V Festival review: Pink wows crowds with fiery performance despite stage mishaps

Sparkles turned to real flames when part of Pink's set caught fire, but the pop icon didn't let it distract from a highly energetic and attitude-laced set

Pink performs on the Supervene Stage at the V Festival in Hylands Park, Chelmsford ( PA)

Chelmsford was lit up on Saturday as V Festival’s headlining act, Pink, delivered an explosive performance to a glittering crowd – despite part of her set catching fire midway through.

A throng of excited festival-goers, predominantly teenagers, attended the festival swathed in sequins and glitter, pushing any results day concerns aside to revel in the eagerly anticipated weekend.

But sparkles turned to real flames when a firework set alight part of the stage during Pink’s performance, leading to a minor panic before staff managed to quickly extinguish it.

Some minor sound issues followed, leading to complaints that Rudimental could be heard over the pop star from the other stage.

Yet Pink wasn’t going to let any mishaps intrude. After flying onto the stage from a crane, the “Just Like a Pill” star went on to belt out a string of hits while putting on a highly energetic performance that saw her zorb into the crowd in a giant transparent ball.

Earlier on, an array of spangling faces beamed from beneath mirrored sunglasses and playful hairstyles as old-school favourite Busted kicked things off, before Ella Eyre took to the stage and oozed confidence during a lively set.

Veteran band Madness delighted the audience with Eighties’ classics “Baggy Trousers” and “Our House”. The London band may have been around for 40 years, but the enthusiastic set served as a reminder that they can still put on a show.

Under a lazy afternoon sun, George Ezra crooned his new hit “Pretty Shining People”, with a mass of glittering faces gazing right back at him. The 24-year-old singer-songwriter dedicated “Barcelona” in memory of those who lost their lives in the Spanish city earlier in the week, before wrapping up his set with “Budapest”.

Chart-topping artist Jess Glynne gave a stunning performance of her popular hit “Hold my Hand”. Craig David then brought together old and new by performing a series of throwbacks for those who remember his hits in the Noughties, while also pleasing the younger crowd with songs from his recent album Following My Intuition.

Perhaps less gritty than your average festival, V Festival, in Hylands Park, was display of Britain’s youth at their best, revelling in musical delights and glimmering with wholesome positivity.