endrick Lamar closed Glastonbury 2022 with a powerful headline set chanting “Godspeed for women’s rights” before dramatically leaving the Pyramid Stage.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper, 35, made sure that his debut at the festival would be unforgettable with a series of hits from his old catalog, accompanied by finely choreographed dancers.
The performance reached its theatrical climax at the end when the lights came on during his rendition of the new song Savior to reveal fake blood streaming down his face from a crown of thorns.
Before playing the song, Lamar, who has been open about his Christian faith before, said that the crown of thorns represented Christ.
The crown that adorned his head is said to have been made by Tiffany and Co and contains 8,000 diamonds, according to British Vogue.
The words “You Savior I Am Not” glittered on the screens behind him as he performed the song with fake blood constantly streaming down his face and white shirt.
As his dancers surrounded him, fireworks erupted across the stage as he repeatedly chanted, “They judge you, they judge Christ. Godspeed for women’s rights” before leaving the stage.
The advocacy for women’s rights appeared in protest against the US Supreme Court’s recent decision to end the country’s constitutional right to abortion.
A number of musicians over the weekend used their Glastonbury platform to condemn the reversal of the historic 1973 Roe v Wade ruling, including Lorde, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Idles and Phoebe Bridgers.
Earlier in his set, Lamar thanked the audience for the “special moment” as he had waited to perform live again after being incarcerated during the pandemic.
The rapper added: “I look in the crowd, I see so many faces, different creeds, different colors, so many faces, you will bless me to be on this stage.”
He explained that during the lockdown period he’s been working on his newly released album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, wrote, which he said contains material that people “can feel” because he believes “everyone is experiencing something.”
His set included hits from his five studio albums, including Money Trees, mAAd city and Swimming Pools (Drank), i, Alright, DNA and BLOOD.
Introducing his song Love, he said to the packed crowd of adoring fans: “We’ve got a lot of love here tonight at Glastonbury, do you agree?”
As they responded with a burst of cheers, I added, “Let’s make sure we just keep going.”
After his song, the audience chanted “Oh Kendrick Lamar” as he listened in, and it seemed to get emotional as they showed their love for him.
The theater went on all night, with Lamar at one point darkening the stage before exploding back into view as red fireworks rained down from above and he kicked off his hit song HUMBLE.
He wore a simple white shirt and black trousers to match his male dancers, while the female dancers wore red flowing dresses.
Fans have been waiting for Lamar’s headline set for a long time as it was announced in 2020 that he would be playing Glastonbury’s 50th anniversary, but the festival has been delayed by two years due to the pandemic.
Prior to the rapper’s performance, Lorde took to the Pyramid Stage to deliver a set that went from melodic moments to high octane.
She also called on women to access their “inner wisdom” during the show in protest of the Roe v Wade flip.
The stage had previously been the scene of rock band Elbow, who were joined by a giant doll of a 10-year-old Syrian and a chorus of refugees.
Meanwhile, Diana Ross scored hit after hit as she performed at the Teatime Legends slot of the day.
She kicked off her set with the 1980 classic I’m Coming Out, and received a round of applause as she wore a sparkly dress with a matching white cape and headpiece.
The soul singer treated the audience to a selection of classics, including Baby Love, You Can’t Hurry Love, Stop! Pink confetti was launched from the stage in The Name Of Love and at the end of Chain Reaction.
She also performed I Will Survive and Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, of which she released a hit version in 1970.
Earlier on Sunday, George Ezra confirmed he was the secret guest on the John Peel stage, three days after he withdrew from Tinderbox Festival in Denmark due to a “nasty bout of laryngitis”.
Ezra got off to an exciting start, taking the stage to Everyone For You before starting a rendition of Cassy O’ with hits like Hold My Girl, Paradise and Blame It On Me.
The Hertfordshire singer-songwriter left the stage after a rendition of Shotgun.
On Saturday night, Sir Paul McCartney surprised the audience with a breathtaking setlist featuring surprising guest appearances from Bruce Springsteen and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl.
Entering the Pyramid Stage, the former Beatle became the festival’s oldest solo headliner, a week after celebrating his 80th birthday.
During his more than two-hour set, he played a range of classic songs, including Hey Jude, Blackbird, Live And Let Die, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da and Get Back.
The exciting show was further amplified when he introduced Grohl onstage to sing I Saw Her Standing There and Band On The Run, Grohl’s first public performance since the death of his Foo Fighters bandmate, drummer Taylor Hawkins.
Springsteen took the stage to play alongside Sir Paul Glory Days and I Wanna Be Your Man.
As part of the encore, using special technology that isolates John Lennon’s vocals from old recordings, Sir Paul was able to perform a duet of The Beatles’ song I’ve Got A Feeling with his former bandmate.
It came after Billie Eilish became Glastonbury’s youngest solo headliner the night before.