Glastonbury 2020 Cancelled Due To Coronavirus Concerns
Paul McCartney, Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift were due to headline this year’s star-studded event.
Glastonbury 2020 has officially been cancelled as the UK continues to battle coronavirus. The news comes after the first full wave of acts was unveiled last week, led by headliners Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift and Paul McCartney, Other acts on the line-up included Noel Gallagher, Lana Del Rey, Herbie Hancock, the Pet Shop Boys, and Haim.
At that point, the festival vowed to carry on in the hope that the virus crisis would improve. In their previous statement, festival organisers also said the mammoth effort in setting up the event would prove impossible in the current climate.
“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,” the statement said.
Today, however, the organisers said cancellation was the only “viable option”, but confirmed that ticket-holders will have the chance to guarantee their place for next year’s event.
A statement from Michael and Emily Eavis said: “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.”
“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,” they explained.
“We understand that it is not always easy to secure a Glastonbury ticket, which is why we would like to offer all those people the chance to roll their £50 deposit over to next year, and guarantee the opportunity to buy a ticket for Glastonbury 2021. Those who would prefer a refund of that £50 will be able to contact See Tickets in the coming days in order to secure that. This option will remain available until September this year. For those who are happy to roll their deposit over, that will happen automatically. Further information – including details on rolling over coach packages, official accommodation bookings and local Sunday tickets – will be added to our website in the coming days.”
The statement added: “The cancellation of this year’s Festival will no doubt come as a terrible blow to our incredible crew and volunteers who work so hard to make this event happen. 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.
“We were so looking forward to welcoming you all for our 50th anniversary with a line-up full of fantastic artists and performers that we were incredibly proud to have booked. 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.”
Following the news of cancelation, the BBC have announced plans to broadcast “a celebration of Glastonbury” this summer.
“We, along with the Eavis family, are saddened that understandably, the Glastonbury Festival can’t take place,” a statement from the BBC Press Office reads.
“We are already looking forward to next year’s festival at Worthy Farm and will now look at providing our audiences with a celebration of Glastonbury in June.”
Listen to the Best of Paul McCartney on Apple Music and Spotify.
UK English
