A licence for a concert at the Glastonbury festival site in September has been approved, paving the way for a one-day event – entitled Equinox – in lieu of the usual five-day June celebration.
Mendip district council, which oversees the festival’s Somerset location, approved the licence after consulting with local residents and authorities.
Sam Phripp, the council’s chair of licensing, said: “Any event would have to be Covid-safe, and Mendip will work with other organisations and the organisers to make sure that’s the case.”
The licence allows for up to 50,000 attendees, who will not be able to camp overnight. Glastonbury organisers did not provide information on the lineup, ticketing, or the intended capacity, but organiser Emily Eavis told the NME this week that any event would be called Equinox.
After announcing in January that the main festival would be cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, organisers have made the best of a bad lot with alternative arrangements.
On Saturday, they host a five-hour global livestream concert, Live at Worthy Farm, airing from 7pm onwards in the UK. It will feature live performances filmed on the deserted Glastonbury festival site from Coldplay, Damon Albarn, Haim, George Ezra, Michael Kiwanuka, Wolf Alice, Idles, Jorja Smith, Kano and Roisin Murphy, plus spoken word from PJ Harvey, Jarvis Cocker and more.
The site will also host a campsite during the summer, described as “tranquil and family-friendly” with no live music, or noise after 11pm.
