Glastonbury: Marina Abramovic leads seven-minute silence for peace

From the stage, the acclaimed Serbian artist encouraged thousands of festival-goers to close their eyes, put a hand on a neighbour’s shoulder, and be still for 420 seconds.

Amazingly, it worked. After a gong sounded, the field fell entirely silent.

On stage, 77-year-old Abramović stretched out her arms to reveal a dress designed in the shape of the CND symbol by Riccardo Tisci, the Italian former creative head of Burberry.

CND stands for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, which has been supported by the festival throughout its history.

Admittedly, the sound of music from the surrounding stages still bled into the silence. Half the crowd hadn’t turned off their phone notifications, either.

And beside me, there was the tell-tale “psssht” of a beer can being opened.

But the overall effect was strangely moving. Setting aside the hedonism of festival life for seven minutes, thousands of people paused to contemplate their place in the world.