Olivia PowellIt has been announced that, due to the coronavirus outbreak, Glastonbury 2020 will not be taking place.
This announcement comes just a few days after the festival added a number of acts to its line-up.
Co-founders Michael Eavis and Emily Eavis said in a statement on the Glastonbury website: “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.
Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar were due to appear, alongside Diana Ross and Dua Lipa.
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
“Clearly this was not a course of action we hoped to take for our 50th anniversary event, but following the new government measures announced this week – and in times of such unprecedented uncertainty – this is now our only viable option.
“We very much hope that the situation in the UK will have improved enormously by the end of June. But even if it has, we are no longer able to spend the next three months with thousands of crew here on the farm, helping us with the enormous job of building the infrastructure and attractions needed to welcome more than 200,000 people to a temporary city in these fields.
The cancellation of @glastonbury is a huge disappointment for ticket holders and artists for who it is a significant goal. Commiserations to them and to friends and colleagues who work for the festival. See you at @GlastoLeftField next year. Stay healthy & look out for each other
— Billy Bragg (@billybragg) March 18, 2020
“We would like to send our sincere apologies to the 135,000 people who have already paid a deposit for a Glastonbury 2020 ticket. The balance payments on those tickets were due at the beginning of April and we wanted to make a firm decision before then.
“We understand that it is not always easy to secure a Glastonbury ticket, which is why we would like to offer all those people the chance to roll their £50 deposit over to next year, and guarantee the opportunity to buy a ticket for Glastonbury 2021.
Sending all my love to Michael and @emilyeavis and the @glastonbury Crew today. It’s such a heartbreaking decision to have to make. Xx
— Annie Mac (@AnnieMac) March 18, 2020
“Those who would prefer a refund of that £50 will be able to contact See Tickets in the coming days in order to secure that. This option will remain available until September this year. For those who are happy to roll their deposit over, that will happen automatically. Further information – including details on rolling over coach packages, official accommodation bookings and local Sunday tickets – will be added to our website in the coming days.
Yes, gutted. Yes, 6 months work down the drain. But the right decision. Just connected with the team and we started the planning this morning.
— John Kerridge (@Northernechoes) March 18, 2020
“The cancellation of this year’s Festival will no doubt come as a terrible blow to our incredible crew and volunteers who work so hard to make this event happen. There will also inevitably be severe financial implications as a result of this cancellation – not just for us, but also the Festival’s charity partners, suppliers, traders, local landowners and our community.
“We were so looking forward to welcoming you all for our 50th anniversary with a line-up full of fantastic artists and performers that we were incredibly proud to have booked. Again, we’re so sorry that this decision has been made. It was not through choice. But we look forward to welcoming you back to these fields next year and until then, we send our love and support to all of you.”