This year would’ve marked the 50th anniversary, the plan was to celebrate with headliners like Paul McCartney, Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift. Now, fans must wait another year to celebrate – if it’s not going to being too late. “It has to happen for us, we have to carry on. Otherwise it will be curtains. I don’t think we could wait another year”, Eavis told The Guardian.

But a festival as big as Glastonbury, with big musicians like these, comes at a price. “Cancelling 2020 obviously cost us a sizeable sum of money”, Eavis’ daughter Emily, who’s been working side to side with her father for the past couple of years, has revealed. And Eavis himself has admitted that the cash isn’t flowing in the Glastonbury bank account: “We haven’t got unlimited resources – we carry enough to float the next event”, the 84-year-old-said. If the resources are gone, the Glastonbury experience could end up in your own backyard rather than at a festival ground, just like this Twitter user is currently experiencing:

@bbcglasto @glastonbury We have our Glasto at home set up – complete with our own Pyramid headliner pic.twitter.com/zV2XZpuCEn

— Claire Deakins (@clairebear2606) June 25, 2020

The entire live music industry is at risk at the moment, but with the largest greenfield festival in the world being self-organised, it makes Glastonbury dependant on governmental help. “The whole live industry will be hanging in the balance if we have another summer without festivals, and we don’t know what level of government support there will be for this industry”, Emily said.

She’s urged the government to refund license fees for 2020 events, as “the return of those fees, which can be tens of thousands of pounds, would offer a financial lifeline to many events.” With the entertainment industry being a huge income for the economy, as well as being a big part of peoples social lives, Emily has been calling out to the government for help: “The UK government is going to need to step up and support the British arts more broadly. This country’s venues, theatres, festivals, performers and crew bring so much to this country financially and culturally, but they need support now. Otherwise, I think we face the very real possibility of so many aspects of our culture disappearing forever.”

Here’s to hoping that this scenario will never happen.

Worse still, is the fact that this year, Glastonbury would have been celebrating its 50th anniversary. It’s a momentous milestone for a festival that has welcomed the likes of Kanye West, Primal Scream, Orbital, Oasis, and David Bowie over the years. Sadly, it seems, 2020’s edition isn’t one for the history books.

Due to headline the fiftieth anniversary, Glastonbury was Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, and Kendrick Lamar. Set to run from 24-28 June, the news came via Twitter today that the Worthy Farm gig would no longer go ahead.

Michael and Emily Eavis made a statement on Twitter, saying: “We are so sorry to announce this, but we are going to have to cancel Glastonbury 2020. Tickets for this year will roll over to next year. Full statement below and on our website. Michael & Emily.”

Read below via Twitter for the statement in its entirety.

We are so sorry to announce this, but we are going to have to cancel Glastonbury 2020. Tickets for this year will roll over to next year. Full statement below and on our website. Michael & Emily pic.twitter.com/ox8kcQ0HoB

— Glastonbury Festival (@glastonbury) March 18, 2020

A more thorough statement via Twitter was released soon after. It began with: “We are so sorry to announce this, but Glastonbury 2020 will have to be cancelled, and this will be an enforced fallow year for the festival.

In what they describe as “times of such unprecedented uncertainty”, the organizers declared that the decision to cancel was their “only viable option.” 

However, on a somewhat brighter note, the statement does affirm that ticket holders can roll over their £50 deposit into next year’s concert, or have it refunded.

Further information for accommodation, coach packages, and local Sunday tickets are expected “in the coming days.”