Record audience for BBC Glastonbury coverage

The BBC’s 21st year covering Glastonbury Festival was also most successful, the corporation announced today, with BBC Music’s television and online coverage of the event reaching a record audience of almost 21 million.

A total of 20.9m people watched the BBC’s Glastonbury TV coverage for at least three minutes – a 12% increase on 2016 – with Ed Sheeran’s closing slot on Sunday night achieving a record high for a Glastonbury programme of 2.9m, replacing previous recordholder ELO, who achieved 2.4m last year.

With 4.1m, Sheeran also broke the record one-minute peak audience figure.

Other strong performers included Barry Gibb’s 6pm ‘Legends’ slot, broadcast on BBC Two, which achieved an average audience of 2.48m; Elbow’s surprise performance on Friday evening, which was seen by 784,000 BBC Four viewers; and Friday and Saturday’s headliners, Radiohead and Foo Fighters, who drew in an average of 811,000 and 1.6m, respectively.

“We’re delighted this year’s Glastonbury Festival has been enjoyed by a record number of people”

“We’re delighted that this year’s Glastonbury Festival has been enjoyed by a record number of people,” says the BBC’s director of radio and music, Bob Shennan.

“BBC Music was able to bring audiences such an incredible range of genres, from grime [to] reggae, rock and pop, [and] memorable sets including Ed Sheeran, who made his Glastonbury debut only six years ago on the BBC Music Introducing Stage, and legendary artists Radiohead, Foo Fighters and Barry Gibb – and all under a shining sun, for a change.”

In keeping with its commitment to impartiality, the BBC did not broadcast Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s appearance at the festival, although it has been criticised by some right-wing press, including the Daily Mail, for allegedly disseminating “left-wing propaganda” online and on radio.

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