Glastonbury 2020 Canceled Due to Coronavirus Outbreak
Glastonbury is the latest festival to be affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
The 50th anniversary of the U.K. festival has been canceled just days after the lineup was announced. Kendrick Lamar, along with Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, and Diana Ross, were slated to headline the 2020 edition, which was slated to take place June 24-28 in Pilton, Somerset, in England.
Glastonbury confirmed the cancelation via Twitter on Wednesday. “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,” said festival organizers Michael and Emily Eavis.
While they hope the situation will improve by the end of June, it was not viable to spend the next three months with thousands of crew on the farm building infrastructure and attractions needed to make the festival happen.
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
They are offering the 135,000 ticketholders the option to roll their £50 deposit into next year’s festival and guarantee the opportunity to buy a ticket for Glastonbury 2021. Refunds will also be made available until September.
“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,” added the Eavises. “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.”
This year’s Glastonbury lineup was also slated to include performances from Anderson .Paak, FKA twigs, TLC, Burna Boy, Camila Cabello, Lana Del Rey, Kelis, EarthGang, and more.
In light of the coronavirus, many festivals and tours have been canceled or postponed. Coachella has moved to October and J. Cole’s Dreamville Festival has been pushed to August. Pharrell’s Something in the Water Festival has been canceled for 2020. Artists including Billie Eilish and The Pussycat Dolls have also postponed their tours, while award shows including the iHeartRadio Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards have been indefinitely delayed.