Sugababes' Glastonbury slot causes chaos yet again as critics slam organisers

Sugababes took to West Holt stage on Friday afternoon and people quickly started to panic in the crowd due to the sheer size of it, with some desperately trying to get out.

As people attempted to move through the chock-a-block mass of people, numerous people were heard expressing their disbelief and discomfort over the amount of people clustered around the Glastonbury stage.

Elsewhere, someone else was heard criticising festival organisers over the stage choice, saying a stage that offers people more room to manoeuvre should have been picked given the band’s popularity.

Festival bosses were forced to shut down a VIP bar because of the Sugababes overcrowding. Security overseeing the entry to the West Holts bar behind the stage where the band performed closed the entrance because of the mass of people trying to push in. It happened moments after the set finished as the huge crowd tried to leave.

Music critics, including BBC's Mark Savage and Pete Paphides, were blocked from being able to see the set. Writing on Twitter (X), Paphides told his followers: "They’ve closed the entire area around the West Holts stage because of the amount of people who want to see Sugababes.

"Same happened for their Avalon stage set in 2022. It really needs to be more widely acknowledged that they’re one of the toppermost adored groups of their era." Savage added: "Once again, my ambitions to see Sugababes at Glastonbury have been thwarted. It’s one-in and one-out at West Holts right now, and the queue is huge. They should do the legend slot next year."

The group last played at Glastonbury Festival in 2022 and were even taken aback then when extra security was needed due to the amount of people that wanted to watch their comeback gig. Siobhan Donaghy, Mutya Buena, and Keisha Buchanan all thought no one would go to see them perform.

Recalling their earlier performance on the more intimate Field of Avalon stage, Siobhan told the BBC: "I remember quite vividly that Mutya, in particular, didn't think anyone would come to see us." Their noughties hits like 'Push The Button' and 'Overload' drew such a crowd last time that security measures were amped up to police the throng of fans.

Sugababes

Siobhan reflected on the surprise turn-up saying, "All this extra security arrived, and we got a safety briefing moments before going on stage. It made us laugh, thinking someone famous had turned up instead," Keisha chortled. After their stunning performance, Siobhan confessed, "I'm pretty sure I came off stage in shock."

Mutya appreciated every fan present for their big comeback show, stating, "Every performance is special but filling up that tent felt really impressive." She showed admiration for the Avalon stage: "Obviously everyone wants to be on the main stage, but I thought Avalon was amazing."

Keisha looked back on their 2003 Pyramid Stage show, reminiscing about how they, along with former member Heidi Range, were anxious they'd be poorly received because girl bands weren't typical for the festival back then. She recalled: "We were one of the first, if not the first, female pop band to play the main stage. It was very controversial at the time. I remember having conversations about what to do if anyone threw a bottle of pee at us."

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