Glastonbury is the latest music festival to be axed due to COVID-19. Scheduled for late June this year, the festival announced its lineup just last Friday. Organisers acknowledged the concern at the time, but said their fingers were crossed.
Last night they released a statement, announcing the festival had been cancelled.
“Clearly this was not a course of action we hoped to take for our 50th anniversary event, but following the new government measures announced this week – and in times of such unprecedented uncertainty – this is now our only viable option,” organisers said.
“We very much hope that the situation in the UK will have improved enormously by the end of June. But even if it has, we are no longer able to spend the next three months with thousands of crew here on the farm, helping us with the enormous job of building the infrastructure and attractions needed to welcome more than 200,000 people to a temporary city in these fields.”
“We would like to send our sincere apologies to the 135,000 people who have already paid a deposit for a Glastonbury 2020 ticket. The balance payments on those tickets were due at the beginning of April and we wanted to make a firm decision before then.”
Organisers acknowledged how challenging it is to secure a ticket to Glastonbury. They’ve announced punters’ £50 deposits would roll over for next year’s event. Alternatively, those who’d prefer a refund can do that too.
Glastonbury’s 2020 lineup was huge too. Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, and Diana Ross were set to headline the event. They’d also secured Dua Lipa, Anderson .Paak, Noel Gallagher, Phoebe Bridgers, Lana Del Rey, HAIM and The Avalanches.
Glastonbury 2020 joins SXSW, Coachella, Groovin’ The Moo, and Splendour in the Grass to be cancelled or postponed.
