Glastonbury organiser Michael Eavis has said the future of the festival could be in danger if it’s not able to go ahead in 2021.
The much-loved music event should have been taking place this weekend, but was cancelled back in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Michael – who oversees Glastonbury every year with his daughter, Emily Eavis – has now told The Guardian that if the festival can’t take place next year, “it will be curtains”.
“We have to run next year, otherwise we would seriously go bankrupt,” he explained. “It has to happen for us, we have to carry on. Otherwise it will be curtains. I don’t think we could wait another year.”
Emily agreed that Glastonbury would be in a “very serious situation if we had to cancel next year’s event”, but pointed out that the industry in general could well be in jeopardy.
“The whole live industry will be hanging in the balance if we have another summer without festivals,” she added. “And we don’t know what level of government support there will be for this industry.”
Emily insisted that she was feeling optimistic, though, noting: “We’ve navigated choppy waters so many times. This festival has always evolved and found ways to survive, and I’m confident that we will again.”
This year should have been the landmark 50th anniversary of Glastonbury, with Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar all booked to headline.
Meanwhile, Diana Ross was scheduled to play on the Pyramid Stage in the “Legends” slot, following Kylie Minogue’s record-breaking performance in 2019.