The BBC is going all-out with for Glastonbury’s 50th anniversary, despite the festival being cancelled.
The BBC will mark the 50th anniversary of Glastonbury Festival this June by broadcasting four days of programmes dedicated to the festival in place of its usual live coverage. Archive sets from the likes of Jay-Z, Beyoncé and Nick Cave will be shown on BBC Two, BBC Four and iPlayer, including the first full television broadcast of David Bowie‘s 2000 headline performance.
BBC iPlayer will also host a ‘Glastonbury Channel’ which will show back-to-back sets from throughout the festival’s history, with over 60 performances available. Meanwhile, Jo Whiley will host a series of shows on Radio 2 dedicated to the festival.
The BBC’s coverage will be led by three 90-minute TV shows on what would have been the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the festival, collating performances from PJ Harvey, Dizzee Rascal, Baaba Maal, Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga and more. On Thursday 25 June, BBC Four will show a new cut of Julien Temple’s documentary Glastonbury, which features The Velvet Underground, Radiohead, Björk, Primal Scream and more.
In a press release announcing the news, Emily Eavis said: “There are so many memorable sets being played across the BBC over what would have been our 50th anniversary weekend. Personally, I’m looking forward to a weekend of reflecting on the history of our festival and going back to some classic performances from David Bowie, Adele, REM, Beyoncé, The Rolling Stones, Jay-Z, Billie Eilish and lots more. Me and my dad will definitely be watching!”
Head to the BBC website for more information.