MUMBAI: It was announced earlier today that rapper Kanye West will be headlining the 2015 Glastonbury Festival on Saturday, 27 June after American rock band, Foo Fighters headline Friday night, 26 June. The decision to have West headline the festival comes as a surprise considering Glastonbury is known for having rock artists like R.E.M, The Arctic Monkeys, Coldplay and The White Stripes close each day of the fest.

Having a rapper headline the music festival has left many fans fuming. Neil Lonsdale, from Norfolk, has started a petition on Change.org against West performing at Glastonbury and has requested organisers to “Cancel Kanye West's headline slot and get a rock band”. On the petition page, Lonsdale said, “Kanye West is an insult to music fans all over the world. We spend hundreds of pounds to attend Glastonbury, and by doing so, expect a certain level of entertainment. Kanye has been very outspoken on his views on music. He should listen to his own advice and pass his headline slot on to someone deserving! Let us prevent this musical injustice now!”

In reference to the decision of the Glastonbury organisers, the Eavis family, and the rapid increase in the number of pledges, Lonsdale stated, “Thanks for signing my petition, but for this to really make an impact, I need you to share it where you can! The Eavis family do great work, but this egotistical, maniacal, disgrace was a clear oversight. There is still time to correct this.” At the time of writing, the petition had more than 10,000 supporters.

It has also led to a tremendous uproar on social media with some fans of the festival and ticket holders expressing their outrage and disappointment.

I wonder if there was a petition out there to get @kanyewest from headlining #Glastonbury ? #realitycheck #nothankyouautotune #hasbeen

— Christian Whittaker (@RunWhittaker) March 17, 2015

Kanye West headlining #Glastonbury always thought Glasto was a music festival. My mistake

— Katy (@_whatkatydid_) March 16, 2015

Kanye West headlining Glastonbury? You could not pay me to watch this heap of shit. #Glastonbury

— Pedro McD (@macmod1965) March 17, 2015

Finding out @kanyewest is headlining @GlastoFest #Glasto2015 #glastonbury pic.twitter.com/up46Nxol41

— billie (@lisabillybob) March 16, 2015

This is not the first time fans have expressed their displeasure over a headlining act at Glastonbury. In 2008, Jay Z was announced as a headlining act, making him the first hip-hop artist to headline the music festival. The decision did not go down well with some fans and led Oasis singer Noel Gallagher to state that having a hip-hop headliner was “wrong”. Regardless of the controversy, Jay Z did perform at the fest, opening his set with a rendition of Oasis’ popular track ‘Wonderwall’. It is unlikely that Glastonbury will cancel West’s performance.