Glastonbury 2023: Everything you need to know ahead of this year’s festival
The legendary event returns to Worthy Farm this summer
By Joe Goggins
After a cancelled 50th anniversary edition in 2020, and then a further postponement in 2021 – both owing to the COVID-19 pandemic – Glastonbury finally made a triumphant return last year.
Epic headline sets from Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar – in addition to eye-catching turns by the likes of Diana Ross in the Sunday afternoon legends’ slot, Phoebe Bridgers on the John Peel stage, and Sam Fender on the Pyramid – ensured that the legendary Worthy Farm event went off with a bang, three years after it was last staged.
Now, attention turns to this year’s edition. Organisers Michael and Emily Eavis are notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to lineup announcements, but one headliner has already been confirmed in the form of Elton John. Here’s everything we know so far about next year’s festival.
Is Glastonbury scheduled to go ahead this year?
It is all systems go for 2023 in Pilton. Ordinarily, Glastonbury takes place four out of every five years, with the fifth year being a fallow year to allow Worthy, which remains a working farm, to recover from the obvious wear and tear of hosting a 210,000-strong party every summer. Given that the last fallow year was 2018, 2023 would have been the next one, had it not been for the pandemic, which enforced two consecutive fallow summers and gave Eavis’ cows the place to themselves in 2020 and 2021. Accordingly, he has confirmed that Glastonbury will roll on in 2023.
When does it take place and how can I get tickets?
It’s been confirmed that the festival will take place from June 21-25 next year. Tickets went on sale last November and sold out within minutes. A resale, in keeping with custom, will then likely follow in early April.
Have any headliners been announced yet?
Yes! So far it’s been confirmed that Elton John will head to Worthy Farm, marking the last ever UK gig of his farewell tour and his debut on Worthy Farm.
Guns N’ Roses have also seemingly confirmed they are heading to the festival, although that is yet to be confirmed by organisers.
One artist who doesn’t look set to headline, however, is Taylor Swift. The singer was set to headline in 2020, but the Covid pandemic resulted in the event’s cancellation. While fans were hoping for her delayed Worthy Farm debut in 2023, newly announced tour dates show that she is set to perform Minneapolis on June 24, the Saturday night of the festival. A dash across the globe to perform on either the Friday or Sunday of Glastonbury would therefore be somewhat unlikely.