Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis has praised this year’s edition as “special”, while confirming that 2026 will be a fallow year for the 140,000-cap festival.

Held from 26-30 June at Worthy Farm, Pilton, Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA were this year’s Pyramid Stage headliners, with Shania Twain taking the traditional Sunday “legend slot”.

Other acts included Avril Lavigne, LCD Soundsystem, PJ Harvey, Little Simz, Burna Boy, Janelle Monáe, Cyndi Lauper, Michael Kiwanuka, Camila Cabello, Seventeen, Paul Heaton, Keane, Seasick Steve, Disclosure, The National, Paloma Faith, Justice and Olivia Dean.

“I really would like to say thank you to everyone who’s made this year so special,” Eavis told the Glastonbury Free Press. “It’s got to be the best one yet. Every single one of our vast, incredible crew is crucial to making this event work. And, of course, it simply wouldn’t exist without the participation of the kind, brilliant, respectful festival-goers. I think people here show a better way to live, and that they do take a little bit of that back to the outside world with them. It honestly restores your faith in humanity.”

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s finale, she added: “I absolutely loved Dua’s set. She’s a Glastonbury-goer through and through, so she really gets it. You can bring anybody to the stage, but you can’t make them understand where they’re playing and what it means to people. So to have headliners like Dua and Coldplay – who both have such a personal connection to the event – makes all the difference.”

Coldplay won near universal acclaim for their record fifth Pyramid Stage headline performance, which saw them joined by special guests Little Simz, Femi Kuti, Victoria Canal, Laura Mvula and actor Michael J Fox. Dua Lipa’s turn was also widely praised, but SZA received a mixed response, with her set attracting a relatively sparse crowd.

“A fallow year is always a fun one to plan, because you almost have to fit two years into one”

Also on the bill were the likes of The Streets, Sugababes, Anne-Marie, Confidence Man, Jungle, Idles, D-Block Europe, Two Door Cinema Club, James, Bloc Party, Ayra Starr and – as a surprise act on the Woodsies stage – Kasabian.

The weather remained dry throughout, but certain programming decisions – including booking Avril Lavigne and the Sugababes on the smaller Other Stage and West Holts, respectively – attracted criticism after both acts attracted massive crowds. The BBC estimated Lavigne’s crowd as around 70,000 and said fans were “packed together like sardines in a crushed tin can”. There were also complaints of sound issues during some sets.

Meanwhile, Eavis has confirmed that next year’s festival will be its last until 2027, with the gathering set to take 2026 off. The event has a history of taking fallow years to allow the ground at Worthy Farm to recover, most recently taking a break in 2018, although the 2020 and 2021 festivals were cancelled due to the pandemic.

“We’re taking a fallow year in 2026 to give the land a rest, and the festival before a fallow year is always a fun one to plan, because you almost have to fit two years into one,” added Eavis. “We’re already in talks with some acts for it. It’s exciting!”

And asked what she hoped the 2024 festival stood for, Eavis responded by saying “peace”.

“This is a peace festival,” she said. “It always has been. And I think, more than ever, we need to be reminded that peace is an option.”

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Glastonbury Festival founder Sir Michael Eavis says the UK event is “going from strength to strength” after the doors were opened for its 38th edition yesterday.

Running from 26-30 June at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, performances on its main music stages kick off tomorrow. Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA are this year’s Pyramid Stage headliners, with further acts including LCD Soundsystem, PJ Harvey, Little Simz, Burna Boy, Janelle Monáe, Cyndi Lauper, Michael Kiwanuka, Paul Heaton, Keane, Paloma Faith, Oliva Dean, Ayra Starr and Seventeen, who will become the first K-pop act to perform on the stage. Shania Twain will occupy the coveted Sunday teatime “legend slot”.

Speaking to the Glastonbury Free Press, Eavis, who launched the now 140,000-cap festival 54 years ago, said: “It’s all going from strength to strength… you have to see everything. Get out there and explore. I recommend going around in the middle of the night. That’s the best way to catch all the exciting things that are really going on. You need to stay up until five in the morning. Then you’ll see all sorts of incredible stuff!”

The recently knighted 88-year-old highlighted the positive weather forecast and the Arcadia stage’s new dragonfly installation as reasons for cheer, as well as the new Terminal 1 venue in Williams Green.

“It’s dealing with the issue of immigration,” he said. “They’re taking the approach that we can solve it. We can be friendly to these unfortunate people in the boats. It’s demonstrating – the whole festival is, really – that you can get on with your neighbour. And they’re putting all of that into a show.

“It’s so important that this festival stands for something,” he added. “That’s the guts of the event, really. It’s why we’ve backed the CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) since 1981.”

The Other Stage, meanwhile, will be headlined by Idles, Disclosure and The National, and will also host the likes of D-Block Europe, The Streets, Two Door Cinema Club, Anne-Marie, Camila Cabello, Avril Lavigne, Bombay Bicycle Club, Bloc Party, The Last Dinner Party, Nothing but Thieves, Confidence Man and Headie One.

“We wanted to create a space that not only showcases the incredible talent within our community but also fosters a sense of belonging”

The largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world, Glastonbury will also unveil its first-ever dedicated South Asian stage this year, operated by South Asian cultural organisations, Dialled In, Daytimers and Going South.

The stage, named Arrivals, will be part of the Shangri-La area and feature the likes of Anish Kumar, Baalti, Nabihah Iqbal, Gracie T, Nikki Nair, Bobby Friction and Raji Rags. Its debut follows rising calls for greater representation of British Asian music and artists.

“We wanted to create a space that not only showcases the incredible talent within our community but also fosters a sense of belonging,” said Dialled In curator Dhruva Balram.

For the first time, the BBC will globally livestream headline Glastonbury performances, with Dua Lipa (28 June) and Coldplay’s (29 June) Pyramid Stage sets available to view on the recently relaunched BBC.com. Lipa will be making Pyramid Stage bow, while Coldplay will be headlining the festival for a record fifth time, and for the first time since 2016.

The festival’s exclusive broadcast partner is providing six weeks of build-up and coverage of Glastonbury 2024, running content from 3 June to 14 July, in its longest celebration of the festival yet.

“At the BBC, we bring Glastonbury to you, and we’re incredibly proud of our coverage,” says BBC director of music Lorna Clarke. “It enables millions of people to access the magic of Emily and Michael Eavis’ festival each year. The global streams of Dua Lipa and Coldplay’s performances are another exciting addition to our offer, allowing us not only to unite music fans across the country, but across the world with the opportunity to experience these world class performances as they happen.”

Glastonbury organiser recently told the BBC’s Sidetracked podcast that the festival is likely to to take a year off in 2026 to allow the ground to recover on the Worthy Farm site. It most recently took a fallow year in 2018, although the 2020 and 2021 festivals were cancelled due to the pandemic.

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Glastonbury Festival is likely to take a year off in 2026, according to organiser Emily Eavis.

The event, which takes place at Worthy Farm, Somerset, has a history of taking fallow years to allow the ground to recover and most recently took a break in 2018, although the 2020 and 2021 festivals were cancelled due to the pandemic.

Speaking on the BBC’s Sidetracked podcast, Eavis said: “We are due a fallow year. The fallow year is important because it gives the land a rest, and it gives the cows a chance to stay out for longer and reclaim their land.

“I think it’s important, I think it gives everybody time to just switch off and the public as well. Then you kind of go away for a bit and it feels lovely when you come back. And I think it’s quite good not to be seen to be cashing in.”

Glastonbury dropped its full 2024 lineup last week, complete with stage times. Late additions to the 26-30 June programme include James, Tems, Femi Kuti, Seasick Steve, Jamie Webster, the Staves, the Skatalites, Jalen Ngonda, the Vaccines, Johnny Flynn, Soft Play, Rachel Chinouriri, The Zutons and the Birmingham Royal Ballet.

“It’s great to see so many new features in this year’s Glastonbury app, and I hope it will enhance everyone’s experience of the festival”

Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA are this year’s Pyramid Stage headliners, with further acts including LCD Soundsystem, PJ Harvey, Little Simz, Burna Boy, Janelle Monáe, Cyndi Lauper, Michael Kiwanuka, Seventeen, Paul Heaton, Keane, Paloma Faith, Olivia Dean, Ayra Starr and Shania Twain, who will occupy the coveted Sunday teatime “legend slot”.

Vodafone has launched the new Official Glastonbury Festival App for 2024, which includes Spotify integration for the first time. Fans will be able to link their Spotify account to the app, which will provide them with personalised recommendations on artists performing at the festival based on their listening habits.

When connecting to their Spotify, users will be served with their top 10 artists from the bill, in addition to a wider selection of recommendations via the Discover More option.

The app also includes several major upgrades to the Line-up feature, offering the ability for fans to pin their favourite stages to the top, show performances grouped by stage, as well as Map Pinning, which lets festivalgoers drop pins anywhere on their festival map and share them with their friends.

“It’s great to see so many new features in this year’s Glastonbury app, and I hope it will enhance everyone’s experience of the festival, whether they’re watching at home or joining us at the farm,” adds Eavis.

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Tickets for next year’s Glastonbury festival sold out in just under an hour, with organisers saying “demand greatly exceeded supply”.

All tickets for the 2024 event were bought on Sunday (19 November) at 9.57am GMT – a few minutes quicker than last year’s onsale but slower than 2019’s record of 34 minutes.

Festival ticket and coach packages sold out in 25 minutes on 16 November, three minutes slower than last year.

General sale tickets for the 2024 edition cost £355 (plus a £5 booking fee), up from £335 in 2023 and £265 in 2019.

There will be a resale of any cancelled or returned tickets in spring 2024.

“We’re blown away that so many people want to come (we all still remember the years when they didn’t!)”

“We’re blown away that so many people want to come (we all still remember the years when they didn’t!) and I’m sorry that many of you missed out,” organiser Emily Eavis wrote on Instagram.

“Demand far exceeds supply and with many millions of devices trying at once, it means the system can only work at certain speed.”

Eavis has hinted that a “really big American artist” – believed to be Madonna – will be among the headliners.

She also hinted that two female headliners could perform at the Pyramid Stage next year, with another booked for the legend’s slot. Last year, the headliner lineup was all male with Arctic Monkeys, Guns N’ Roses and Sir Elton John performing.

The festival, which hosts more than 3,000 acts, will reveal the lineup early next year.

Glastonbury 2024 will take place at Worthy Farm, in the UK, from 26-30 June.

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Arctic Monkeys and Guns N’ Roses have been confirmed as Pyramid Stage headliners for the 2023 Glastonbury festival, joining the previously announced Elton John.

The 2023 event is scheduled for 21-25 June at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset.

The 13 Artists-booked Arctic Monkeys will top the bill for the third time, having previously headlined in 2007 and 2013, while Guns N’ Roses, represented by ITB, will be making their Glastonbury debut.

More than 50 artists have been announced for the festival, including Lizzo, Lana Del Rey, Aitch, Lil Nas X, Fred Again.., Royal Blood, Lewis Capaldi, Christine and the Queens, Blondie, Wizkid, Becky Hill, Manic Street Preachers, Maneskin, Mahalia, Candi Staton, Alt-J, Carly Rae Jepsen, Central Cee, Young Fathers, Kelis, Cat Burns, FLO, The War on Drugs, Rina Sawayama, Sparks, Texas and The Chicks.

The Sunday afternoon “legends slot” goes to Yusuf/Cat Stevens, with more acts still to be announced.

“Next year it’s looking like we’ve got two female headliners, so fingers crossed”

While there is an almost 50:50 split between male and female acts on the bill (52% male), all three headliners are male.

“This year, we did have a female headliner, and she unfortunately had to pull out,” co-organiser Emily Eavis tells the BBC. “It changes all the time. But next year it’s looking like we’ve got two female headliners, so fingers crossed.”

Speaking to the Guardian, she adds: “We’re trying our best so the pipeline needs to be developed. This starts way back with the record companies, radio. I can shout as loud as I like but we need to get everyone on board.”

Tickets for the 2023 festival sold out last November in just over an hour, despite a 26% price increase for the 2023 edition.

General sale tickets cost £335 (€385) for 2023, up 26% on the £265 (€304) charged when tickets last went on sale in 2019. Tickets were subsequently rolled over until 2022 when the 2020 and 2021 festivals were cancelled due to the pandemic.

Glastonbury previously posted a loss of £3.1 million for the year ending March 2021, according to Companies House documents.

Ahead of the 2023 event, Glastonbury has also announced a multi-year partnership with Vodafone. As Official Connectivity Partner, Vodafone has exclusive rights to the festival and throughout the partnership will use its network to “deliver innovative experiences using cutting-edge technology”.

Vodafone’s network will be boosted to the highest capacity ever, while customers will be able to gain access to festival tickets via its VeryMe Rewards programme available on the MyVodafone app. VeryMe promotions and experiences will also be available to everyone who is at the Festival.

The partnership will also see the launch of a brand-new Official Glastonbury Festival app, with a host of new features, as well as free phone charging for everyone at the festival.

“We are so pleased to have Vodafone on board as a new partner for the festival,” adds Eavis. “The commitment they have made to supporting our festival in its technical and network requirements as well as other projects throughout the year is great, and we look forward to working with them in the years ahead.”

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Tickets for the UK’s Glastonbury festival sold out in just over an hour, despite a 26% price increase for the 2023 edition.

The Glastonbury onsale failed to beat 2019’s record of just 34 minutes due to a “technical problem”, as organisers reported “incredible demand” for the 135,000 weekend tickets. Coach packages sold out in just 22 minutes last Thursday.

“Demand far outstripped supply”

“Although we are thrilled that so many of you want to come to next year’s Glastonbury, we’re sorry that a huge number of people missed out on a ticket this morning – because demand far outstripped supply,” tweeted co-organiser Emily Eavis.

“Thank you for everyone who tried to buy a ticket. Your loyalty to this festival is deeply appreciated. There will be a ticket resale in spring 2023, so if you didn’t get one, please do try again then.”

General sale tickets cost £335 (€385) for 2023, up 26% on the £265 (€304) charged when tickets last went on sale in 2019. Tickets were subsequently rolled over until 2022 when the 2020 and 2021 festivals were cancelled due to the pandemic.

“We have tried very hard to minimise the increase in price on the ticket but we’re facing enormous rises in the costs of running this vast show”

“We have tried very hard to minimise the increase in price on the ticket but we’re facing enormous rises in the costs of running this vast show, whilst still recovering from the huge financial impact of two years without a festival because of Covid,” says Eavis on Twitter.

“In these incredibly challenging times, we want to continue to bring you the best show in the world and provide our charities with funds which are more vital than ever.”

Glastonbury previously posted a loss of £3.1 million for the year ending March 2021, according to Companies House documents.

Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar headlined the festival’s 2022 edition. No acts have yet been announced for the 2023 event, which is scheduled for 21-25 June.

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Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis has cited “enormous” cost increases for the rise in ticket prices for next year’s edition.

The festival has revealed tickets will cost £335 (€384) for 2023, up 26% on the £265 (€304) charged when tickets last went on sale (for the 2020 event) in 2019. Tickets were subsequently rolled over until 2022 when the 2020 and 2021 festivals were cancelled due to the pandemic.

“We have tried very hard to minimise the increase in price on the ticket but we’re facing enormous rises in the costs of running this vast show, whilst still recovering from the huge financial impact of two years without a festival because of Covid,” says Eavis on Twitter.

“The £50 deposit on ticket sales day in November will be the same as ever, with the balance not due until April. And, as always, there will be opportunities for many thousands of people to come as volunteers or as part of the crew.”

“In these incredibly challenging times, we want to continue to bring you the best show in the world”

Glastonbury previously posted a loss of £3.1 million for the year ending March 2021, according to documents posted on Companies House.

“In these incredibly challenging times, we want to continue to bring you the best show in the world and provide our charities with funds which are more vital than ever,” adds Eavis. “We are, as always, hugely appreciative of your ongoing support.”

The line-up is yet to be announced for the 2023 festival, which is scheduled for 21-25 June. Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar were this year’s Pyramid Stage headliners.

The general admission sale will take place on Sunday 6 November, with coach packages going on sale three days earlier. All ticket applicants must register in advance.

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The BBC will present its most extensive coverage of Glastonbury to date when the festival returns after a three-year absence from 22-26 June.

Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar will headline the Pyramid Stage at this year’s event at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset. Eilish and Lamar are both represented by Wasserman Music, while McCartney works with Marshall Arts.

Other acts will include Diana Ross, Crowded House, Lorde, Pet Shop Boys, Sam Fender, Megan thee Stallion, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Olivia Rodrigo, Little Simz, Wolf Alice, Glass Animals, Burna Boy, Arlo Parks, Haim, Blossoms, Sigrid, Girl in Red, Charli XCX, Celeste, Wolf Alice, Fontaines DC, Foals, Idles and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. Set times were released this week and can be viewed here.

BBC Music will present the festival across TV, radio, BBC Sounds, BBC iPlayer and online, with Glastonbury 2022 marking the first time the BBC has broadcast any music event in Ultra High Definition. Sets from the Pyramid Stage will be shown live in UHD on BBC iPlayer on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with key performances and a special programme featuring highlights from the Pyramid Stage available on demand in UHD after the event.

“I’m looking forward to Worthy Farm being filled with thousands of people once again”

“It’s a joy to have the BBC and its brilliant team back and broadcasting live from Glastonbury for the first time since 2019 – continuing a special partnership that’s been evolving since 1997,” says festival co-organiser Emily Eavis. “I’m looking forward to Worthy Farm being filled with thousands of people once again and for millions more around the country being able to enjoy performances from our stellar line-up, courtesy of the BBC, wherever they are.”

Glastonbury’s scheduled 50th anniversary 2020 edition and 2021 event were both cancelled due to the pandemic. The BAFTA Award-winning Live at Worthy Farm ticketed livestream was staged last year in its place.

The BBC’s celebration of Glastonbury 2022 will begin earlier than in previous years, including the broadcast of new documentary Glastonbury: 50 Years & Counting in the days leading up to the festival. BBC iPlayer’s dedicated Glastonbury channel launches on Thursday 23 June.

“Our coverage this year will be our most extensive to date”

“I’m very proud of the BBC’s long history of broadcasting from Glastonbury, the highlight of our summer of live music,” says BBC director of music Lorna Clarke. “Our coverage this year will be our most extensive to date, with over 35 hours of programming across BBC One, Two, Three and Four, and over 40 hours on BBC iPlayer – in addition to digital live streams from the five biggest festival stages.

“We’ll also have wall-to-wall coverage on the BBC’s pop radio networks and BBC Sounds – with over 60 hours of broadcasts from the festival itself.”

In January, Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis led tributes to the festival’s long-serving commercial director Robert Richards, who died aged 65 following a short illness.

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Livestreaming business Driift has “apologised unreservedly” for the technical issues that prevented thousands of ticketholders from accessing Glastonbury’s global live stream event on Saturday (22 May).

Fans in the UK who bought ‘Live at Worthy Farm’ tickets (priced at £20) were unable to watch performances from the likes of Coldplay, Jorja Smith and George Ezra after their unique codes were flagged as invalid.

Two hours after the event started (7 pm local time), Driift were forced to release a free link to the stream and offer refunds.

pic.twitter.com/4H98CXoY54

— Driift Live (@DriiftLive) May 23, 2021

The company, which has hosted livestreams for Laura Marling, Nick Cave, Andrea Bocelli and Kylie Minogue, has now issued an apology and a statement explaining that a third-party provider was partially responsible for the fault.

“Driift is not a tech business or a media platform, and we rely on a third party company for certain aspects of protecting the stream. This provider has now identified the cause of last night’s problems, and, although we are awaiting a full technical report, there were no subsequent issues for ticket buyers accessing later streams for North America or Australia.”

Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis shared a statement on Twitter saying she was “gutted” about the technical issues experienced by some viewers but that despite the problems, “the Glastonbury community has showed us such solidarity and love and we are overwhelmed by your generosity, patience, kindness and appreciation of the incredible film, which was so wonderfully put together by [Grammy award-nominated director] Paul Dugdale”

“We made no financial gain from this livestream event, and we hoped it would generate much needed revenue for the festival”

Driift added that the company “made no financial gain from this livestream event, and we hoped it would generate much needed revenue for the festival”.

“In that spirit, we sincerely hope that those who encountered problems will take the opportunity to watch and enjoy the event today, and that many more will buy tickets to support the festival and its three associated charities.”

Live at Worthy Farm was set up to support Glastonbury’s three main charitable partners, Oxfam, Greenpeace and WaterAid, as well as helping to secure next year’s edition of the flagship festival.

pic.twitter.com/NJhnApUwwS

— Glastonbury Festival (@glastonbury) May 23, 2021

Stagehand, the live production hardship fund that has been providing financial support to crew members throughout the pandemic, will receive the proceeds from a limited edition line-up poster for the event.

The five-hour production also saw performances from Damon Albarn, Haim, Idles, Kano, Michael Kiwanuka, Wolf Alice and DJ Honey Dijon across the site’s landmarks.

Three other streams set up to suit other timezones were unaffected by the malfunction.

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Glastonbury could welcome up to 50,000 fans this summer for a two-day concert at Worthy Farm.

Organiser Emily Eavis revealed in March that the festival had applied for a license to stage live music and sell alcohol between 2 pm and 11 pm at a ‘single event’ across a Friday and Saturday in September.

New details submitted to Mendip District Council reveal the potential concert would utilise only the main Pyramid Stage field at Worthy Farm and the event would have a maximum capacity of 49,999 people, with four separate car parks close to the main concert arena, according to Somerset Live.

The proposed event would be substantially smaller than a typical Glastonbury Festival, which welcomes more than 200,000 people to Pilton, and would also not feature any overnight camping facilities for attendees.

The potential concert would utilise only the main Pyramid Stage field at Worthy Farm

Mendip Council is set to meet this week (May 12) to discuss the application. IQ has asked Glastonbury to comment.

Since the coronavirus pandemic forced the festival’s cancellation for a second consecutive year, the organisers have revealed a number of alternative plans including a family-friendly campsite dubbed Worthy Pastures and a global ticketed live stream, Live at Worthy Farm.

Live at Worthy Farm will see Coldplay, Damon Albarn, Haim, Idles, Jorja Smith, Kano, Michael Kiwanuka, Wolf Alice, DJ Honey Dijon and more perform across the site’s landmarks on 22 May 2021.

The online event will be broadcast in full across four separate time zones, with staggered livestreams. Tickets are on sale now at worthyfarm.live for £20/€23/US$27.50/A$35.

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