Festivalgoers at Glastonbury were given the opportunity to watch England’s Euro 2016 last-16 match against Slovakia by an unlikely figure: former One Direction star Louis Tomlinson, who livestreamed the game in the festival campsite on a flatscreen television he’d bought from Argos earlier in the day.
Glastonbury officials had announced earlier in the week that the match would not be shown at the festival due to clashes with performances on the major stages, forcing fans to find enterprising ways to watch it. Tomlinson was more enterprising than most, purchasing a flat screen TV and generator on Sunday morning and streaming the game using wifi. He said that he had initially intended to watch the game in the hospitality section but was thwarted by spotty reception, so brought the TV to the main festival site instead.
“It’s the second screen I’ve bought,” Tomlinson told the Guardian during extra time. “The first got cracked. I wasn’t going to take credit for it because it looked like we were going to lose in normal time, but now that we’ve equalised I’m happy to.”
By kick-off a sizeable crowd had gathered on a thoroughfare near the Pyramid stage to watch, with Tomlinson sat with friends towards the front. Initially festival staff had been concerned by the gathering, fearing that it might lead to a crush with attenders leaving the Pyramid stage. Staff said that some fans had been abusive when they said that the impromptu screening would have to be ended.
However, a compromise was found, with Tomlinson’s screen eventually angled away from the thoroughfare. There were cheers as the crowd safety officer confirmed that the screening could go ahead as planned.
For much of the game the mood was tense in the campsite, with England a goal down and struggling to break down a stubborn Slovakia backline. Tomlinson, dressed in a retro England windbreaker with a cross of St George’s flag wrapped around his neck, briefly had to intervene when the stream cut out in the second half. After frantically working the remote control, fans were able to resume watching.
Their mood was lifted further when Jude Bellingham equalised for England in injury time, prompting wild cheers and the brief appearance of a flare. England eventually won the game 2-1 with Harry Kane scoring the winner in extra time.
Tomlinson has had a long association with football. A lifelong fan of Doncaster Rovers, he made an appearance for the club’s reserve team in 2013, and was briefly involved in an attempt to buy the club.
He initially shot to fame with One Direction, who had a hugely successful career after winning TV talent show the X Factor – between 2010 and 2016 they had four chart-topping albums in both the UK and US. Since going on hiatus, Tomlinson has switched to a more indie-rock style, releasing two studio albums. The most recent, 2022’s Faith in the Future, reaching No 1 in the UK. He also founded his own music festival, Away From Home.