Glastonbury Festival has been awarded a licence to host a live music event at their site in Somerset this year. Up to 50,000 people will be able to attend a scaled-back version of the festival which looks like it'll be taking place in September.
Organisers made the decision to cancel Glastonbury for the second year in a row earlier this year, in accordance with UK government guidelines surrounding the ongoing pandemic. However, they also applied for a licence to Mendip District Council to host two days of live music later in the year.
Their application has now been granted, meaning it looks like the event will be going ahead. Organiser Emily Eavis recently told NME that the event would be "a large[r] version of the Pilton Party” – the annual ‘thank you’ fundraising gig for villagers, workers and local people. We do that every September, but it will just be bigger and the public can come down. We’ll call it Equinox if we do it.”
While a licence has been awarded to the organisers, it comes with a hefty list of conditions, including that attendance – including all staff, bands and crew – must be capped at 49,999, as well as no camping. All live music will have to take place on the Pyramid Stage.
“Whenever a licence application is considered, Mendip rightly assesses the impact of an event on local people and seeks to find a decent balance," says local Councillor Sam Phripp. “With regard to Glastonbury Festival Events Limited holding a concert in September, we’ve heard concerns from residents, and those concerns are reflected in more than 50 conditions that have been added to this licence. We believe they’re sensible measures, and match the perceived risk of the event.
“With a view to Covid-19, of course, any event would have to be Covid-safe, and Mendip will work with other organisations and the organisers to make sure that’s the case.”
Meanwhile, you can get your Glastonbury fix by tuning into a livestream being zapped out of Worthy Farm on May 22. It'll feature performances from Damon Albarn, Wolf Alice and Idles among others.
