Glastonbury Festival will mark the first time the BBC has broadcast any music event in Ultra High Definition
The BBC has announced its broadcasting plans for this year’s Glastonbury Festival.
Breaking the news this morning (Tuesday, 31st May) on BBC Radio 6 Music, Gemma Cairney (sitting in for Lauren Laverne) announced BBC Music’s plans for this year’s highly anticipated event.
BBC Music will once again give listeners and viewers “the ultimate armchair experience of the world’s best-loved festival” featuring a hugely entertaining schedule “full of ambition, breadth and range”.
Audiences will also be able to personalise their Glastonbury experience, as BBC Music presents the very best of the festival across TV, radio, BBC Sounds, BBC iPlayer and online – from headline shows on the Pyramid Stage to emerging artists on the BBC Music Introducing stage.
Glastonbury 2022 will mark the first time the BBC has broadcast any music event in Ultra High Definition – Sets from the Pyramid Stage will be shown live in UHD on BBC iPlayer on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with key performances and a special programme featuring highlights from the Pyramid Stage available on demand in UHD after the event.
Coverage will be brought to audiences by some of the BBC’s best-loved presenters, with AFRODEUTSCHE, Cerys Matthews, Clara Amfo, Danny Howard, Dermot O’Leary, DJ Target, Huw Stephens, Jack Saunders, Jaguar, Jamz Supernova, Jo Whiley, Lauren Laverne, Matt Everitt, Sian Eleri, Steve Lamacq, Tiffany Calver, Tom Ravenscroft, Vick Hope and Zoe Ball all broadcasting live from Worthy Farm.
Lorna Clarke, BBC Director of Music says: “I’m very proud of the BBC’s long history of broadcasting from Glastonbury, the highlight of our Summer of Live Music. Our coverage this year will be our most extensive to date, with over 35 hours of programming across BBC One, Two, Three and Four, and over 40 hours on BBC iPlayer – in addition to digital live streams from the five biggest festival stages. We’ll also have wall-to-wall coverage on the BBC’s pop radio networks and BBC Sounds – with over 60 hours of broadcasts from the festival itself. For the first time, we’ll be showing sets from the Pyramid stage in Ultra High Definition, a fantastic progression in our Glastonbury story, which aims to help audiences access every epic musical moment.
“Our expert team of presenters will guide audiences around Worthy Farm, whilst BBC iPlayer – with its dedicated Glastonbury channel – and BBC Sounds will allow people to watch and listen on demand, throughout the festival weekend and beyond. Many thanks to Emily and Michael Eavis for once again allowing us to bring their incredible creation to millions of music lovers around the UK.”
Emily Eavis says: “It’s a joy to have the BBC and its brilliant team back and broadcasting live from Glastonbury for the first time since 2019 – continuing a special partnership that’s been evolving since 1997. I’m looking forward to Worthy Farm being filled with thousands of people once again and for millions more around the country being able to enjoy performances from our stellar line-up, courtesy of the BBC, wherever they are.”
The BBC’s celebration of Glastonbury 2022 will begin earlier than in previous years:
In the days leading up to main festival coverage on TV, BBC Two will broadcast Glastonbury: 50 Years & Counting, produced and directed for BBC Studios Music Productions by the award-winning Francis Whately. This kaleidoscopic portrait of Glastonbury and its social and musical history is given through the testimony of its principal curators, Michael and Emily Eavis, as well as artists who have appeared there. Contributors include Aswad, Chris Martin, Dua Lipa, Ed O’Brien, Fatboy Slim, Florence Welch, Johnny Marr, Linda Lewis, Orbital, Noel Gallagher, The Levellers, Thom Yorke and Stormzy.
Also in the lead-up, BBC One and BBC iPlayer will show Stormzy: Road to the Pyramid Stage (w/t). This programme will see the mega-star rapper reflect on his Glastonbury journey, which led to one of the all-time iconic headline performances in 2019. Fans will get another chance to watch this acclaimed set in full on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
On radio and BBC Sounds, 6 Music presents All Day Glastonbury from Wednesday 22 June. Lauren Laverne broadcasts from the Worthy Farm gates as the first festival-goers enter the site during her breakfast show that day (7.30am-10.30am). All Day Glastonbury continues on 6 Music throughout the weekend, in addition to extensive coverage on Radio 1, Radio 1Xtra and Radio 2, which sees Zoe Ball present her breakfast show from Worthy Farm on Friday 24 June.
BBC iPlayer’s dedicated Glastonbury channel launches on Thursday 23 June, presenting a four day stream of live performances, preview programmes and more.
BBC Glastonbury is part of BBC 100 – an extraordinary year of special content, events and ambitious education initiatives to inform, educate and entertain the nation, marking 100 years of the BBC in 2022.
TV & BBC iPlayer
TV
This year, the BBC brings audiences over 35 hours of coverage across each of its TV channels. Diana Ross and Kendrick Lamar’s first Glastonbury performances, headline sets from Billie Eilish and Paul McCartney, and many other highlights from the Pyramid, Other, West Holts, John Peel and Park stages will feature.
From the Thursday, BBC Two will broadcast a special 30-minute programme live from Worthy Farm, providing a window back into the world of Glastonbury and a look forward to the treats to come. CBBC’s Blue Peter will be at the festival on Friday 24 June, along with the winner of a competition to design a costume to lead the Glastonbury Festival Kidzfield parade. BBC One’s The One Show will also give audiences an insight with coverage from Worthy Farm on the Friday.
BBC One will be showing more performances on the channel than in previous years.
Saturday will feature Olivia Rodrigo, followed by Paul McCartney on the Pyramid Stage – the first time BBC One has broadcast a Saturday night headliner.
On the Sunday, BBC One will show Diana Ross’ much-anticipated performance in the legendary teatime slot on the Pyramid Stage, where she will perform to thousands of music lovers at Worthy Farm, and millions more at home.
BBC Two will reflect on the shows and stories from day one of the festival on the Friday, before focussing on the Pyramid Stage headline performance from Billie Eilish – Glastonbury’s youngest solo headliner to date. Also featuring on the channel will be Kendrick Lamar, who is headlining the Pyramid Stage on the Sunday night. Other artists whose performances will be shown on BBC Two across the weekend include Elbow, Jessie Ware, Joy Crookes, Lorde, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Sam Fender and Years & Years.
On BBC Three, audiences can catch Charli XCX, Declan McKenna, Glass Animals, Little Simz, YUNGBLUD and more.
BBC Four will provide extensive and immersive coverage, including highlights and live footage from key sets across the weekend. Artists featured on the channel will include Angélique Kidjo, Arlo Parks, Celeste, Kacey Musgraves, Pet Shop Boys and Robert Plant & Alison Krauss.
After the festival, BBC Two will broadcast a round-up of the best of Glastonbury 2022 in a special highlights programme.
The TV schedules dated Saturday 18 – Friday 24 June will be announced on Wednesday 8 June and the TV schedules dated Saturday 25 June – Friday 1 July will be announced on Wednesday 15 June.
BBC iPlayer and online
For the first time, BBC iPlayer’s dedicated Glastonbury channel will be live from Thursday to Sunday, guiding viewers through the enormous amount of performances taking place at Worthy Farm. The channel will feature the biggest sets from the Pyramid, Other, West Holts, John Peel and Park Stages, starting each day from Friday with a new daily live programme, previewing the day ahead and rounding-up the action so far.
Viewers will also be able to watch performances on the five main stages live and in full every day, as well as watching sets from the Pyramid Stage live in UHD.
Audiences can join the action live, or whenever they like on their connected TVs, computers, tablets and mobiles.
Over 90 sets and key tracks from the five filmed stages will be available to watch on demand on BBC iPlayer throughout the weekend and for 30 days after broadcast – including the selected Pyramid Stage performances in Ultra High Definition. Highlights from the UKs best emerging artists, performing on the BBC Music Introducing stage, will also be available to watch on BBC iPlayer after the event.
Stunning photography from the weekend will be available on the BBC’s Glastonbury website at bbc.co.uk/glastonbury, as well as the BBC’s famous Glasto webcam, which is currently live, allowing viewers to follow the on-site progress, as Worthy Farm prepares to welcome the biggest artists in the world.
Radio & BBC Sounds
Radio 1 and Radio 1 Dance
Coverage kicks off on Radio 1 Dance on Thursday 23rd June from 7pm-12am, with a live broadcast of Radio 1 Dance’s takeover of the BBC Music Introducing Stage, hosted by Danny Howard and Jaguar. The programme will be simulcast on BBC Radio Somerset DAB and feature sets from some of the biggest names from the world of Introducing Dance.
Sian Eleri will be live from Pilton from 10pm-12am on the Friday night on Radio 1, to bring listeners the Pyramid Stage headline set from Billie Eilish. Plus, on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Vick Hope will be giving Radio 1 listeners regular live updates from Worthy Farm between 11am-3pm each day.
Following the festival, Radio 1’s Essential Mix will take listeners back to Shangri-La, broadcasting set highlights from this famous late-night area of Glastonbury on Friday 1st July (into Saturday (2nd July), 12am-2am).
Radio 1Xtra
Tiffany Calver and DJ Target co-host a special show on the Saturday (9pm-11pm), which will be simulcast on Radio 1 and will feature live performances from some of 1Xtra’s favourite artists at Glastonbury. Tiffany is back on the Sunday (9pm-12am) with Kendrick Lamar live on the Pyramid Stage.
Radio 2
The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show comes live from Glastonbury on the Friday (7am-10am), featuring live music and artist interviews. Plus, Richie Anderson and Tina Daheley explore the site to preview the weekend and hear from excited music fans as part of the show.
On the Saturday, it’s Vernon Kaye’s All Request Glastonbury All Stars (3pm-5pm), featuring listener choices of artists who have played at Glastonbury, before Dermot O’Leary presents live from Worthy Farm (5pm-8pm) with the best of the festival so far. Into the evening, listeners can enjoy Paul McCartney at the BBC (8pm-9pm), featuring some of Paul’s top performances and interviews from the BBC archives and then tune in to OJ Borg (9pm-12am), whose show will include highlights of Paul McCartney’s Pyramid Stage performance.
Sunday on Radio 2 sees Jo Whiley present live from Pilton (7pm-9pm), including highlights from Diana Ross’ teatime slot set on the Pyramid Stage.
6 Music
6 Music will be the radio home of Glastonbury, providing All Day Glastonbury coverage from Wednesday 22 – Sunday 26 June.
On Wednesday 22 and Thursday 23 June, Lauren Laverne (7.30am-10.30am) and Jamz Supernova (7pm-9pm) will guide listeners across the festival site, bringing to life the wonders of Worthy Farm with shows featuring live sets, Glastonbury news and guests. Plus Lauren broadcasts the grand opening of the Worthy Farm gates in her Wednesday morning show. Chris Hawkins (5am-7.30am), Mary Anne Hobbs (10.30am-1pm), Craig Charles (1pm-4pm), Steve Lamacq (4pm-7pm) and Gideon Coe (9pm-12am) will also be joining in the Glastonbury celebration with themed shows on those days. Every track played between 5am-midnight will be from an artist who has played at Glastonbury in the past, or will be this year and there’ll be archive sets broadcast in each show.
On Friday 24 June, Jamz (10.30am-1pm), Huw Stephens (1pm-4pm) and Steve (4pm-7pm) present from Pilton, with All Day Glastonbury themed programmes also coming from Chris (5am-7.30am) and Nemone (7.30am-10.30am).
Co-hosted special programmes from Matt Everitt & Nemone (7pm-9pm) and Tom Ravenscroft & AFRODEUTSCHE (9pm-12am) will air on the Friday and Saturday evening. Matt & Nemone will bring the audience the special moments from each day, plus interviews, news and a look ahead to what’s to come. Tom & AFRODEUTSCHE will take listeners across the stages in their show, bringing them the best live sets taking place that night.
Also on Saturday 25 June, Lauren (1pm-4pm) and Jamz (4pm-7pm) have all the live action, with Glastonbury specials from Amy Lamé (5am-7am), Radcliffe & Maconie (7am-10am) and Huey Morgan (10am-1pm).
Sunday’s live-from-site broadcasts are courtesy of Cerys Matthews (10am-1pm) and Jamz (1pm-4pm), before the network broadcasts Elbow – Road to Glastonbury (4pm-5pm), exploring the band’s relationship with the festival ahead of their performance on Sunday night on the Pyramid Stage. Nemone & Matt are back from 5pm-8pm with a review of Sunday and a look ahead to the last few hours of the festival. Finally, Steve rounds up an epic weekend from 8pm-12am, with a show featuring news, reviews, performance highlights and storming live sets, broadcast live from the final night of Glastonbury 2022.
BBC Sounds
On BBC Sounds, listeners will be able to follow live coverage from the festival from Wednesday 22nd June across BBC Radio 1, Radio 1 Dance, Radio 1Xtra, Radio 2, 6 Music and BBC Somerset with a single click.
Performances from the biggest artists on the main stages will be available to listen to on demand across the weekend and after the event, as well as DJ sets recorded at the Arcadia, Stonebridge Bar, Shangri-La and Silver Hayes areas of the festival.
All Glastonbury programmes on BBC radio will be available to hear on demand on BBC Sounds after broadcast.
BBC Music Introducing
The BBC Music Introducing stage at Glastonbury turns 15 this year. June 2007 saw the launch of the first ever Introducing stage, with performances by JME and The Tings Tings. In 2022, the BBC Music Introducing stage will be situated in the Interstage area of the festival, with the line-up curated by Wolf Alice (Friday 24 June), IDLES (Saturday 25th June) & Arlo Parks (Sunday 26 June), through the Introducing shows across the UK.
Joel Amey of Wolf Alice says: “It was an honour and a thrill to be asked to help curate the BBC Music Introducing stage at Glastonbury this year; the future of music looks bright indeed!”
IDLES say: “BBC Introducing has been pivotal in the growth and rise of IDLES, their support even in the germinal days, when we had no idea, means the world to us. They opened doors and champion the new and exciting. They’ve (at their own risk) given us the opportunity to highlight some of our favourite new artists and hopefully open doors for them by curating the BBC Music Introducing Stage at Glastonbury, these are acts we believe will grace the Park, the Other, The Pyramid in years to come. Please support them where you can.”
Arlo Parks says: “Three years ago I played the BBC Music Introducing stage at Glastonbury and now I’ve been asked to curate the line up! It’s been such an honour to be able to uplift some incredible new artists whose flames already burn so bright – I can’t wait to see what they get up to next!”
On Thursday 23 June, Radio 1 Dance will also take over the stage, hosted by Danny Howard & Jaguar from Introducing Dance. The party starts from 6pm, with 7pm-midnight broadcast live on BBC Radio Somerset DAB & Radio 1 Dance on BBC Sounds.
Performing on the BBC Music Introducing Stage this year will be this year’s Emerging Talent Competition winner, Lewis McLaughlin, alongside some of the most exciting artists coming up through BBC Music Introducing, including English Teacher, Cody Frost, Sekou and more.
The stage will also welcome surprise guests throughout the weekend, which will be announced via @bbcintroducing on Instagram and Twitter. Fans can also watch highlights from the BBC Music Introducing stage on BBC iPlayer after the event.
Previous artists to have performed on the Introducing stage at Glastonbury include Self Esteem, Loyle Carner, Nao, Ed Sheeran, Holly Humberstone, Rizzle Kicks, Celeste and George Ezra.
Glastonbury: 50 Years & Counting on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer
A film three years in the making, producer/director of the acclaimed David Bowie Five Years trilogy, Francis Whately, turns his attention to a kaleidoscopic portrait of Glastonbury for this social and musical history of (probably) The World’s Greatest Music Festival. The story is told through the testimony of its principal curators, Michael and Emily Eavis and the musicians who have performed there, including Thom Yorke, Florence Welch, Dua Lipa, The Levellers, Aswad, Orbital, Fatboy Slim, Linda Lewis, Noel Gallagher, Ed O’Brien, Chris Martin, and Stormzy.
This is not a chronological plod through the festival’s evolution, so much as a thematic and story-driven exploration of the peaks and troughs, the agonies and the ecstasies, that have shaped its many eras. Balancing the driving forces of social conscience and hedonism, Glastonbury has always been both a world apart and a barometer of the state of the nation. Cameras take viewers backstage and deep into the archive to reveal the forces that have driven this alternative nation between utopia and dystopia, the Greatest Night of Your Life and a Muddy Field in the Middle of Nowhere.
General recap:
The new Glastonbury 2022 map was revealed last month and features lots of interesting changes to the site grounds ahead of the Festival this year.
Speaking of the new map, we also have a newly renovated and updated comprehensive Glasto Camping Guide which you can now view here.
Although the full Glastonbury 2022 line-up including the set times breakdown was revealed last month (30th May), posters for dedicated stages and attractions have continued to be shared on social media as well as on the official Glastonbury website.
Strummerville revealed its line-up poster on the 31st of May, while new Beat Hotel replacement, San Remo, dropped the news on the 1st of June – just hours before Pilton Palais.
Block9 was the seventeenth area to announce its individual line-up poster (on the 27th of May) for this year’s Festival.
Cineramageddon announced its individual line-up poster on the 25th of May, while West Holts revealed its lineup poster on the 24th of May – and Unfairground theirs on the 20th of May, just one day after The Park area which came on the 19th of May.
The Kidzfield revelation came on the 16th of May, just three days after Croissant Neuf‘s on the 13th, and followed announcements from Acoustic Stage and The Glade – on the 12th and the 11th of the month, respectively.
Late-night areas The Common and – Shangri-La also released their line-ups, on the 6th and the 4th of May, respectively. In addition to the Left Field line-up that was revealed on Tuesday morning, the 3rd of May.
Other key stories from the string of announcements included confirmation that Arcadia’s iconic fire-breathing Spider will be returning to the Festival in 2022 – following planning issues with the Pangea crane, which had replaced the Spider in 2019 but will not be featured at this year’s event.
The Arcadia news came bundled with its own line-up poster, after posters from Theatre & Circus Fields, Glasto Latino, and former Dance Village Silver Haye had also been revealed earlier that week.
And finally, Field of Avalon was the first area to announce its dedicated line-up poster for 2022 on Tuesday, the 12th of April.
2022 will be the first year to see Glastonbury take place since 2019, after two consecutive cancellations due to the coronavirus crisis – both in 2020 and 2021.
Meanwhile, the first main line-up announcement poster revelation, shown below, dropped in March of this year.
As seen in the poster above, Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar will be joining previously announced headliner Billie Eilish to top the bill at this year’s event.
Eilish will be playing the Pyramid Stage on the Friday night – and by doing so make history as the youngest ever solo artist to headline the Festival at only 20-years-old.
Another historic moment will occur when Sir Paul McCartney takes to the Pyramid Stage on the Saturday night – which will subsequently make him the oldest Glastonbury headliner at 80-years-old.
Diana Ross will likewise be performing on the Pyramid Stage for the Sunday Teatime Legends Slot, while Lamar will be headlining the same stage later that evening.
Glastonbury 2022 is set to take place at its natural home in Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset, from Wednesday 22nd to Sunday 26th June.
Although tickets for the 2022 Festival have now completely sold out, you can check out our 12 tips & trick guide on how to get tickets to Glastonbury 2023.
DON’T BE FOOLED:
Glastonbury Festival would very much like fans to be aware that there are people out there who will try and sell fake Glastonbury tickets to unsuspecting, willing and innocent potential purchasers.
Although Glasto-veterans who have been going to the Festival for quite some time may recognise these scams for what they are, newcomers to the Festival might not know that tickets are only sold on one site which is: glastonbury.seetickets.com – and any other site claiming to sell tickets for the Festival are not authentic.
