks (lead single "Run The World (Girls)", promotional single "1+1", international second single "Best Thing I Never Had", and leaked song "End of Time") received setlist placements. The following songs were performed:


 * 1) "Crazy in Love"
 * 2) "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"
 * 3) "Naughty Girl"
 * 4) "Baby Boy" (featuring Tricky)
 * 5) "Happy Birthday"
 * 6) "Best Thing I Never Had"
 * 7) "End of Time"
 * 8) "If I Were a Boy" (contains elements of Alanis Morissette "You Oughta Know")
 * 9) "Sweet Dreams" (contains elements of Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)")
 * 10) "Why Don't You Love Me?"
 * 11) "Love Hangover" (performed by backing vocalists "The Mamas")
 * 12) "The Beautiful Ones"
 * 13) "Sex on Fire"
 * 14) "1+1"
 * 15) "Irreplaceable"
 * 16) "Independent Women Part I"
 * 17) "Bootylicious"
 * 18) "Bug a Boo"
 * 19) "Telephone"
 * 20) "Say My Name"
 * 21) "Jumpin', Jumpin'"
 * 22) "Survivor"
 * 23) "At Last"
 * 24) "Run the World (Girls)"
 * 25) "Halo"

Notes
 * Both "Best Thing I Never Had" and "End Of Time" were simultaneously broadcast (via satellite) to the 2011 BET Awards.

Critical Response
The performance was met with universal acclaim. Rolling Stone described the performance as a "bold, crowd-pleasing spectacle." Elle opined that "few forces of nature could compel the Elle team to slog through miles of mud at midnight. Last night, that force was Beyoncé, who took to Glastonbury's Pyramid Stage in all her big-haired, gold-spangled glory for a set that felt like a master class in how to seduce 100,000 people." The Times described the performance as "blowing the festival apart", and subsequently lauded "a star at the height of her powers, beating the audience into submission with sheer professionalism and interstellar glamour." The Huffington Post was "wowed", stating that "following this performance, she'll be in the dreams of thousands of British music fans for a long time to come." NME rated the performance an 8/10, giving praise to the "epic-sounding" newer songs, as well as her "career-spanning biggies". Music Radar mentioned that Knowles' set was "easily the most all-out pop thing the festival had ever seen", but called the performance an "undeniable success" and also praised "her incredibly tight, all-female backing band." David Riedel of CBS News considered her "nearly universally-praised" performance "a knockout", "clos[ing] Glastonbury with a bang". Thomas Green of The Arts Desk concluded that "[He] saw many riveting gigs... but best by a country mile was Beyoncé at Glastonbury who quite simply lit up the festival's Sunday night with fireworks, showmanship and explosive party spirit." Standard.co.uk mentioned that "Glastonbury fell 'Crazy In Love' with Beyoncé as the American superstar brought the festival to a close in "unforgettable" fashion." Other publications lauded her "dazzling" style and fashion choices, with UK Magazine Stylist further mentioning that she brought "Glastonbury 2011 to a rapturous close with a spectacular performance."

Following her performance, fellow artist George Michael tweeted, “Just watching Beyonce’s performance at Glastonbury. I love that woman. Great artist, writer, singer, person … Something so generous about the fact that she covered songs that acknowledged Glastonbury’s typical audience. Very few American artists … would take the time or have the respect for a foreign audience to do that. She just gets better and better.”

Chart Response
The appearance, coupled with her simultaneous BET Awards appearance, strengthened the performance of Knowles' then-2-day-old album 4, boosting album numbers in the United Kingdom to three times her closest competitors, as well as bolstering attention for current single "Best Thing I Never Had", various "4" album songs, and her Destiny's Child-infused overall catalog. 7 tracks appeared from Knowles in the Official Charts Company Top 75.

Legacy
Several publications noted an ascension in Knowles' capabilities as a live performer as a result of the performance, while others observed the polarized attitude of the UK music establishment in response to a Black woman performing on the same stages and to the same crowd sizes that were past reserved for legacy rock acts. Later revealed to be secretly pregnant with her first child at the time, several retrospective reviews from publications also highlighted her strength, stamina, and "cleverly designed" clothing choices.

The Independent touted her performance as the "13th Greatest Glastonbury Performance of All-Time" in a June 2023 article. Billboard included the performance in an unranked, 2015 "Top 10 Glastonbury Moments of All Time" list.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 edition of the festival was cancelled, and Knowles' 2011 performance was televised on BBC for a second time (BBC Two, BBC Four, and a new digital channel on BBC iPlayer) as a component of their 60-act virtual line-up from June 25 to June 29, causing a resurgence in acclaim for the performance.

The success of Knowles' performance also ushered in the festival slot placement of several other prominent female pop or R&B acts in subsequent years, including headliners Adele (2016) and Billie Eilish (2022), as well as other notable performers Mary J. Blige (2015), Katy Perry (2017), Dua Lipa (2017), Miley Cyrus (2019), Janet Jackson (2019), Megan Thee Stallion (2022), and Olivia Rodrigo (2022), among others.