Christopher BarrettNeil Young has announced he will headline the Glastonbury Festival, days after pulling out of the event.
The revered singer-songwriter had said he would not perform at the festival due to the requirements of the BBC. Young wrote in an online post that he believed Glastonbury Festival, which is partnered with the BBC, was under corporate control: “We were told that BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in. It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being.”
Young said he had been looking forward to playing Glastonbury with his band The Chrome Hearts, having previously headlined the event in 2009 and describing the festival as “one of my all time favourite outdoor gigs”.
Indicating an abrupt change of heart, Young announced he will headline this year’s Glastonbury Festival in new online post. He wrote, “Due to an error in the information received, I had decided to not play the Glastonbury Festival, which I always have loved. Happily, the festival is now back on our itinerary and we look forward to playing. Hope to see you there!”
Welcoming Young’s U-turn, Glastonbury’s Emily Eavis wrote in a social post, “Neil Young is an artist who’s very close to our hearts at Glastonbury. He does things his own way and that’s why we love him. We can’t wait to welcome him back here to headline the Pyramid in June.”
While Young did not provide further details of his original objection to the BBC’s involvement, in 2009 his management restricted the broadcaster to airing just five songs from his headline set on TV and radio, and making only one available online. It is not known whether his 2025 Glastonbury performance will be broadcast.
In 2018, Young threatened to pull out of a planned performance at BST Hyde Park due to AEG Presents having partnered with what he described as a “fossil fuel funding entity” as a sponsor. The show went ahead but not as part of the Barclaycard-sponsored BST festival.