The long-running Glastonbury Festival was set to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2020, putting together a stellar lineup for the big year. But a little minor setback known as the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent global lockdowns forced Glastonbury to cancel the festival that year.
There was hope for the festival initially, since it was a big milestone year. Paul McCartney, Kendrick Lamar, and Taylor Swift were scheduled to headline in June. But by March 2020, festival organizer Emily Eavis announced the cancellation. In an attempt to placate fans, the festival site, Worthy Farm, filmed several socially-distanced performances. These videos were put together into a film called Live From Worthy Farm, which played on Glastonbury’s website. It was also broadcast on BBC Two.
Glastonbury 2021 was canceled as well. Technically, these cancellations were a chance for the festival to take a couple of unplanned fallow years. These are usually scheduled every five years as a time for the organizers and community to take a break, also allowing the environment to heal from the stress of the festival. 2026 is the first planned fallow year since 2018, with the festival returning in 2027.
Fans Returned to Glastonbury Festival in 2022 With Reverent Gratitude After a Bleak Couple of Years
In October 2021, Glastonbury announced the headliners for the renewed 2022 festival. Billie Eilish would serve as the youngest headliner in festival history, replacing Taylor Swift from the 2020 lineup. Other existing headliners, like Paul McCartney (who paralleled Eilish as the oldest headlining performer) and Kendrick Lamar, stayed on, however. The festival kicked off on June 22 and concluded on June 26.
Lorde, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Haim, Diana Ross, Wolf Alice, and more were all on the Pyramid stage. Additional stages hosted Megan Thee Stallion, St. Vincent, Idles, Fontaines D.C., The Libertines, Olivia Rodrigo, Glass Animals, Charli XCX, Little Simz, Primal Scream, Phoebe Bridgers, Clairo, Khruangbin, Wet Leg, Mitski, Jack White, Caroline Polachek, and so many, many more.
It was truly a celebration for Glastonbury fans. Definitely a late 50th anniversary, but also a celebration of gratitude for the festival still going strong despite the isolated last two years. A review of the festival in The Guardian noted an air of reverence among the crowds. After two years of live music prohibition, attending Glastonbury again must have felt like a religious experience.
The post On This Day in 2022, Iconic UK Festival Returns After Two-Year Hiatus With Impressive, Historic Age Gap Between Headliners appeared first on VICE.
