Glastonbury 2024: Seventeen bring K-pop party to Pyramid Stage

Even so, the Glastonbury audience seemed sceptical at first.

The field in front of the Pyramid Stage cleared out after packed sets by Squeeze and Olivia Dean earlier in the day, and there were large patches of empty space as Seventeen launched into their first track, Maestro.

But over the course of an hour, doubts were dispelled as the band worked hard to get the audience on side – racing onto the wings of the stage, and descending into the crowd to whip up enthusiasm.

It culminated with the brilliantly daft disco-dance anthem Very Nice – which had half a dozen of false endings, the energy building every time the group launched back into another chorus.

The show was a sign of K-pop’s growing chart dominance. Four of the top 10 best-selling acts in the world last year hailed from South Korea, with Seventeen joined by Stray Kids, TomorrowxTomorrow and NewJeans.

In fact, Glastonbury is relatively late to the party. Boy band BTS played two shows at Wembley Stadium in 2019, while girl group Blackpink headlined both Coachella and London’s BST festival last year.

Seeing a K-pop band on the Pyramid Stage was “so unexpected but really, really brilliant”, said Australian fan Milia, who came in a custom football T-shirt bearing the name of Seventeen heartthrob Hoshi.

“These acts are touring globally and it’s really amazing to see Glastonbury actually putting them on. You can see by the crowd, there’s a lot of people here – whether they’re fans or they’re just looking for something different. We should see more of it.”