50th Glastonbury Festival Cancelled Due To Coronavirus Pandemic

With Coachella, Met Gala, numerous sporting fixtures and other global events being canceled or postponed, it's no surprise that this year’s Glastonbury Festival has also been added to that list.

The festival was to celebrate its 50th anniversary this year and set to take place in June, with a star-studded line up only having been released last week, featuring the likes of Diana Ross, Kendrick Lamar, and Taylor Swift. Tickets for this year will roll-over to next year’s event, with over 135,000 people have already paid their deposits for the renowned event.

A statement from the organizers claimed that this was the ‘only viable option’, considering ‘the new government measures announced this week – and in times of such uncertainty’.

As the UK is preparing for a lockdown, it comes as no surprise that an event like this would be incredibly difficult to plan remotely, and therefore cannot be feasibly continued. The statement continued: ‘We very much hope that the situation in the UK will have improved enormously by 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.’

Emily and Michael Eavis added to their joint statement: ‘There will also inevitably be severe financial implications as a result of this cancellation – not just for us, but also the Festival’s charity partners, suppliers, traders, local landowners, and our community. … Again, we’re so sorry that this decision has been made. It was not through choice. But we look forward to welcoming you back to these fields next year and until then, we send our love and support to all of you.’

We are so sorry to announce this, but we are going to have to cancel Glastonbury 2020. Tickets for this year will roll over to next year. Full statement below and on our website. Michael & Emily pic.twitter.com/ox8kcQ0HoB

— Glastonbury Festival (@glastonbury) March 18, 2020

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