‘I saw Olivia Rodrigo at Hyde Park – Glastonbury made one big mistake during her set’ | Celebrity News | Showbiz & TV

A sea of human bodies all brimming with excitement for their favourite singer. It is euphoric. We are literally “moshed” across the grass, American football style.

No, this was not Glastonbury – but Hyde Park. Two days earlier, before her headline set on the Pyramid Stage, Olivia Rodrigo appeared in Central London. I was one of the lucky spectators in the mass crowd screaming along to her songs.

48 hours later, she repeated the same set at Worthy Farm. This time, I sat watching from the comfort of my sofa, but I noticed a disturbance in the air. As I scrolled through X, formerly known as Twitter, fans had a mixed reaction.

Many users praised Olivia, but several insisted that she didn’t belong on the Pyramid Stage. They were instead talking about another act, who had apparently ‘saved Glastonbury’ this year.

I flicked over to the other live stream to see what the fuss was about. The band in question was The Prodigy. I had to agree – their set was unparalleled. Everything about it was unhinged and chaotic, but it was all dedicated to former band member Keith Flint.

The raw energy was unlike anything I’d seen in years. It was their first performance since 2019 without their frontman, and they’ve made an explosive return to live performing.

I felt torn. Whilst Olivia was serenading her fans on the bigger stage, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. The 22-year-old has achieved the unthinkable for most rising stars, yet it appeared most of the focus was on The Prodigy on social media.

Both sets deserved to be on the Pyramid Stage. It was a mistake putting Olivia at the same time as the punk band, but this is Glastonbury, and clashes are inevitable.

Consequently, the next day, I saw Olivia Rodrigo fans come out in full force defending her. There were also critics of the American singer who happily accepted that they’d been proved wrong.

If you looked at the size of the crowd at Olivia’s headliner performance and at Hyde Park, the numbers don’t lie. She’s a superstar. Everyone – myself included – was all singing along to every word in unison, and she was the perfect conductor.

The Prodigy’s performance was just as blistering, but because it was so emotionally charged and poignant, it deserved to have its full glory on the Pyramid Stage. It would have been the perfect return following Flint’s death.