Greta Thunberg has warned that the world is facing a “total natural disaster” unless citizens take urgent action while making a surprise appearance at the Glastonbury festival.
The 19-year-old activist led chants of “climate … justice” after delivering an exciting speech from the Pyramid stage that drew an apocalyptic picture of the future of the planet.
To the applause of thousands of festival goers, Thunberg said, “We are approaching the precipice and I strongly suggest that all those who have not yet been left green in our senses remain on our ground.
“Don’t let them drag us an inch closer to the edge. Right now that’s where we are in our position.”
Thunberg was presented on stage by Glastonbury co-organizer Emily Eavis, who described the Swedish teenager as “the most inspiring speaker of this generation”.
With cries of approval, Thunberg blamed world leaders for failing to stop the climate emergency and for creating “cracks” that allow ecological destruction to go unchecked.
“Not only has it become acceptable for leaders to lie, but it’s almost what we expect them to do,” he said amid applause.
He said it was time for society to start “creating hope” instead of waiting for it to come: “Hope is not something you are given. It is something you have to win, to create. You can’t to passively win by staying passive and waiting for someone else to do something.
“She is OK. It’s getting out of your comfort zone. And if a group of schoolchildren could take millions of people to the streets and start changing their lives, just imagine what we could all do together if we tried. “
Thunberg’s surprise speech in person was announced Saturday morning. He appeared shortly before a set by the American pop band Haim and a few hours before Paul McCartney’s commercial.
Under the scorching sun of Glastonbury’s fourth day, Thunberg urged festival-goers to “do what seems impossible” by helping to stop global warming before it’s too late.
He added: “These crises are the biggest story in the world. And we need to talk as far as possible, as far as our voices can and even further.
“It has to be said in articles, newspapers, movies and songs; at breakfast tables, lunches, family reunions; in elevators and bus stops; and in rural shops … and music festivals like Glastonbury “.
Thunberg’s is the second high-profile speech at the festival after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy delivered a video address to thousands of partygoers with sunken eyes on Friday morning.
Zelenskiy described Glastonbury as the world’s “largest concentration of freedom” while urging campers to pressure politicians to end the war in Ukraine.
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Encouraged by the crowd, he said: “In Ukraine we would also like to live life as before and enjoy freedom and this wonderful summer. But we cannot do it because the most terrible thing has happened: Russia has stolen our peace. “.
Founded in 1970 as a way to generate support for the Nuclear Disarmament Campaign, Glastonbury has maintained its strong political leanings over the past half century, although the festival has expanded to a much wider audience.