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Glastonbury Festival Canceled Again
Jim Dyson/Getty Images – The UK’s most famous festival: Glastonbury.
A view of the festival site from Pennard Hill at dawn during day four of Glastonbury Festival 2009 at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset.
Glastonbury, the U.K.’s most famous music festival, won’t take place this year. After being forced to cancel what would have been then 50th anniversary of the iconic event in 2020 because of COVID-19, promoters Emily and Michael Eavis today announced that 2021 “will be another enforced fallow year for us.”
Leon Neal/Getty Images – Glastonbury Festival
A boy sits on a stone in the Sacred Space as he watches the fireworks at the end of day one of Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, June 26, 2019.
Their joint statement on the Glastonbury Festival website read: “With great regret, we must announce that this year’s Glastonbury Festival will not take place, and that this will be another enforced fallow year for us.
“In spite of our efforts to move Heaven & Earth, it has become clear that we simply will not be able to make the Festival happen this year. We are so sorry to let you all down.
“As with last year, we would like to offer all those who secured a ticket in October 2019 the opportunity to roll their £50 deposit over to next year, and guarantee the chance to buy a ticket for Glastonbury 2022.
“We are very appreciative of the faith and trust placed in us by those of you with deposits, and we are very confident we can deliver something really special for us all in 2022!
“We thank you for your incredible continued support and let’s look forward to better times ahead.
“With love,
“Michael & Emily.”
Matilda Temperly – Michael and Emily Eavis. Sitting around the kitchen table in the family
Some great names in music have slept, eaten and performed in the old farm house.
Fans will be able roll over their deposits, which will remain valid for whichever ticket category they had initially paid the deposit for.
Accommodation bookings which were valid at the point of festival cancellation can also be rolled over for a like-for-like booking for the 2022 festival, the FAQ section on Glastonbury Festival’s website explains.
Fans can also choose to get a refund, for which a form is provided on the website. Up until Dec. 31, they won’t be charged cancellation fee.
With deposits being rolled over, the 2022 edition of Glastonbury Festival is already sold out. However, any tickets for which the deposit is refunded, or the balance is not paid, will be made available in a resale in April 2022.
Fans, who’ve paid the deposit and have it roll over, will have to pay the remaining balance in April 2022. They have been made aware that the ticket price for the 2022 edition might change, and that the balance they will have to pay will reflect that if so.
The roll over of deposits will happen automatically if fans choose to do nothing.
Michael Kill, CEO of the UK’s Night Time Industries Association, commented: “Devastating announcement today from Glastonbury Festival, such an important date within the Festival calendar for many, and will be devastating for festival goers and businesses looking at the summer season, and the opportunity to trade in 2021.
“The Government must recognize the impact of the negligible levels of support given to the festival and events sector, and work through a solution that will safeguard the sector, and allow the 2021 festival and events season to take place across the UK.”
Julian Knight MP, chair of the UK’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, commented: “The news that the UK has lost the Glastonbury Festival for a second year running is devastating.
“We have repeatedly called for Ministers to act to protect our world-renowned festivals like this one with a Government-backed insurance scheme. Our plea fell on deaf ears and now the chickens have come home to roost.
“The jewel in the crown will be absent but surely the Government cannot ignore the message any longer – it must act now to save this vibrant and vital festivals sector.”