NEIL Young’s headlining Glastonbury set may not be aired on the BBC if the rocker has anything to say about it.
The Heart of Gold artist, 79, is one of the biggest names to play at this weekend’s music festival, but he does not want his Pyramid Stage set broadcast on the BBC.
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The Beeb is still wrangling with Young who may allow some of his songs to air, but it is not clear if they will be live to air or part of a highlights package on the BBC iPlayer service, according to a report in the Mirror.
A BBC schedule of the live sets to be aired on the public broadcaster does not include Young’s Sunday set, but does include other headliners such as Charli xcx and Doechii.
It is not the first time Young grumbled about the BBC’s involvement in Glasto, and earlier this year temporarily pulled out of performing, claiming it is a “corporate turn-off” due to its broadcast deal with the BBC.
He said on his website: “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.
“It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being.”
But just days later he did a surprise U-turn, the singer confirmed his slot blaming “an error in the information I received” for him initially turning down the offer.
A statement on his website read: “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.”
The Sun first reported that the singer was booked to headline Glastonbury, 16 years after he last played on the Pyramid Stage.
Young has been in many bands over the years including Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and Crazy Horse.
Last summer Neil cancelled a series of gigs on his Crazy Horse tour due to ill health.
In a statement last June, he revealed that sickness has been hitting “a couple of us” in the band since their last performance the month before.
Ahead of Glasto’s first day tomorrow, the Met Office has released the forecast for the hotly anticipated festival.
With the festival kicking off on Wednesday, forecasts are taking a dip after hitting highs of 33C at the weekend.
Glastonbury 2025 – confirmed acts so far
TICKETS to the 2025 festival sold out in just minutes before some of the acts were even confirmed. Here is who has been confirmed so far.
Confirmed headliners:
- The 1975 will take to the Pyramid Stage on Friday.
- Neil Young will headline the festival for the second time after his last set in 2009 on Saturday after RAYE makes her return.
- Charli xcx will headline the Other Stage on Saturday night.
- On Sunday, Olivia Rodrigo is due to belt out her hits for her first appearance while Rod Stewart will perform in the legends slot.
- More acts to appear on the Other Stage include Loyle Carner and The Prodigy.
- Doechii will make her Glastonbury debut on the West Holts Stage on Saturday night.
- Other names confirmed include Noah Kahan, Alanis Morissette, Gracie Abrams, Busta Rhymes, Lola Young, Brandi Carlile, Myles Smith, En Vogue, Amaarae, Cymande, Shaboozey, Osees and Gary Numan.
When the festival opens on June 25, the Met Office predicts reasonably warm temperatures of around 24C between 1pm and 4pm.
It might pay to be prepared with warmer jackets, suncream and hayfever meds -with a high pollen count and UV rating at 1pm Thursday.
As the music begins on Friday, crowds can expect it to be “cloudy changing to sunny intervals by late morning” according to the Met Office.
Saturday is expected to bring similarly warm temperatures, reaching highs of 23C.
The festival is set to finish on a high, with temperatures climbing to 24C, before dropping to a cooler 18C on Sunday evening.
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