Glastonbury Festival postponed to 2021 due to coronavirus

Amy Johnson
·Contributor
Updated ·2-min read
The crowd are handed out roses during a duet between Kylie Minogue with guest Nick Cave on the Pyramid Stage on the fifth day of the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset. (Photo by Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images)
The crowd are handed out roses during a duet between Kylie Minogue with guest Nick Cave on the Pyramid Stage on the fifth day of the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset. (Photo by Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images)

Glastonbury Festival has been postponed to 2021 amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The music event was due to celebrate its 50th anniversary with Paul McCartney, Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift headlining at Worthy Farm across 24 June to 28 June.

The festival announced on Twitter that it has now been rescheduled for next year with a statement from organisers Michael and Emily Eavis confirming that tickets purchased for this year would be honoured in 2021.

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Those who had managed to secure a ticket for this year had already deposited £50 with the full balance set to be paid in the first week of April 2020.

The statement from the father and daughter also said: “We were so looking forward to welcoming you all for our 50th anniversary with a lineup 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.”

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Emily and Michael Eavis issued a statement about the festival's postponement. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
Emily and Michael Eavis issued a statement about the festival's postponement. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

While they expressed a hope for the coronavirus situation in the UK to have improved by June, they shared that they were "no longer able to spend the next three months with the thousands of crew here on the farm" helping to put the "temporary city" together.

They described the break as an enforced "fallow year", as the event typically takes breaks every few years in order to give the farm and locals a rest.

The team urged those who like a refund to contact See Tickets in the coming days.

The Glastonbury team described it as an "enforced fallow year". (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP via Getty)
The Glastonbury team described it as an "enforced fallow year". (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP via Getty)

The outbreak of the virus has already seen a number of music events affected across the globe with Madonna, Stormzy, and Billie Eilish among those cancelling or postponing dates.

SXSW festival in the US was also cancelled earlier this month for the first time in its 34 year history.

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