Glastonbury Festival 2022: Diana Ross coming back to play legend slot

Soul icon Diana Ross has confirmed she'll play Glastonbury's coveted "legend slot" in 2022.

The Motown star was originally due to make her debut at the festival in 2020, before the event was called off during the pandemic.

After another Covid-enforced cancellation, she'll bring hits like Baby Love and Upside Down to the Pyramid Stage on 26 June.

The Sunday teatime slot traditionally draws the event's largest crowds.

Dolly Parton's appearance in 2014 attracted Glastonbury's biggest-ever audience; while Kylie Minogue's triumphant set in 2019 became the most-watched Glastonbury performance ever on the BBC, with 3.9 million viewers tuning in.

Other acts who've taken on the "legend" mantle include Lionel Richie, Shirley Bassey, Kenny Rogers and Barry Gibb.

"I'm so excited and grateful to finally know that I'll be seeing you at Glastonbury," said Ross in a statement.

Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis said she was "thrilled" that the singer would make the journey to Somerset.

"We were so excited to book such a legend for Glastonbury 2020 and are so happy that she's the first to re-confirm for next year."

The only other act confirmed for next year's sold-out festival is pop star Billie Eilish, who will headline the main stage on Friday, 24 June.

Now aged 77, Ross started her career at Motown in the 1960s, achieving stardom with The Supremes on hits like Baby Love, Stop! In The Name Of Love and You Keep Me Hanging On.

She split from the group in 1970 and went on to score more than 50 UK chart hits, including Upside Down, Endless Love and Chain Reaction.

Her last hit single in the UK was the Westlife duet When You Tell Me That You Love Me, which reached number two in 2005.

She returned to the US charts last year, when a remix of her 1976 classic Love Hangover topped the dance charts.

Last week, the diva released her first album of new material since 1999. Called Thank You, it was entirely recorded in her home studio during the pandemic, and looks set to enter the UK Top 10 this Friday.

Ahead of her Glastonbury appearance, Ross will also tour the UK for the first time since 2007, with dates in Manchester, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Birmingham, London and Cornwall's Eden Project.

A press release promised the concerts would encompass an "electrifying tour of music, memories and career magic... with all of her spectacular costume changes."

"To all my fans across the world, this is my tribute to you," the singer said, when the shows were originally announced in 2019.

"Every concert feels like a private party. I can see your eyes and feel your hearts. I'm coming to Glastonbury, with love."