Anti-‘Kanye West at Glastonbury’ petition reaches over 85,000 signatures

A petition against Kanye West’s recently-announced headline slot at this summer’s Glastonbury Festival, has now reached over 85,000 signatures.

The online ‘appeal’ to Glastonbury organisers (which originally seemed like a shot in the dark upon its unveiling earlier in the week), has now hit 86,554 supporters at time of writing – should all those signing be actual ticket holders for this June’s event, then that would make up almost half of all attendees.

**UPDATE: the petition has now hit 90,000 signatures!!**

Whilst we rarely get involved in these kinds of things, we’d personally like to voice that we believe having Kanye West at Glastonbury is an exciting proposition. It’s noted that his arrogance has often overshadowed his work, however Glastonbury Festival, as an event founded on ‘contemporary performing arts’, is absolutely in its right to invite Kanye along as a headliner. The beauty of Glastonbury in its entirety is the wealth of activities available to ticketholders; last year, our editorial team sidelined Metallica’s headline show for fun at the BBC Introducing tent, and there were no regrets whatsoever.

Ultimately, Glastonbury caters for eclectic tastes – hip-hop fans have been commendably silent regarding Foo Fighters’ appearance at Glastonbury 2015; therefore rock fans should appreciate Kanye’s own fanbase that has been built thanks to his vast (and impressive) discography. Just like Jay Z back in 2008, hip-hop should absolutely be present at an all-encompassing event like Glastonbury Festival, and there’s no reason as to why Kanye should be told to step down.

A full line-up announcement for Glastonbury 2015 is expected in the coming weeks.