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Glastonbury Festival organisers announce 'Live at Worthy Farm' virtual event

Watch: Glastonbury organisers announce global livestream event for May

Glastonbury Festival organisers have announced that a global livestream event will be held at Worthy Farm in May.

It comes after the event, which is typically takes place in June, was cancelled for the second year in a row because of the coronavirus pandemic.

On Saturday 22 May, artists will perform on well-known sites including the Stone Circle and Pyramid field for Live at Worthy Farm.

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Organiser Emily Eavis has said artists such as Coldplay, Damon Albarn, Jorja Smith, Haim, Wolf Alice, and Michael Kiwanuka will be part of the ticketed virtual event.

Jorja Smith has been announced as one of the performers. (Photo by Jim Dyson/Redferns)
Jorja Smith has been announced as one of the performers. (Jim Dyson/Redferns)

Speaking to Dermot O’Leary on BBC Radio 2, Eavis said it is going to be “taking you on a five-hour journey through an evening at Worthy Farm with artists, so it’s going to be like the festival but without people.

“We’re going to take you on a journey through all of those spots that you know, you recognise from Worthy Farm… we’re going to build into this whole epic journey around the site into the night.”

The event, which is being directed by Paul Dugdale, will be broadcast across four separate time zones with tickets costing £20.

It's also been said there will be “a number of unannounced surprise performances”.

Glastonbury organisers have announced a virtual event for 2021. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
Glastonbury organisers have announced a virtual event for 2021. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

According to details posted on the official Glastonbury Festival website, the “ground-breaking, five-hour extravaganza will be interspersed by a spoken word narrative, written and delivered by some very special guests, guiding festival-goers on a journey through the sacred valley in Somerset”.

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When asked about the festival returning in 2022, Eavis told Radio 2: "We’ll be back next year, that’s the plan, we’re working on that and fingers crossed we’ll see you there.”

She added: “Pretty much we are good for next year, which is a very, very fortunate position to be in.

"So we’ve got a combination of bands that were due to play last year who have been put forward and then we’ve also got some new people who are touring, so we’ve got a totally different line-up but there are some things that you’ll recognise as well."

With additional reporting by PA.

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