Glastonbury Festival announces return of Emerging Talent Competition for 2025

Glatonbury's Emerging Talent Competition gives new UK and Ireland-based acts of any musical genre the chance to compete for a slot on one of the main stages at this year’s festival.

The winners of the free-to-enter competition will also be awarded a £5,000 Talent Development prize from PRS Foundation to help take their songwriting and performing to the next level. Two runners-up will also each be awarded a £2,500 PRS Foundation Talent Development prize.

Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis said: “We know how hard it is for new acts to take their first steps towards a career in music - particularly with the challenges facing small venues in this country - so the Emerging Talent Competition is a hugely important part of Glastonbury's annual calendar. I can't wait to hear the entries from across all the musical genres. And it's free to enter, so you've nothing to lose!”

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The winner of the 2024 competition was the Jamaican-Irish rapper JayaHadADream says of her experience: ”Winning the Glastonbury competition changed my life in many ways. It opened up so many opportunities. I’ve had a lot of industry and press interest and worked with artists I’ve grown up listening to. It also allowed me to print my vinyl through the funding which was a dream come true. My fanbase has grown too thanks to this! The actual experience of the Festival was unlike anything I have ever been to. It makes me emotional thinking about it because it was inspiring, hopeful and therapeutic. Everything about the experience was magical! I still can’t believe I performed on a Glastonbury main stage and my name's on the T-shirt!"

Other recent Emerging Talent Competition finalists include 2023 winner N’famady Kouyaté, 2022 runners up English Teacher, who went on to win the 2024 Mercury Prize; rapper Flohio who won the prestigious Music Moves Europe Talent Award in 2020.