Will Marina Abramović be able to silence Glastonbury for seven minutes?

gLastonbury’s Pyramid Stage has hosted some of the world’s loudest rock bands and mass singing with thousands in attendance, but on Friday artist Marina Abramović will come out and ask the crowd to do something different: stay silent for seven minutes.

“I’m terrified,” said Abramović, whose performances have made her one of the world’s most famous artists. “I don’t know of any visual artist who has done something like this in front of 175,000 to 200,000 people. The biggest audience I’ve ever had was 6,000 people in a stadium and I was like ‘wow’, but this is definitely beyond anything I’ve done before. »

Abramović, who calls the event a “public intervention” rather than a performance, will address the crowd from the Pyramid stage at 5:55 p.m., just before PJ Harvey’s set, then ask the crowd to be quiet as part of a piece she calls Seven Minutes of Collective Silence.

The Serbian artist acknowledges that it can be difficult to ask thousands of festival-goers, some of whom have been here for two days already, to stay the course, but she hopes people will take the time to reflect on the current state of the world.

“We are really facing a dark moment in human history. So what can be done? I always think that protest leads to more protest; hate leads to more hate. I think it’s important to look inward. It’s easy to criticize everything else, but what can I do for myself, how can I change?

The event is being organised with Circa, the arts organisation that took over the Piccadilly Circus billboards displaying the works of Frank Bowling and Ai Weiwei, and Abramović admits it is a risky move at a noisy music festival.

“It’s a big risk, that’s why I’m terrified. I could completely fail, or people could just sit there. I don’t know, but I want to take the risk. Failure is also important, you learn from failure as well as success,” she said.

“I want to see how I can go beyond acid, beyond mushrooms, beyond everything that exists, touch that moment in their soul and stop everything for just seven minutes. Can you imagine if we succeed? It will be an incredible moment.

Abramovic’s appearance will be one of the festival’s highlights, and she will take to the stage in a garment designed by Riccardo Tisci, the former Italian creative director of Burberry. The artist wouldn’t reveal details of what she’ll be wearing but said it would be a “surprise” and in keeping with the festival’s theme of “peace.”

She said this moment would be one of the most difficult of her career. “How do I keep the energy of silence? I’m not a singer, I’m here for another purpose, which is to understand how we can create silence and reflect what’s happening in the world right now and have that kind of presence on the Pyramid stage.

The artist will visit Stonehenge at 6am to stand in the middle of the circle to “gather all the energy (she) can” before heading to Glastonbury.

Abramović – who became the first female artist in the Royal Academy’s 255-year history to have a solo exhibition in the main galleries last year – has never been to Glastonbury before and plans to explore Worthy Farm once her stage performance is over.

She’s not very interested in headliners, saying she’d like to scour smaller stages for new music. “For me, I will be like a child with open eyes,” she said. “Looking at these amazing new bands that I don’t know anything about.”

Before Abramović takes the stage, there will be another artistic moment when BISHI performs Yoko Ono’s vocal piece for soprano, which includes three “massive, cathartic screams” for the audience to join in, on the Park stage in 12:25 p.m.

“We are honoured that Marina Abramović is bringing such a meaningful and profound experience to Glastonbury,” said Emily Eavis, Glastonbury Festival co-organiser. “Her work has consistently pushed boundaries and inspired deep reflection, and we believe this moment of collective silence will be a memorable and impactful addition to the festival.”