FEATURE:
Worthy of Consideration
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Can Glastonbury and Other Big Festivals Realistically Return in 2021?
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WHEN it comes to the question as to whether…
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large festivals can come back in any form next year, there does seem to be a split in opinions. Many people are looking ahead to next year with optimism because, as we have a vaccine, it is only a matter of months before things start to improve and we will see a massive reduction in infections. That is good news, perhaps, for smaller venues that can easily test people attending gigs or ensure that those who buy tickets have been vaccinated - or, at the very least, there could be testing outside venues. Dealing in relatively small numbers would be easier. I hope that the venues are all safe because, this year, they have been especially hit hard. I do feel like venues will be supported financially and most will be open in the summer (and offer gigs in some form). Maybe things will not get totally back to normal by then. The issue is a lot trickier when we discuss a massive festival. Where there is a lot more physical interaction and so many more people, it only takes a few revellers who are infected to spread coronavirus rapidly. Glastonbury is the world’s best festival and, after it was postponed this year, many have been looking ahead to the possible return next year. Co-organiser Emily Eavis has been asked about what Glastonbury’s current status is. This NME article provides us with more details:
“Emily Eavis has reassured fans that Glastonbury 2021 is “not cancelled yet” amid concerns that the festival won’t take place due to coronavirus concerns.
Last week, Eavis said the festival was “a long way” away from being able to confirm next year’s event.
IN THIS PHOTO: Glastonbury’s Emily and Michael Eavis/PHOTO CREDIT: Western Daily Press
Today (December 21), a fan tweeted: “I will only believe that Glastonbury is cancelled next year if Emily Eavis rings me personally to tell me,” to which Eavis simply replied: “Not cancelled yet!”
In another tweet, Eavis added: “Appreciate lots of rumours are flying around online and in the press, but there’s no change to what I said in the BBC interview last week.
“We’ll let you know through official channels as soon as we have an update (which won’t be until the new year).”
In the recent interview with the BBC, Eavis said the team behind the festival are considering their options on how to ensure that next year’s festival, the delayed 50th anniversary of the legendary Worthy Farm weekender, can go ahead.
Michael Eavis spoke recently about the possibility that “massive testing arrangements” could be put in place at next year’s event. “The testing is going so well now, there could be massive testing arrangements,” he said”.
It is hard to tell at the moment whether a vaccine can be rolled out quickly enough so the majority of the population are immunised by the summer. There is also the fact that big festivals start a long time before the first act plays on stage. Months of planning and preparation is involved, so Emily and her father, Michael (who founded the festival), may have to make a decision in the next couple of months.
IN THIS PHOTO: Paul McCartney (who was among the three artists due to headline Glastonbury this year)/PHOTO CREDIT: Samir Hussein/WireImage
Among the proposed headliners this year – the others being Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar -, Paul McCartney is doubtful 2021 will be the year to bring Glastonbury back:
“Paul McCartney, this year’s would-be Glastonbury headliner, does not expect the festival to go ahead in 2021.
The former Beatles star told BBC Radio 4: “100,000 people closely packed together with flags and no masks – you know, talk about super-spreader. I’d love it to [happen], but I have a feeling it’s not going to.”
McCartney said the festival was not in his 2021 calendar. This week Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis told the BBC that they are doing “everything we can” to ensure it takes place next year.
She said: “The hard part is understanding exactly what we’ll be planning for, and what impact that will have on what we’re able to do. But right now I’m not sure there’s anything we could do that would completely ensure we can welcome 200,000 people to spend six days in some fields in June 2021”.
I think the problem afflicting most large festivals is when they take place. Many are hosted in June or July but, in terms of making a festival happen and having greater security that things will be better, I think hosting them at the end of August would be better. There is nothing set in stone saying a festival needs to happen in June; I think things will be infinitely better by late-August. The weather, hopefully, will be quite warm, and there is every chance that infection rates will be extremely low.
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Many are chomping at the bit to get back in a field in the summer, but if Glastonbury and other festivals are postponed this year, they may need to push them back to 2022. With a vaccine here, there is going to be a moment next year when things are as close to back to normal as possible. I think wiping out 2021 would be a problem for every festival as they would struggle to return in 2022. All festivals are important, but there are eyes on Glastonbury. We all need the tantalising possibility of Worthy Farm being open for business next year but, at this stage, there is no guarantee as to when the vaccine can be given to the majority and when the moment is that festivals can realistically come back. I do think that delaying the festival date by a couple of months, coupled with a mass testing system, would be fine. I am not sure whether there would be a way to check whether people have been vaccinated prior to buying a ticket or, on site, mass testing is carried out. The latter might be a bit challenging, but perhaps some system can be designed so that out festivals can open without having to worry about the unpredictable spread of coronavirus. What the Eavis’ and every other festivals organiser has to deal with right now is huge.
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Most venues can plan and rearrange plans when it comes to reopening and cancelling gigs, but festivals are so much larger and deal with so many more artists and people. Though it seems like festivals are having to consider the possibility of a 2022 return, I think that leaving fields fallow would be a folly…especially considering the rate at which people are being vaccinated. Just under six months from now, things might well be safe enough to bring most festivals back but, whilst not ideal, delaying them until August or September might be a compromise. That might create a clash and prove to be nightmarish for artists playing several festivals, but there will be such an appetite and demand next year. The number-one concern is safety and ensuring that people are not needlessly exposed to danger. It will be interesting watching the music news to see what decisions (if any) are made early next year and whether festival organisers are going to be safe and cancel 2021 plans, or whether they are going to be device a way so that vaccinated people can come to festivals and everyone else has to stay away. Resisting the palpable craving for live music is going to be heavy on organisers’ shoulders, but I guess we have to be patient! I initially wrote this feature on 22nd December but since, yesterday (30th December), the Oxford vaccine is being rolled out from next week, that might increase the chances of festivals being rolled out in the summer - though, as the second jab is not administered until twelve weeks after the first, it might be right. So far ahead of time, deciding if a huge festival should go ahead at such a bad and precarious time is…
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A very hard call to make.