Australian pop princess Kylie Minogue made her debut at the Glastonbury music festival last night, five years after she was forced to pull out of the event after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
The 42-year-old was a guest of US glam rockers Scissor Sisters on the main Pyramid stage in front of tens of thousands of revellers who descended on a farm in southwest England for the four-day music showcase.
She did not address the raucous crowd directly and performed only one number Any Which Way, but her appearance, and a stirring set by Colombian singer Shakira hours earlier, ensured a high-octane end to the penultimate day of the festival.
English rock band Muse rounded off the night with some rousing singalongs, and they were joined by U2 guitarist Edge for a cover version of the group's hit Where the Streets Have No Name, which prompted huge cheers.
U2 were scheduled to headline the festival, celebrating its 40th year in 2010, before frontman Bono had emergency surgery on his back meaning that Gorillaz took their place.
And Glastonbury, one of the world's biggest music festivals, finally took off yesterday after Gorillaz's performance the night before had divided critics.
Adding to the feel-good factor for around 150,000 fans was uninterrupted sunshine, the exception rather than the rule for an event where rain regularly falls causing a mudbath.
With the England soccer team playing Germany today at the World Cup the mood was buoyant. The match will be shown on giant screens at the festival.
Shakira referred to the game during her sizzling set. When introducing her official World Cup song Waka Waka (This Time For Africa), she said: "I just performed this in South Africa and thought it would be appropriate to sing it tonight because ... there is a big match tomorrow which I'm planning to watch in some pub in east London. Let's hear you make some noise for England!"
With temperatures soaring, and expected to rise yet further on Sunday, Glastonbury 2010 has been about bare chests, bikinis and outlandish costumes rather than raincoats and rubber boots. Medical staff have dealt with an unusually high number of incidents, most of them heat-related.
The festival has helped cement rappers' place at a festival better known for its indie music and stadium rock. Snoop Dogg and Dizzee Rascal whipped the crowds into a frenzy, while Radiohead, who were voted Glastonbury's best headline act in a recent poll, pulled off a surprise when they appeared on the smaller Park stage late on Friday.
In 1970, Glastonbury founder and dairy farmer Michael Eavis decided to hold a music event and booked the Kinks for £500 but, when they failed to show, got Marc Bolan instead.
That year 1,500 people showed up when the event was known as the "Pilton Pop Festival". They each paid £1 and were given free milk from Eavis's Worthy Farm. This year the tickets cost £185.