This year’s Glastonbury festival saw the debut appearance of mega star Diana Ross, the singer’s performance drew a large record-breaking audience. Ross took to the stage on Sunday 26th June 2022 and wowed a packed crowd during the coveted Sunday afternoon legends slot. After her outstanding performance was aired via BBC one, the broadcasting company reported a figure of 3.1 million peaking at over 3.8 million viewers. The record was previously held by Australian pop princess Kylie Minogue, the singer’s 2019 Glastonbury performance attracted an average audience of 3 million.
Ross’ highly anticipated appearance at the festival received more than a huge audience, the set has been heralded online and championed by various music publications. The Guardian provided a review of Ross’ set and described it as an “Explosion of Joy”, NME also sang Ross’ praises and referred to her set as “Euphoric”. The iconic singer took to social media to share her landmark performance, Ross’ post includes a montage of the set’s highlights as well as audience reactions.
The Legends slot at Glastonbury is largely reserved for highly influential artists and those with incredibly full back catalogues, both elements which Ross has acquired through her long career. The singer filled the set with her biggest hits such as “My Old Piano”, “Upside Down” and “I’m Coming Out” which quickly became the official theme for Glastonbury 2022. The former The Supremes bandmember also played hits from her time in the group including the hit “You Keep Me Hanging On”.
The singer balanced her set list with a collection of new material, audience members were treated to tracks off her newest album Thank You. The album was released in 2021 and marked the singer’s first studio album since the 2006 release I Love You, Thank You also signalled the singer’s first release of new material since 1999. Included in her set was the album’s title track and its second single “ If The World just Danced”.
The now infamous set also included the rousing anthem “Tomorrow”, during its performance Ross dedicated the song to the audience and her fans. The iconic artist expressed her gratitude to those in attendance and stated, “Everybody here and everybody watching on global television around the world, I want you to know I am so grateful for this life, so grateful to be here with you, I’m filled with thankfulness.”
SO MANY HITS
Sing (and dance) along with @dianaross‘ fabulous Glastonbury Legends set.
Listen on BBC Sounds https://t.co/qHOabZ7Iyq pic.twitter.com/ZxPDKkOqnj
— BBC Sounds (@BBCSounds) June 27, 2022
This year’s Glastonbury also gave the BBC its highest recorded streams and views since the Broadcasting giant began to cover the festival, the statistics showed record-breaking figures for its Glastonbury coverage across its digital platforms. Since the festival was held in person in 2019, streams have soared over 15.8 million/116% via BBC iPlayer and 765,000/205% via BBC Sounds. The broadcasting company’s Glastonbury content was accessed via BBC Sounds over 2.3 million times and streamed via BBC iPlayer 34.1 million times, the high figure incorporates the 23 million streams of its live footage
Speaking on the record-breaking figures, Lora Clarke BBC Director of Music has provided the following statement, “The BBC provided the ultimate armchair experience of the world’s best-loved festival this weekend with a dedicated Glastonbury channel on BBC iPlayer, 6 Music’s All Day Glastonbury coverage, performances from the biggest artists on demand on BBC Sounds and over 35 hours of coverage across our TV channels. The party isn’t over yet, with over 90 sets and key tracks from the five filmed stages available to watch on BBC iPlayer – including Pyramid Stage performances in Ultra High Definition.”
