Neil Young has confirmed that he will perform at Glastonbury festival after all.
The singer wrote on his blog that he had received ‘an error in information’ that had caused him to announce he would no longer be playing the iconic event.
The blog post reads: ‘Due to an error in the information received, I had decided to not play the Glastonbury festival, which I always have loved.
‘Happily, the festival is now back on our itinerary and we look forward to playing! Hope to see you there! LOVE Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts’
Previously, the 79-year-old Canadian-American singer announced he would not be playing the Worthy Farm festival after demands from the BBC that he did not want to meet.
Young took to his website to reveal that after being asked to go about his performance at the festival in a specific way, he and his band were no longer interested in performing at Worthy Farm.
‘The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my all-time favorite outdoor gigs. We were told that BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in,’ he said in a statement.
‘It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being.Thanks for coming to see us the last time!
The BBC's relationship to Glastonbury Festival
The BBC is an official and exclusive broadcast partner to Glastonbury Festival, and has been so since 1997.
In 2024 the BBC extended its headliner coverage to a global audience, and it covers the four-day festival over radio and TV stations throughout the festival.
The BBC launched its Introducing Stage in 2007 and renewed its broadcast rights in 2017.
‘We will not be playing Glastonbury on this tour because it is a corporate turn-off, and not for me like it used to be. Hope to see you at one of the other venues on the tour,’ the open letter concluded.
This wasn’t the first time Young and the BBC were involved in controversy surrounding Glastonbury.
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In 2009 the singer headlined the festival – alongside Bruce Springsteen and Blur – and performed a two hour set.
Many fans complained that the broadcaster showed a shortened version of the performance.
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The BBC responded then by saying: ‘The BBC has spent the last couple of months talking to Neil’s management about how much of his set we might be able to show on TV, radio and online over the Glastonbury weekend.
‘Neil Young’s career has been conducted on his own terms. Neil’s management agreed to let TV and radio broadcast five songs as they watched and listened to his performance. They believe in the live event and retaining its mystery and that of their artist.’
The 2025 festival will take place from June 25-29 and general sale tickets sold out in 36 minutes in November.
There will be an April resale for those who wish to return their tickets, giving fans another chance at attending before the scheduled fallow year in 2026.
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