Driift “mortified” about Glasto technical issues
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.
— 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.
— 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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Glasto’s Live at Worthy Farm gets cinema release
Glastonbury’s Festival’s upcoming Live at Worthy Farm live stream will also be broadcast at cinemas around the UK, organisers have announced.
Through a partnership with Trafalgar Releasing – the company behind record-breaking concert film releases by the likes of BTS and Coldplay, the latter of whom will play Live at Worthy Farm – the virtual festival, broadcast from Glastonbury’s Worthy Home site on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 May, will screen in tandem at cinemas across the UK on Saturday.
Tickets for the cinema screenings, which go on sale today (12 May), are priced from £19.99.
Glastonbury Festival also today announced set times and new guests for the five-hour event, with a “unique spoken-word narrative” featuring PJ Harvey, Jarvis Cocker, Kae Tempest, George the Poet, Kurupt FM, Little Amal and festival founder Michael Eavis adding to previously announced sets from artists including Coldplay, Damon Albarn, Haim, Idles and Jorja Smith.
Live at Worthy Farm will be broadcast across four separate time zones (for EMEA; central, south and the east coast of North America; the west coast of North America; and Asia Pacific) on Saturday, with two global “encore” screenings on Sunday 23rd, at 2pm and 7pm BST. Tickets are priced at priced at £20, €23, US$27.50 & A$35.
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Two-day Glasto concert could welcome up to 50k
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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Glastonbury goes global with ticketed livestream
Glastonbury will host an exclusive global livestream from its Worthy Farm festival site on 22 May, in lieu of the flagship event which was called off for a second consecutive year.
Coldplay, Damon Albarn, Haim, Idles, Jorja Smith, Kano, Michael Kiwanuka, Wolf Alice and DJ Honey Dijon will perform across the site’s landmarks – including the Pyramid Field and the Stone Circle – for the event, dubbed Live at Worthy Farm. There will also be a number of unannounced surprise performances.
The uninterrupted five-hour production will be shot by acclaimed Grammy-nominated director Paul Dugdale and co-promoted and produced by Driift, the pioneering UK livestream business which has hosted livestreams for Laura Marling, Nick Cave, Andrea Bocelli and Kylie Minogue.
“For one night only people all over the world will be able to join us on this journey through [Worthy Farm] together”
The performances will be interspersed by a spoken word narrative, written and delivered by special guests.
“After two Glastonbury cancellations, it brings us great pleasure to announce our first online livestream, which will present live music performances filmed across Worthy Farm at landmarks including the Pyramid and, for the first time ever, the Stone Circle,” says Glastonbury organiser, Emily Eavis.
“It will feature a rolling cast of artists and performers who have all given us enormous support by agreeing to take part in this event, showing the farm as you have never seen it. There will also be some very special guest appearances and collaborations. We are hoping this will bring a bit of Glastonbury to your homes and that for one night only people all over the world will be able to join us on this journey through the farm together!”
Live at Worthy Farm will support Glastonbury’s three main charitable partners, Oxfam, Greenpeace and WaterAid, as well as helping to secure next year’s edition.
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 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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