Glastonbury Festival has been cancelled for a second year running due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The news was announced on Thursday online by the event’s organisers.
“With great regret, we must announce that this year’s Glastonbury Festival will not take place,” said festival organisers Michael and Emily Eavis.
“And that this will be another enforced fallow year for us. Tickets for this year will roll over to next year. Michael & Emily.”
The full statement on the festival website read: “In spite of our efforts to move heaven and 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.”
It confirmed that as with last year, anyone with a ticket will now be offered the opportunity to roll their £50 deposit over to next year, when the festival will hopefully resume. It had been due to take place in June 2021.
“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!”
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden shared his “disappointment” at the lack of a Glastonbury 2021.
“This regrettable but understandable decision is recognition that public health comes first” he posted, “and that right now, getting 200k fans together in just a few months looks very difficult to make safe”.
He added: “We continue to help the arts on recovery, including looking at problems around getting insurance. I’m Glastonbury will be back bigger and better next year.”
Last month, organiser Emily Eavis said she hoped this year’s festival could go ahead, despite the “huge uncertainty” surrounding live music in the pandemic.
“We’re doing everything we can on our end to plan and prepare,” she told the BBC, “but I think we’re still quite a long way from being able to say we’re confident 2021 will go ahead.”
Eavis said Glastonbury lost “millions” in 2020. Her father, Michael, had previously warned the festival “would seriously go bankrupt” if they had to cancel again. But that scenario is unlikely “as long as we can make a firm call either way in advance”, it was later clarified.
