Glastonbury Festival cancelled due to coronavirus
Glastonbury Festival has been postponed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, the event’s organisers confirmed today.
The festival, which was due to celebrate its 50th anniversary this year, said cancelling the event was its “only viable option” after the government urged people to stay at home.
The world-famous music festival was scheduled for 24-28 June and boasted Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, Kendrick Lamar and Lana del Ray among its line-up.
“We very much hope the situation will have improved enormously by the end of June,” the organisers said in a statement.
“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.”
Glastonbury said it would instead have an enforced fallow year — a break usually taken at five-year intervals to allow the venue to recover.
Roughly 135,000 people had already paid a deposit for this year’s festival.
Glastonbury said it wanted to make a firm decision before the beginning on April, when balance payments on the tickets were due.
The festival warned there would “inevitably be severe financial implications” not only for the company, but also for its charity partners, suppliers, traders and local landowners.
Adam French, consumer rights expert at Which, said: “For people facing the cancellation of other upcoming festivals and events, bear in mind that you may have fewer protections if the ticket was purchased through a secondary ticket seller.
“If you are unsuccessful in getting a refund, you can try your credit or debit card provider to see if a chargeback or section 75 claim is possible.”