BBC to celebrate Glastonbury's 50th anniversary with classic archive sets and more

Glastonbury’s 50th anniversary will be celebrated with a special broadcasts of classic archive performances by the likes of David Bowie, Adele and Beyoncé.

The BBC will air five days of dedicated coverage from June 25-29, coinciding with when the Worthy Farm festival was due to take place.

Glastonbury became one of the UK’s first major music festivals to cancel its 2020 plans back in March, citing the impossibility of hosting an event during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Three 90-minute programmes will air on BBC Two on June 26, 27 and 29 — the nights that were set to be headlined by Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar and Paul McCartney. The shows will look back on some famous sets, dating all the way back to Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds in 1998. Amy Winehouse (2007), Arctic Monkeys (2013), The Rolling Stones (2013) and Lady Gaga (2009) are also among those scheduled to feature.

BBC Four will broadcast David Bowie’s set from 2000 — the first time it has ever been show in full on TV — along with other classic performances.

Elsewhere, there will be a programme dedicated to the festival’s Sunday afternoon "legends slot", as well as an airing of Julian Temple’s 2006 documentary Glastonbury.

BBC iPlayer will host a pop-up Glastonbury channel, with more than 60 sets on demand, while co-organiser Emily Eavis will guest on Lauren Laverne’s Radio 6 Music show on June 26.

Glastonbury is one of countless festivals across the UK and the rest of the world forced into cancellation this year, as the coronavirus outbreak takes its toll on the music industry.

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