London, July 2, 2025 – NEOM McLaren Electric Racing has today revealed a striking new livery for the season finale of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in London on July 26-27.
Unveiled at McLaren Racing’s Never Stop Racing fan experience in Trafalgar Square, the design reimagines the team’s identity as a bold “away kit,” creatively expressing the ambition of Oxagon, NEOM’s reimagined industrial city.
The partnership between Oxagon and the NEOM McLaren Electric Racing Team highlights the power of strategic collaboration to drive meaningful change. By combining McLaren’s technological edge with Oxagon’s vision for advanced and clean industries, the two organizations are working to redefine how technology, sustainability and design converge to shape the future of industry – within NEOM and beyond.
Developed between the two brands, the livery introduces dynamic new colors inspired by Oxagon, while retaining the signature papaya elements that define the NEOM McLaren Electric Racing Team’s visual identity. This distinctive design will also feature on the race suits and helmets of drivers Sam Bird and Taylor Barnard.
“This special edition livery offers a fresh take on our existing design — a purposeful “away kit’ that shines a light on Oxagon, one of NEOM’s key regions,” said Ian James, Team Principal, NEOM McLaren Electric Racing Team. “It represents more than bold visuals; it symbolizes a partnership rooted in innovation, collaboration and real-world industrial transformation.”
“Our work with the NEOM McLaren Electric Racing Team demonstrates how cross-industry partnerships can accelerate sustainable transformation,” said Vishal Wanchoo, CEO of Oxagon. “By combining McLaren’s performance and efficiency with Oxagon’s vision for clean, connected manufacturing, we’re advancing the kind of innovation that is shaping the future of industry.”
Since the launch of the international Oxagon x McLaren Accelerator Program in 2023, two successful cohorts of scale-ups from around the world have completed the 12-week program designed to fast-track deep tech and next generation solutions to advance industries. From autonomous mobility to smart logistics and supply chain innovation, the program has already led to pilot projects within NEOM and commercial opportunities across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In 2024, out of seven companies, four were shortlisted to pilot their technologies in the port on HSE, worker wellbeing, robotic container handling and condition-based predictive maintenance.
The NEOM–McLaren partnership, established in 2022, extends beyond motorsport sponsorship to reflect a shared commitment to high performance, innovation and the development of future talent. Revealed in London and inspired by Oxagon, the livery captures the spirit of the partnership and its role in advancing progress through design, technology and shared values.
Surprising as it sounds, this spirited production of Rameau’s Les Indes galantes represents the work’s first staging in the UK. Then again, French opéra-ballet has always presented challenges, from the substantial forces required to do it justice to the need for specialist vocal techniques rarely encouraged this side of the Channel: a gifted practitioner of the French baroque must be across a dizzying nine different types of trill.
Premiered in Paris in 1735, Rameau’s ballet héroïque tapped into Enlightenment tropes of the noble savage and the export of European ideals to the New World, whether the inhabitants wanted it or not. Its exotic locations – Turkey, Peru, Persia and the North American wilderness – present a modern-day director with a veritable minefield of cultural sensitivities. Happily, Bintou Dembélé, whose roots are in French hip-hop, navigates these perilous waters with ease, conjuring up an irresistible blend of pop culture and inclusive storytelling.
Presented on a bare stage, with musicians on rostra at the back, there are times when this discreetly truncated interpretation comes across as more choreographed concert than opera, but with musicians and dancers ranging freely throughout the auditorium it also feels thoroughly immersive. Lighting designer Benjamin Nesme’s illuminated floating circle does duty as a rose-tinted Persian fountain, the torrid Peruvian sun and a North American forest. The disc’s detachable light sticks are often all that’s required to illuminate a singer’s face. Charlotte Coffinet’s gender-fluid, street-savvy costumes bring a chilled vibe to musicians and dancers alike.
Crushing it … Les Indes Galantes at The Grange festival, 2025. Photograph: Richard Hubert Smith
The production simmers before it sizzles. The abstract choreography of the prologue occasionally treads water, ditto in the Turkish act. By the time we make landfall in Peru, however, the supple dancers – drawn from Dembélé’s company Structure Rualité – are crushing it with spellbinding outbursts of breaking, popping and waacking. The Inca temple, volcanic eruption and all, is vividly conveyed, while Rameau’s Dance of the Peace Pipe crackles with leaps, whoops and stamps. The subsequent slow-motion slaughter of one half of the company by the other is a powerful reminder of colonialism’s brutal legacy.
Musical standards are exemplary. Cappella Mediterranea, playing under founder and conductor Leonardo García-Alarcón, produce a dynamic, spicily textured and disciplined blend, complemented by the specialist baroque voices of the Belgian Choeur de chambre de Namur. Four busy singers cover the various vocal roles, all thoroughly idiomatic and blessed with immaculate diction. Ana Quintans is a standout as the goddess Hébé; Laurène Paternò a feisty North American maiden; Alasdair Kent – a proper French high tenor – makes a charmingly fickle Spaniard; and sonorous bass Andreas Wolf is enormously persuasive as the fanatical Inca high priest. The Grange festival deserves the Legion of Honour for bringing this imaginative production to our shores.
On May 15, 2025, fans got the surprise they’d been waiting for: Blue Protocol: Star Resonance, the long-anticipated anime MMORPG from Shanghai Bokura Network Technology, is officially coming to the West via publisher A Plus in 2025. The news followed hot on the heels of the game’s Chinese beta, and the hype hasn’t stopped building since.
To keep the momentum going — and true to its community-driven development ethos — Bokura extended a rare opportunity to the game’s largest English-speaking fan hub, Star Resonance Database. Through a series of curated questions sourced from the Discord server, players got the chance to directly engage with the team behind the game.
Roy, Bokura’s founder and seasoned game producer — who’s been a driving force behind MMO titles like Dragon Nest Mobile and Ragnarok Origin: Love at First Sight — answered the community’s most burning questions, and didn’t hold back.
Q1: MMOs nowadays try to cater to every type of player (PvE, PvP, roleplayers, casuals, hardcore, etc.), but this often leads to a lack of proper direction and focus, resulting in none of the content reaching its full potential. In the case of Star Resonance, who is the main target audience, and which content areas will you primarily focus on?
A: Many members of our team, including myself, are anime enthusiasts. Combined with my years of experience as an MMO producer, I’ve always dreamed of creating an MMO with a distinct anime aesthetic. We know this is an ambitious vision because today’s market lacks games that truly cater to both anime enthusiasts and traditional MMO players. That’s exactly who we’re building this game for: players who, like us, love deep MMO experiences and vibrant anime-style worlds.
The game’s core gameplay will focus on a PvE battle and casual gameplay hybrid model. That said, as we continue updating the game and gathering player feedback, we may expand into other areas in the future.
Q2: Monetization is one of the biggest concerns for Western players compared to the Eastern player base. Generally, players don’t want others to gain an unreasonable progression advantage by spending money. Specifically, the Chinese beta test revealed that the game has a premium to in-game currency conversion system without any daily or weekly restrictions, similar to many recently criticized MMOs in the West. Are you planning to adjust this for the Western community? If so, what is your current approach?
A: As mentioned earlier, our game focuses on a PvE battle and casual gameplay hybrid model, so we certainly don’t want a P2W environment here. While we do offer pay-for-convenience options (like currency conversion), none of these provide exclusive advantages. All progression items can be earned through gameplay, and the Trading Center ensures that even paid boosts indirectly benefit the broader community by circulating resources.
These systems are designed to help players with limited playtime or those joining later to catch up, rather than creating an imbalanced situation. We believe this approach will create a relatively balanced gameplay experience, fostering a fair ecosystem and a healthier in-game economy. We also recognize that players may want to support the development team through these optional purchases, allowing us to continue creating more high-quality content for everyone.
Q3: Content is another critical factor in MMOs. What kind of vertical progression-related content can casual and hardcore players currently expect to engage in Blue Protocol: Star Resonance?
A: We believe combat and progression are the heart of the MMO experience, so we’ve designed these systems to cater to all types of players. Through extensive iteration, we’ve created a battle system that’s easy to pick up for newcomers but deep enough to challenge veterans.
For hardcore players, we’ve built a robust PvE ecosystem — from class customization to dungeons and open-world encounters. As players grow stronger, they’ll test their skills in high-stakes battles, including five-player dungeons and 20-player raids, all while earning exciting rewards. Each season will introduce fresh content like new classes, dungeons, and PvE modes to keep the experience dynamic.
For casual players, we’re crafting a relaxed, social playground with features like house-building, life skills, fishing, etc. And we are also planning seasonal events for social play. Over time, we’ll add more social mini-games, aiming to create a vibrant world that feels like a shared amusement park for everyone.
Our goal is to create a playground where every player, whether competitive or casual, can find their own adventure.
Blue Protocol: Star Resonance Exclusive Images
Q4: Many MMOs tend to introduce more and more systems over time. This often leads to a high barrier of entry to the game and overwhelms the active player base. To avoid this, it is much simpler to expand the currently existing systems (e.g., adding skills, expanding talent trees, etc.) instead of adding new ones. What is your design philosophy when considering the future development of the game?
A: We’re intentional about keeping progression systems streamlined. Our philosophy is simple: Whether you’re a new player just starting out or a veteran returning after a break, we want you to jump back in effortlessly, without cramming a ton of new mechanics. That’s why we focus on expanding existing systems — adding depth, new goals, and fresh twists — rather than piling on entirely new mechanics. Long-term, this keeps the experience fresh but familiar, ensuring that players always have meaningful ways to grow without feeling overwhelmed.
Q5: MMOs often face the issue of mandatory progression-related content being too grindy, difficult, or time-consuming for the majority of the player base. Easing the difficulty for progression-related content, adding social-focused content for after progression, and including optional but challenging content for those seeking a challenge seem to be effective solutions. What is your current stance on this, and how do you plan to address it?
A: Making core progression both enjoyable and accessible has always been one of our top priorities. We’re adopting a seasonal approach. Not only to introduce fresh content but also to revitalize existing activities with thematic updates, ensuring even veteran players find new excitement in familiar gameplay. We’re also deeply committed to enhancing social experiences. Social interaction is the heart of our game, and every piece of content is designed to bring players together. After all, the most memorable moments often emerge from player-driven interactions. To foster this, we’re building a more diverse game ecosystem that caters to different playstyles — whether it’s PvE, casual gameplay, or relaxed social activities. For example, we’ve invested significant effort into developing the housing system. While it was not available in the test server yet, we’ll continue expanding it through seasonal updates, enriching its depth, variety, and overall appeal to strengthen player connections. By consistently refining and expanding content this way, we aim to create a vibrant, inclusive world where every player finds their place.
Q6: The community would love to see the game include content that enriches exploration, similar to timed or dynamic events present in other MMOs. These are unscheduled events that randomly appear throughout the world while bringing the community together. Are there any plans for such content?
A: As fellow MMO players, we absolutely love dynamic events like these. They’re a fantastic way to encourage exploration and spontaneous player interaction. However, with our current development resources, we’re prioritizing refining the game’s core experience first. That said, we’re actively evaluating the potential for unscheduled world events and similar content in future updates. Stay tuned for more details as we expand the game’s horizons!
Q7: Undoubtedly, the game’s player base will include many anime enthusiasts. Can we expect collaborations with anime franchises in the future?
A: Absolutely! As an anime-inspired MMO, our game naturally aligns with anime and manga IPs. We are also excited about future collaborations and are confident about the BPSR’s potential in this aspect. The real question is: Which IP should we team up with first? Our community team will soon launch surveys to gather your voices and preferences because we want these partnerships to reflect what you truly love. Stay tuned, your dream crossover might be closer than you think!
Q8: Currently, direct player-to-player trading is not possible, and gear cannot be traded in the auction house. However, the shared warehouse system allows players to have a shared space with a limited number of friends for trading, which is especially beneficial for the life skill profession aspect of the game. Unfortunately, only a limited number of life skill materials can be placed in the shared warehouse. Do you plan to address this limitation?
A: At the current stage, we’re not planning to lift these restrictions. Past experience showed that allowing ability-enhancing items in shared storage led to players feeling forced to create multiple alternate accounts. That’s why we’ve limited such items while still maintaining a system where friends can share resources. We want to encourage cooperation without creating pressure to grind on alts.
Q9: The current life skill system heavily favors players who have the time to create and play alternate characters, as life skill energy is character-specific. Most casual players don’t have the time or interest in creating alternate characters. How do you plan to address this and similar issues related to this in the future?
A: We actually do not encourage multi-character gameplay — our shared storage system is intentionally designed this way to avoid grinding on alts. We hope the players create alternate characters to experience different character body types and genders, not optimization for the main character.
We’ve reworked the Life Skill system to optimize the experience for casual players and players who are dedicated to Life Skills. Here’s what we’ve done so far:
Make energy only affect trade
Allow free gathering/crafting without energy cost
Add more recipes so dedicated Life Skill players won’t hit progression walls
Q10: The auto-combo system currently allows players to stand in place and attack nearby monsters with skills in random order. This does not include auto-pathing or full auto-combat, which is great. However, the MMO audience in the West strongly dislikes automated combat systems and is concerned about this feature being expanded, potentially trivializing combat and breaking immersion if many players are seen AFK-farming simple monsters. Do you plan to adjust this system for the Western audience to avoid these issues?
A: Our vision is to create a fun world for players to explore, so we’ve implemented auto-combat and auto-pathfinding in a very careful way. We want the auto function to solely reduce meaningless grind time in low-difficulty areas without compromising core gameplay. For a long-term MMO, some convenience features are necessary for players to handle relatively repetitive and low-difficulty features. Additionally, we’ve strictly controlled the rewards from monster grinding, which will minimize the impact of players’ AFK farming.
Q11: Regarding the Western server structure, will it be split into regions, or can we expect a single mega-server where everyone can play together?
A: We’ve heard much feedback on this matter, and we completely agree that players should play together. While physical distance creates technical challenges, we’re actively working toward a mega-server solution and hope to deliver satisfying results.
Q12: Which languages will be supported at the game’s release, and do you intend to support more languages in the future?
A: At launch, we’ll support English localization with Japanese VO. We’re currently working hard on localization QA to ensure Western players get the best first impression. Additional languages may come based on player feedback — we welcome your suggestions!
Q13: Will a housing system be available at the game’s release? If so, what features can players expect?
A: We have good news for those who love to decorate their places: the housing system will be available at launch! Players can claim their own homestead at no additional cost, which consists of two parts: an island and a house, both exclusively for the player’s use. Players can invite up to four friends to cohabitate (five people total) and manage the house together. The system offers high freedom of customization. Things like building partition walls, arranging furnishings, and more will be possible. The house also includes farming features where grown crops can be sold to merchants for housing currency to be exchanged for furniture and other items. Additionally, some furniture can be crafted through life skills.
Q14: The website already shows the silhouette of a class using a guitar, which might be available at release. Do you plan to add more classes to the game? If so, at what intervals?
A: Correct! The Guitarist class will also be available at launch. They also come with two styles: One has more DPS abilities that make it easier to play solo in the open world. The other one specializes in support with strong healing and buffing abilities.
As for future classes, we surely have plans to add more classes post-launch. Stay tuned for updates!
Q15: You recently revealed that the game will have controller support. Does this mean there are plans to release the game on consoles in the future? Will it be playable on the Steam Deck?
A: We’re implementing controller support starting with mainstream models, with plans to expand compatibility. Regarding consoles and Steam Deck, while we have nothing certain to announce yet, I’ll say we are open to all possibilities!
Q16: Based on the Chinese beta test, it seemed that character customization options, as well as the variety of costumes and accessories in the game, were very limited. Can we expect more options in these areas for the Western release? If so, what additional options can players look forward to?
A: We’ll continuously add more outfits and cosmetics, including mix-and-match pieces, to allow players to express themselves as they want. While the core customization categories will remain the same, we will add more options for players to choose from: more eye shapes, hairstyles, etc.
Q17: Are there any plans to make a character creator available before the game’s release, allowing players to take their time creating a character in advance?
A: We also believe this is a good idea, and a character creation code system on the client side has been developed. The function needs to be tested, but I’ll say it is very possible that players can see it at launch.
Q18: The community is eager to test and play the game in the West as soon as possible. Can you provide any hints/teasers about future tests or the release date?
A: We’re preparing the beta for global now. Having seen CN players enjoy two tests, we know fans all over the world are excited to try BPSR. While I can’t share exact dates yet, the wait won’t be much longer.
Q19: Can we expect more regular opportunities like this, both before and after the game’s release, for the community to provide feedback and ask questions? Additionally, will there be future developer live streams for the Western audience in English or with subtitles?
A: Yes. We have developer talks for English fans planned. Other programs, like developer live streams, are also possible. Stay tuned for more!
Blue Protocol: Star Resonance launches in 2025 for iOS, Android, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
A healthy diet costs in global average US$3.68 per day in 2021. This is considerably higher than the average food expenditure in almost all low income countries, where people have to do with a diet dominated by staples and oils, lacking protein and a number of micronutrients. The cost of healthy food is also out of reach for many people living above the World Bank’s extreme poverty line.
A team of researchers have summarized data of the cost of a global ”Healthy food basket” which is closely aligned to a set of national public dietary guidelines. The healthy food basket is composed of six broad categories of food, starchy crops, oils, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and seeds and animal foods. The researchers selected a small number of the cheapest food items in each category to calculate minimum cost of a healthy diet in the countries of the world. Notably, the healthy food basket has a considerably higher share of fruits and vegetables and a lower share of animal source foods (13% compared to 18%) than the average global consumption.
It is well established that a healthy diet can be costly. Fruits, vegetables and animal foods are relatively expensive while starchy foods, oils and legumes are much cheaper when calculated in cost per energy unit. Oils give in average almost 20 times more food energy than vegetables. You eat vegetables for dietary variation, taste and micronutrients rather than to get sated. Meat is mostly eaten for protein and fat as well as taste and status. Still, meat gives much cheaper energy than both fruits and vegetables. The cost is also the reason for why poor people, mostly, eat very little greens, fruits and animals foods and a lot of staple foods like grain and root crops (see for instance in Pradhan et al 2013). Oils and other fats were traditionally in very short supply in most parts of the world, and most of the fat was of animal origin. The extreme expansion of vegetable oils, mostly palm oil and soy oil, has now made fat cheaper than starch as an energy source.
The research is based on market prices and obviously both actual consumption and ”cost” will be different for the considerable part of the global poor that are farmers themselves. But even for them I believe it is clear that the poorest often eat a very starch-based diet, supplemented by purchased vegetable (palm) oil, sugar and salt (obviously there are some poor populations engaged in fisheries, livestock or the collection of wild plants that have a different diet). I worked many years in very poor countries and with poor farmers in East Africa and it was striking how seldom they consumed any quantity of vegetables. Those who did grow them did it mostly for the market, to get very much needed income.
Smallholder Susan Mkandawire in Zambia cooks maize porridge with some salt, palm oil and pumpkin leaves to her family. She sells most of the vegetables she grows and the few chickens she raises to get much needed cash. Photo: Richard Mulonga
The World Bank now defines extreme poverty by an income below $3 in PPP US dollars (Purchasing Power Parities) in low-income countries, $4.20 in lower-middle income countries and $8.30 in upper-middle income countries. The actual research is for the situation 2021, before most of the recent food price hikes. At that time, the World Bank poverty limit was $2.15. Realistically, around $1.35 of that could be used for food, which is more than one third of the cost of a healthy diet. The World Bank estimates that a little less than half of the global population live with a daily income below $8.30 in 2025. Considering that the bank increased the poverty line in upper-middle income countries from $6.85 to $8.30 between 2022 and 2025 it seems like a fair estimate that half of the global population can’t afford a healthy diet. This also calls into question of how the poverty lines are defined. Shouldn’t a person above the poverty line be able to eat healthy food?
The researchers conclude that the so called Eat-Lancet diet is even more costly than the Healthy Diet Basket used in this study. This is due to the fact that the EAT Lancet diet has more categories of food and specify quantities of expensive foods such as nuts and fish. One can really question the relevance of making recommendations such as the Eat-Lancet diet when it is out of reach of most people. The Health Diet Basket would, according to this research cause slightly more greenhouse gas emissions than the Eat Lancet.
Of course, one can’t draw too far reaching conclusions from this kind of research. In the end food is about a lot more than cost and calories and even if national data has been used, food consumption data is not particularly accurate and even less so in countries with high levels of self-provisioning.
What constitutes a healthy diet is also vigorously debated and I don’t want to get into details about it here. My own opinion is that a mixed diet based on local foods will be fine, which means bigger variations than in the efforts to prescribe global diets. Where I live in the Sweden it will mean a diet with more animal foods than the global average and less fruit. In almost no countries of the world, people eat as much vegetables as is recommended in dietary recommendations and despite being a passionate vegetable grower since 1977 I am not convinced about the feasibility of increasing vegetable consumption to satisfy nutritional recommendation (Rundgren 2019).
The research referred to here is not fine grained enough to cover all aspects, as the researchers point out themselves. In many cases the starch component will be refined (or be sugar) and not be whole grain for instance, and fish, various meats and dairy have different nutritional profiles and health reputation.
In a coming article I will look into to what extent countries can feed their population with a healthy diet.
References
Herforth, A.W., Bai, Y., Venkat, A. et al. The Healthy Diet Basket is a valid global standard that highlights lack of access to healthy and sustainable diets. Nat Food6, 622–631 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-025-01177-0
Our World in Data 2025, Share in poverty relative to different poverty lines, World, https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-in-poverty-relative-to-different-poverty-thresholds
Pradhan P, Reusser DE, Kropp JP (2013) Embodied Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Diets. PLoS ONE 8(5): e62228. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0062228
Rundgren, G 2019, Five dollars a day is not enough for five a day, Garden Earth https://gardenearth.substack.com/p/five-dollars-is-not-enough-for-five-day
Rundgren, G 2022, Food and agriculture number crunching, part 3, Garden Earth
World Bank 2025, Measuring Poverty. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/measuringpoverty
A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool is helping doctors better understand and diagnose dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, a new study has found. The tool, called StateViewer, was created by researchers at the Mayo Clinic. It was able to correctly identify the type of dementia a patient had in 88 per cent of cases, according to findings published in the journal Neurology.
Doctors say the tool could make it easier to diagnose dementia earlier, even in people who have other medical issues that make it hard to figure out the cause of memory loss or confusion.
“Every patient who walks into my clinic carries a unique story shaped by the brain’s complexity,” said Dr. David Jones, the study’s senior author and head of the Mayo Clinic’s Neurology AI Program. “StateViewer helps us give clearer answers, earlier.”
How does it work
To build the tool, researchers used over 3,600 brain scans called FDG-PET scans, which show how the brain uses sugar for energy. The AI compares a patient’s scan to a large database of scans from people with confirmed types of dementia.
It looks for patterns in brain activity linked to different types of dementia. For example:
Alzheimer’s disease affects memory and thinking
Lewy body dementia involves movement and attention
Frontotemporal dementia affects language and behaviour
The AI can recognise patterns for nine different types of dementia, the researchers said.
StateViewer also creates colour-coded brain maps, making it easier for doctors to understand what the AI is seeing and why it gave a particular diagnosis.
“Behind every brain scan is a real person with a lot of questions,” said Leland Barnard, the lead researcher. “This tool gives doctors fast and accurate information that can help patients get the right care sooner.”
What’s next
The team now plans to test StateViewer in different hospitals and clinics to see how well it works in real-life situations.
If successful, it could become a useful tool for doctors treating people with memory problems or suspected dementia.
Experts say this is a step toward more precise, early diagnosis, which is important because treatment often works best when started early.
“This is just the beginning,” Dr. Jones said. “Tools like this could help change the way we care for people with dementia.”
Hello and welcome to The Long Wave. This weekend I was at Glastonbury reviewing the bands with the Guardian’s music team; it was my second year at the legendary arts and music festival, and I’ve become a total convert, preaching the glory of Worthy Farm after years of assuming that an event like it wasn’t for someone like me.
How Black culture belatedly found a home at Worthy Farm
Pioneering … Jay-Z at Glastonbury in 2008 – his lead billing was criticised by some at the time. Photograph: Danny Martindale/WireImage
In recent years, Glastonbury has come under fire for the perceived whiteness of the event. In 2022, the Black British comedy legend Lenny Henry said in a Radio Times interview that “it’s interesting to watch Glastonbury and look at the audience and not see any Black people there” – even if a Black artist had a key billing. Stormzy’s headline set in 2019, considered one of the most electrifying in Glastonbury’s long history, was the first solo headliner ever by a Black British artist; even festival organiser Emily Eavis seemed embarrassed that it had taken so long.
Much more damaging to Glastonbury’s image, however, was Noel Gallagher’s response to Jay-Z being announced as a headliner for the festival in 2008. The Oasis songwriter called it “wrong”, claiming that hip-hop had no place on Worthy Farm – opinions that he later recanted. When tickets sold slowly for Glastonbury that year, some commentators blamed Jay-Z’s presence on the bill – rather than the terrible weather of the year before. I was only 11 in 2008, but I remember that my parents, hip-hop fans themselves, were infuriated by the backlash. To them, it demonstrated the constraints placed on Black people’s careers, as well as a reminder that, regardless of success or achievement, there were spaces in this country in which we still weren’t welcome.
Certainly, for a long time I had no interest in attending Glastonbury. That’s not so much down to my music taste – I love a lot of pop and rock music, and some of my most anticipated sets last year were Avril Lavigne and Coldplay (for my sins), and this year, Lorde and Charli xcx. If I could travel back in time to catch a set it would be Lana Del Rey in 2023. But there was also this lingering idea that camping and not showering for days just to see live music was “something white people did”.
From Fela Kuti to Beyoncé, the legends that paved the way
Maverick … Fela Kuti’s appearance at Glastonbury in 1984 is regarded as one of the festival’s greatest moments. Photograph: Paul Curry/Alamy
Evidently, Glastonbury’s image as a forum for white, male rock stars still lingers – and a Sunday afternoon slot for Rod Stewart this year, who the day before suggested that the country should embrace Nigel Farage, will have set things back a bit. Yet it has not always been this way. In the 1980s, Glastonbury increasingly became a home for international Black music.
The American “gentle genius” Curtis Mayfield became the first Black headliner at Glastonbury in 1983. That same year, King Sunny Adé became the first Nigerian artist to perform at the festival. The roots reggae band Black Uhuru (who returned to Glastonbury this year after a near four-decade absence) were headliners in 1984. Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti’s Pyramid stage set that year, with 20-piece band Egypt 80, with its storming political messages and confrontations of authority and broken democracy, is widely regarded as one of Glastonbury’s most iconic performances. Skunk Anansie headlined the Pyramid stage in 1999, making singer Skin the first Black woman to do so.Since then, Kendrick Lamar, SZA and Beyoncé have served as headliners – Beyoncé defying the same accusations of inauthenticity and non-belonging that her husband did, three years after Jay-Z silenced his critics with a shutdown performance.
Naturally though, Black cultural progress often fluctuates. Last year, our arts and culture correspondent Lanre Bakare wrote that the increase in Black artists at the festival (among them Janelle Monáe, Burna Boy and Little Simz) reflected a “cultural shift”, and that while Black festivalgoers had to work to overcome “psychological barriers”, they were breaking through in order to experience what is surely one of the greatest festivals in the world.
I think that is true for me, too. My approach to Glastonbury is to embrace the eclecticism of its lineup. I attended sets by artists I’ve never heard playing music I’d never usually listen to, that cliche of broadening your horizons. I found myself strangely emotional during what was an odd combination of a minimalist piano performance and then DJ set by Breton composer Yann Tiersen, and then imagined myself smelling alpine plants and orchids in a Yakushima forest during Japanese folk singer Ichiko Aoba’s show.
Glastonbury’s power has always resided in its ability to loosen your inhibitions and transport you to other worlds. However, that does not mean it is a space free from the more undignified strata of British society. One white boy asked if I would “pattern man some loud” (sell him weed); another hit me with a rogue “wagwan?” and fist bumped me; another saw me in my vest and asked “How comes Black people get so hench?” But by and by, these were easy to shrug off as business as usual when living in Britain, rather than expressions of hostility.
skip past newsletter promotion
after newsletter promotion
A community under canvas
A thriving Black community … DJ Chidera in the Black at Glasto space. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images
I can honestly say that coming to Glastonbury for a second year felt like coming back home. Yes, it is still predominantly white, but there is a thriving and visible Black community: on Saturday, I had the night of my life dancing to Larizzle, one of my favourite DJs, at the Black at Glasto tent at Silver Hayes, a hub for Black culture at Glastonbury launched last year by the community design agency ourppls. I “glamped” so I can’t say that I’ve exactly beaten my aversion to camping, yet there can be little doubt that other Black Britons are embracing life under canvas. There has been a surge of Black birdwatching groups, hiking clubs, skiing trips – a rebuke to the idea that certain activities are “for us” and others aren’t.
The lineup for this year, while perhaps not as stacked as 2024, still offered a banquet of local and international Black talent: Black Uhuru, Ezra Collective, Cymande, Celeste, Doechii. I spoke to Ghanaian-American singer Amaarae, who told me that, as a child, she had watched footage of Amy Winehouse on the West Holts stage, and felt honoured to be performing in the same spot. She added that, though there had been improvements, she had previously viewed the festival as predominantly for white artists. Had she thought she would ever play here? “I definitely thought that one day I was going to be a star, so it was always an aspiration,” she told me. “I didn’t know how, but I knew that I could make it possible for myself.” Truly, there is no greater force against double consciousness than west African self-belief and manifestation.
Nonetheless, Gallagher’s claim that rap had no place at Glastonbury lingered in my mind. Stormzy was the first Black British solo artist to headline, but there hasn’t been one since. AJ Tracey and Pa Salieu were the only Black British rappers on this year’s bill. But then came a twist. Skepta was pulled in at the 11th hour to fill in for an illness-struck Deftones. And in just 30 minutes spitting on the mic, he produced such a thrilling set that you couldn’t help but hope the headline spot is his soon. Let’s just say that if, when Glastonbury returns in 2027, there’s a Skepta and BBK link-up on the Pyramid stage, the streets will be there – by any means necessary.
To receive the complete version of The Long Wave in your inbox every Wednesday, please subscribe here.
It opens with an expanded instrumental intro, requested by Muller to make use of their gorgeous main setting, the 19th-century Villa Erba, built by the Italian director Luchino Visconti’s maternal grandfather. A man and woman walk nervously across its lush gardens toward Stefani, smiling tightly at its doors. After some charged pleasantries, he stumbles into their hostess, triggering brief flashbacks to their younger selves, smiling and in love on a lakeside dock. The song then begins in earnest and the video settles into its impressionistic groove: two timelines constantly collapsing into each other by moments and objects that prompt memories both painful and joyous.
Below, Muller shares with Vogue her closely held memories of the shoot, and some even closer-guarded on-set photos and storyboard frames.
On its conception
I knew that Gwen was a really good actress, but not in a straightforward way, like playing Shakespeare. She’s an amazing video actress. My proof is always this shot in “Don’t Speak,” where she’s holding an orange as she’s being photographed. She sees the band looking at her, pissed off, and she’s smiling for the photographer before her face falls, and you see that she feels terrible and guilty. That closeup of her face is really subtle, and that was what I based the whole concept of the “Cool” video on: her ability to do looks. The emotion comes not so much from the singing, but from her look.
On its cinematic influences
My influences are obviously films, especially from the 1950s and ’70s, but there weren’t any conscious references for the video. I wanted to allude to that time when filmmaking language was innocent and soft, not overly sexual. If anything, the person I copy all the time is Hitchcock: the camera work, the colors and the design of his films. That, combined with romantic Italian cinema and a blonde female lead in ’50s suits. But Gwen and I both had a love of The Sound of Music and one shot alludes to that, which is where they’re standing at the gates of the mansion, which looks a bit like the one from the movie.
On its shoot
It was a two-day shoot. The whole first day—the past scenes—was shot on 16-millimeter [film] and it was very quick: get on the bike, go in the room, go into the café, run around. The second day, we shot inside, on 35 millimeters, and it was really precise and really hard. There was a lot of, How will we finish? But everyone was literally at the top of their game, right at that moment in time. Lots of people came from Gwen’s world: her brother was there, filming behind the scenes, because that’s what he does, and a photographer came to take pictures of the set. I remember her saying, “I just can’t believe it. I could approve every single one, everything looks amazing.”
On directing the central trio
Originally, Gwen was going to have a partner in it. It was gonna be two couples, and you weren’t gonna see her husband—it was going to be just his hand or something. But then we thought, Oh, this is so stupid, let’s get rid of the husband. We wanted to lean into the idea that [the ex] should be an Italian actor, but eventually went with a Spanish one [Daniel González]. And then it was, Well, Erin is an actress, let’s use Erin. They were friendly, and Gwen and Tony were friendly. Having Erin just felt logical, you know? It wasn’t very hard directing them because they knew what they were doing. And Erin was great because all she had to do was be someone who was witnessing it all for the first time.
On its use of match cuts and gazes
You can do a lot with a head turn. If someone does that and then you show what they’re looking at, you’ve created a story. The match cuts came from the idea of, How do we portray the past and the present without being crass? My favorite shot—I’m so proud of it, and it’s storyboarded, which is what blew my mind—is when the waiter puts the spaghetti and meatballs down and it cuts with Gwen putting biscuits down in the present. I storyboarded all the connections—the hands, the meatballs, the teacups with their lips on them. I worked with one of the best storyboard artists ever, Glyn Dillon, who no longer does it because he’s so successful doing something else. He helped me come up with all those ideas.
On its lasting legacy
I think everyone loved it at the time, but it wasn’t a bigger hit. If you read the comments on YouTube now, it’s really amazing. I don’t really read comments, but these are so profound. People are saying they went to Como on their honeymoon because of the video, and commenting all the things it’s meant to them. I just could not believe it. I know some people really love music videos, but this one touches people in a really weird place. They all cry when they watch it; I didn’t expect that.
