Glastonbury has today announced that they will be bringing their iconic music festival online for a global live stream this year.
The lineup of Coldplay, Damon Albarn, HAIM, IDLES, Jorja Smith, Kano, Michael Kiwanuka, Wolf Alice, and DJ Honey Dijon will play out a five-hour performance virtually on May 22.
The music festival announced back in January that this year's Glastonbury would not be going ahead. However, you can now pay €23 to have the festival play out live from home, which is set to feature some special guests too.
While it's a safe bet that no, we won't all be head-banging ourselves away at actual concerts by May, Glastonbury has come under fire from the boss at Music Venue Trust.
The UK charity's boss Mark Davyd has described the festival's announcement as "disappointing". The charity, which aims to protect, secure, and improve music venues around the UK, is likely peeved since the UK is preparing to slowly open up the country over the coming months, with May 17 earmarked for the reopening of many indoor and outdoor events and venues.
Davyd wrote: "I think what the live industry really needs right now is some collective, collaborative, joined up thinking. Announcing the world’s largest online event for the first weekend on which limited actual in person events are permitted really isn’t that.
"I’m going to politely describe the decision by @glastonbury to choose that specific weekend as ‘disappointing’. But it unfortunately reflects a complete failure by the festival to support grassroots music venues. Literally no engagement with @musicvenuetrust at all."
The Glastonbury live stream event will support three main charitable partners, Oxfam, Greenpeace and WaterAid, as well as helping to secure the festival's return next year in 2022.
