Glastonbury Festival’s organiser Emily Eavis has given music fans a major update about the festival’s next fallow year. In a brand new video podcast, hosted by DJs Annie Mac and Nick Grimshaw, Emily divulged several updates to fans.
‘Sidetracked by Glastonbury: Emily Eavis’ is now available to listen to on BBC Sounds, or to watch on BBC iPlayer. In a new clip discussing future plans, Emily explained she’s considering the next fallow year for 2026.
Emily told Annie and Nick: “We might do a fallow year after that.” Annie replied: “Yeah, because it will have been what, three or four years?”
“It’s looking like we are due a fallow year,” Emily said. She explained the fallow year is ‘important’ for giving the festival’s land a ‘rest’ and for the cows to graze on the farm for a longer period of time, to “reclaim their land”.
She continued: “I think it’s important. I think it gives everybody a little time to just switch off. And the public as well, you know, because it does take, I know we’re in the middle of it, but it is a lot, isn’t it? And then you kind of go away for a little bit, and it feels lovely when you come back.”
Annie said: “It’s incredibly sensible. I think it’s probably a lot to do with how long the festival’s lasted.”
Emily added: “And I think it’s quite good not to just, seen to be, like just cashing in and stuff, you know? At the best time we could just go for it, and it’s like ‘no, we’re not going to actually’. It’s so important that ethos, now more than ever.”
The organiser explained it’s important to “calm it all down” for a while, and to come back with a “renewed excitement”.
What is a fallow year?
A fallow year is when the festival takes a break for one year, which usually takes place every five to six years. This is done to help the land where the festival is held to regrow, but also give the locals and organisers a break.
Glastonbury’s last official fallow year was in 2018, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there were two consecutive fallow years in 2020 and 2021, when the festival’s 50th anniversary was due to be held. It returned in 2022 with headliners Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar.
This year’s festival is due to run from Wednesday, June 26 to Sunday, June 30. The line-up is headlined by Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA, with Shania Twain billed for the Legend’s Tea Time spot on Sunday afternoon.
During the interview, Emily also talked about the “worst part of the job” – ticket sales. She said the festival probably wouldn’t consider a ballot for ticket sales, as there may be a number of people who wouldn’t be that interested in going.
She also expressed her sympathy with fans who missed out on tickets, saying there just “aren’t enough tickets for everybody”.
For more information on this year’s line-up, visit here.