Emily Eavis, one half of the Father-Daughter organisation team, took to her Instagram page to confirm the cancellation of the event.

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A post shared by Emily Eavis (@emily_eavis)

In May it was announced that a one-off event was being planned to replace the annual 5-day festival which Glastonbury normally held. The replacement event was due to take place in September of this year but was unfortunately terminated.
The September live music event was to be organised to replace the last two cancellations of the Festival due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions enforced due to the current health crisis. The September concert was to be called Equinox, the event organisers had a lot of ‘red tape’ to go through and eventually secured the necessary licenses and permissions from Mendip District Council to allow for 50,000 ticket holders to attend the autumn event. The event appeared to be approved albeit with over 50 conditions and provisions, the festival’s organisers and the team have not yet provided further details on the cancellation. The Instagram post from Emily Eavis is the main cancellation confirmation at this time.

This is not the first cancellation in which Glastonbury has issued, the cancellation of the rescheduled 2020 festival was announced by the Eavis’ in January. The announcement confirmed the event would not be going ahead and gave information on how ticket holders could attend next year’s event. The Festival released the following statement via their Twitter page. “With great regret, we must announce that this year’s Glastonbury Festival will not take place, and that this will be another enforced fallow year for us. In spite of our efforts to move heaven & earth, it has become clear that we simply will not be able to make the festival happen this year. We are so sorry to let you all down. As with last year, we would like to offer all those who secured a ticket in October 2019 the opportunity to roll their £50 deposit over to next year, and guarantee the chance to buy a ticket for Glastonbury 2022. We are very appreciative of the faith and trust placed in us by those of you with deposits, and we are very confident we can deliver something really special for us all in 2022! We thank you for the incredible continued support and let’s look forward to better times ahead. With love, Michael & Emily.”

The 2020 event would have been the 50th birthday of Glastonbury, both organisers were not deturbed in their celebrations however and wanted to still proceed with an anniversary event. Michael Eavis was keen to hold the event this autumn to match the Festival’s birthdate of its first event on 18th September 1970, Eavis previously confirmed his hopeful plans for the eventually cancelled event. “I would like to do something in September. I would like to do something smaller somewhere around the anniversary date of when we started, which was the 18th of September 1970. I would like to consider possibly doing something around that time.” Eavis was then asked if he would recruit big acts to perform, to which he replied. “Yes, but I do need to get reassurance from the ethics people.”

Glastonbury is one of the most iconic institutions in music history, the festival has been leading the way in live entertainment and legendary live performances for over half a century. It is no surprise that the festival’s founder Eavis wanted to celebrate its 50th birthday with a bang.
The festival has seen line-up’s full of rock, soul, folk and pop performers, known for its inclusivity the festival has catered for every niche market and genre throughout the decades. The festival’s first event was held the day after Jimi Hendrix’s tragic death, some may think that it was this tragedy that inspired Eavis to launch the new festival, but his inspiration came from a Blues Festival held at the Bath and West Showground. The initial event’s attendance is not even half of the 250,000 attendees at 2019’s event, in 1970 the attendance was 1,500 ticket-holders who paid £1 to attend the festival. Along with the attendance at the festival, the £1 ticket also entitled the holder to free milk from the farm. Considering that the concert was the festival’s first event the line-up was an impressive who’s who of the era’s popular music, the line-up included T-Rex frontman Marc Bolan, Stackrudge, Quintessence, Keith Christmas and Scottish folk musician Al Stewart.

Whilst the festival’s annual Glastonbury event and proposed September concert are no longer going ahead, music and culture fans will still be able to have a Glastonbury-like experience.  During the cancellations of the farm’s events, Michael and Emily Eavis have concentrated on another side of their business. The duo has opened up the famed event location, Worthy Farm, as a campsite open to the public. The new business venture is called Worthy Pastures and allows visitors to connect with one of music’s most iconic venue locations. Entertainment and activities provided to guests include the Pyramid Field, a SUNDAY Craft Market, Walking Routes, Cycling Paths, Table Tennis and the stone circle.

Click here for more information on Worthy Pastures.

London’s V&A museum is home to the Glastonbury archives – and this year they’ve decided to share the memories with the whole world.  During the week that would’ve been the official 2020 Glasto festival, the V&A will showcase a special page on their website for a duration of seven days.

In this virtual exhibition, fans can have a look at old posters, interviews, programs, photographs and passes. There’s also a seven-minute-long video that has captured a day in the life of Glastonbury – by sound designer Gareth Fry. Fry’s footage is giving you a chance to experience some exclusive material, like audios from soundchecks at the Stone Circle and Pyramid Stage during the 2015 festival.

Who's up for #GlastHomeBury?
Starting today, the V&A is hosting an online celebration of all things @glastonbury. Coinciding with the weekend when the world-famous festival was due to celebrate its 50th year. (1/2) https://t.co/QJMg9Avk4Q pic.twitter.com/yW6l2sWIP7

— V&A (@V_and_A) June 22, 2020

In another part of the archive, a blog section is looking at how the festival organisers have repurposed festival gear to support the NHS. But festival workers and performers aren’t the only one who can contribute to the festival memorabilia: Fans are very welcomed to send in their own memories. Just write an email to glastonbury@vam.ac.uk explaining which year you attended the festival, where the memory took place and describe the experience, significance and the performers.

Co-organiser Emily Eavis said: “We are delighted that the V&A is joining us in celebrating Glastonbury’s 50th anniversary. The festival is witness to decades of creative, social and political change, and your memories are an integral part of this story. Please do share your Glastonbury memories and join in the V&A’s seven days of festival fun.” 

The hype for Glastonbury 2020 has been escalated when festival organiser Emily Eavis gave out more details. “Interestingly, for the other two headliners it’s their first time at Glastonbury and we’ve got one male and one female – so there’s a couple of clues there. I’m sure people will guess, so don’t put them to me!,” Davis talked to Zoe Ball on BBC Radio 2.

Mega pop star Taylor Swift and acclaimed rapper Kendrick Lamar are the two artists speculated to appear in the line-up for the most regarded Pyramid Stage. The pair have never, in their careers, appeared in any music festivals before, meaning that if the guesstimate turns out to be true, both Swift and Lamar will make their first official music festival debut at Glastonbury.

The news came out not so long after the organiser confirmed Sir Paul McCartney as the first headliner at the festival. Eavis expressed extreme delight and honour to have the ex-Beatles member as one of the headliners: “Having Paul McCartney coming back to headline the Pyramid next year is an absolute dream come true. There really was no one that we wanted more for the 50th anniversary,” posted Eavis on her Instagram account. Also, McCartney’s appearance at Glastonbury next year will be his first headlining since 2004.

Regarding doing music festivals, Taylor Swift previously mentioned her intention to perform her latest music at festivals. “The ‘Lover album’ is open fields, sunsets, + SUMMER,” wrote Swift on Twitter. “I want to perform it in a way that feels authentic. I want to go to some places I haven’t been and play festivals. Where we didn’t have festivals, we made some. Introducing, Lover Fest East + West!” This tweet has since rendered her fans excited to see the pop sensation finally make a debut at music festivals.

The Lover album is open fields, sunsets, + SUMMER. I want to perform it in a way that feels authentic. I want to go to some places I haven’t been and play festivals. Where we didn’t have festivals, we made some. Introducing, Lover Fest East + West! https://t.co/xw6YMN38WE pic.twitter.com/IhVPQ8DMUG

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) September 17, 2019

So far, the 29-year-old star has announced her upcoming appearances at many festivals in Europe. Besides, her own headline show ‘Lover Fest’ will kick off at Los Angeles and Foxborough starting from July next year. See the list below.

20/06/2020 — Werchter Boutique — Werchter, Belgium
24/06/2020 — The Waldbühne — Berlin, Germany
26/06/2020 — Oslo Sommertid — Oslo, Norway
01/07/2020 — Roskilde Festival — Roskilde, Denmark
03/07/2020 — Open’er Festival — Gdynia, Poland
05/07/2020 — Festival de Nîmes — Nîmes, France
09/07/2020 — NOS Alive — Oeiras, Portugal
18/07/2020 — Allianz Parque — Sao Paulo, Brazil
25/07/2020 — Lover Fest West — Los Angeles, U.S.
26/07/2020 — Lover Fest West — Los Angeles, U.S.
31/07/2020 — Lover Fest East — Foxborough, U.S.
01/08/2020 — Lover Fest East — Foxborough, U.S.

Mad Cool Festival in Madrid, Spain recently revealed that Taylor Swift will also perform at the festival. The date of her appearance has not been announced yet, but Mad Cool Festival will take place from July 8 to 11. The complete line-up includes other big names, such as Billie Eilish, twenty one pilots, Diplo, alt-J, Cage the Elephant, HAIM, Foals, Khalid, and many more. Check out the site for more information.

Photo credit (Kendrick Lamar): Sharon Alagna

In light of 2020 Glastonbury, one of the biggest music festivals in the world, Eavis along with her father Michael Eavis was keen to bring gender equality to the Somerset festival next year. She was interviewed with Music Week about the aspiration to make the festival keep up the ever-changing music industry:

“We still quite like the idea of just running for the next couple of years and seeing how it goes, and not thinking that it should necessarily be here in 10 years. We would love to keep the festival going, but we also know that the industry changes all the time. At the moment we’re in a really good patch, so we’re just enjoying it and not thinking too far into the future.”

Apart from that, Eavis also wants to see the next year’s line-up to be more gender-inclusive:

“It’s important we go as close to 50-50 as we can. It’s as important to have females on the bill as much as men but the pool – certainly on the headliner front – is not as big. So we have to work on that as an industry and nurture all these women coming through.”

Even though the Park Stage’s headliners, according to the organiser, were seeing progress, the Pyramid Stage’s line-up, she said, “obviously isn’t and we’re working on it.”

Next year, Glastonbury will take place at the usual location in Pilton, Somerset on June 24 to 28. The festival will also celebrate its 50th anniversary, and to honour that, Diana Ross was announced to play the Sunday legends slot on the Pyramid Stage, which the singer herself was delighted to see her “dream come true”.

This is a dream come true. To all the fans across the world, this is my tribute to you. I'm coming to Glastonbury, with love. #Glastonbury2020 @GlastoFest pic.twitter.com/Zt0Ylt7TmK

— Ms. Ross (@DianaRoss) October 10, 2019

Whereas there have not been other confirmed artists to play at Glastonbury 2020, other artists, namely Sir Paul McCartney, Fleetwood Mac and Sir Elton John, were speculated to appear in the line-up, as well as the ex-member of One Direction Harry Styles who was rumoured to play the famous festival.

To add to the excitement, Sky Bet revealed a list of top 10 most likely 2020 Pyramid Stage Headliners. Kendrick Lamar appeared in the summit, closely followed by Taylor Swift and Sir Paul McCartney. Despite appeared in the ninth, Coldplay confirmed that they would not headline the festival next year.

The tickets for Glastonbury 2020, both pre-sale and general sale, were completely sold out in less than 35 minutes. However, there will a resale for unwanted and unpaid tickets which will take place on April 16 for coach tickets and April 19 for general tickets.

Keep up with the news of Glastonbury on its website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for more information.

Taking to social media to announce the news, Ross said: “To all my fans across the world, this is my tribute to you. Every concert feels like a private party, I can see your eyes and feel your hearts. I’m coming to Glastonbury, with love.”

Confirming the slot, Glastonbury wrote on Twitter: “We are delighted to announce that @DianaRoss will play the Sunday legends slot on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2020.”

This is a dream come true. To all the fans across the world, this is my tribute to you. I’m coming to Glastonbury, with love. #Glastonbury2020 @GlastoFest pic.twitter.com/Zt0Ylt7TmK

— Ms. Ross (@DianaRoss) October 10, 2019

The appearance will see Ross making her Glastonbury debut, after having been linked with an appearance on several past occasions. The upcoming performance marks Ross’ first live appearance, in the UK, since 2008.

Speaking about the announcement, Glastonbury boss, Emily Eavis, said: “I am delighted to say that one of the all-time greats, the wonderful Diana Ross, is coming to Glastonbury to play the Sunday legend slot on the Pyramid next year.”

I am delighted to say that one of the all-time greats, the wonderful Diana Ross, is coming to Glastonbury to play the Sunday legend slot on the Pyramid next year.

— Emily Eavis (@emilyeavis) October 10, 2019

It comes after Kylie Minogue graced the Legends slot, at this year’s festival, which came 14 years after her battle with breast cancer forced her to pull out of a headline slot. Minogue’s performance, on the Legends slot on the Pyramid stage, went on to become the BBC’s most-watched Glastonbury performance of all time, with 3.9 million viewers tuning in to watch.

The announcement comes after tickets for Glastonbury 2020 sold out in 33 minutes, last Sunday – with a record setting 2.4 million people attempting to get their hands on just one of the 135,000 places.

Meanwhile, rumours have been beginning to circulate as to who could headline Glastonbury 2020, which will mark the festival’s 50th anniversary. Among the names beginning to circulate are Paul McCartney, Foals, The 1975, Taylor Swift, Green Day and Fleetwood Mac among others.