Glastonbury 2020: all you need to know about dates, line-up, tickets and more for the 50th anniversary festival

The Worthy Farm festival turns 50 next summer – here’s everything you need to know about joining the big anniversary bash

The year 2020 sees Glastonbury celebrate the big 5-0, and the ensuing festivities are shaping up to be very special indeed.

After humble beginnings – Michael Eavis hosted his first ever festival in 1970, for about 1,500 lucky attendees – the event has evolved into one of the biggest festivals in the entire world, with a site that occupies roughly the same space as Oxford city centre.

If you thought the 2019 edition of the festival was huge, then buckle up for a massive half-century party that’ll take things up a thousand more notches.

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Here’s everything we know so far…

What’s the latest news?

When do Glastonbury 2020 tickets go on re-sale?

Glastonbury Festival 2020 tickets with coach packages went on sale at 6pm on Thursday October 3 and sold out in just 27 minutes. Then general tickets went on sale at 9am on Sunday October 6 and sold out in just 34 minutes.

A resale for unwanted and unpaid tickets will take place on April 16 for coach tickets and April 19 for general tickets.

When does Glastonbury 2020 take place?

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In the aftermath of 2019’s Glastonbury, the festival’s official account shared the following poster on July 1. Along with teasing ahead of Glastonbury’s 50th birthday, it reveals the start date of the next edition as being June 24, 2020.

This has also been confirmed on Glastonbury’s official website, stating that next year’s festival will take place June 24-28 2020.

How much are Glastonbury tickets?

General tickets for Glastonbury Festival 2020 will cost £265 + £5 booking fee per ticket. See below for individual coach ticket prices to be added on if that’s how you’re choosing to travel.

Glastonbury 2020 coach ticket prices

You may book up to six tickets per transaction by paying a deposit of £50 per person when tickets go on sale (plus the coach fare, if you are booking a coach package). Both UK and International ticket balances of £215 + £5 booking fee per ticket, will be payable in the first week of April 2020 (from 9:00 Wednesday April 1 – 23:59 Tuesday April 7).

As ever, the price of the ticket included entry to the festival, five nights camping, a free programme and mini-guide, onsite newspaper and mobile charging points and free firewood. A portion of the ticket price is also donated to Oxfam, Greenpeace, WaterAid and hundreds of other worthy causes, while funds are also used to improve the site’s infrastructure and environmental impact.

Prices last year increased by around £10 compared to the previous Glastonbury, which should give you a rough idea of what to expect.

Glastonbury 2019

Do I need to register to buy a ticket for Glastonbury 2020?

Yep. No registration, no ticket. You had until 5pm on Monday September 30 to register for tickets to Glastonbury 2020. So if you haven’t already registered by now, you won’t be able to purchase tickets in the re-sale in April.

If you’re already registered for Glastonbury tickets since 2010, relax – there’s no need to repeat the process. Can’t remember if you’ve filled one in? You can check your registration status here. Organisers also recommend keeping your registration photo up to date, particularly if your appearance has changed drastically. It’s now possible to update the photo attached to your account while keeping your existing registration number.

If you last registered for Glastonbury tickets before 2010, you will need to resubmit a new application ahead of October’s sale in order to buy tickets. Once set up on the system, it’s worth retrieving your registration number and noting it down ready for when ticket-buying time comes around.

Who has been confirmed for the Glastonbury 2020 line-up so far? 

Diana Ross

The first act to be announced back in October 2019 was Diana Ross. She’ll play the Sunday Legends tea-time slot, following in the footsteps of Kylie Minogue in 2019.

Paul McCartney

Back in April 2019, Michael Eavis said that Beatles legend Paul McCartney would be coming back to Glastonbury “hopefully for the 50th [festival]. Don’t make a big thing of it though, will you?” he added, cat well and truly out the bag.

McCartney then seemingly confirmed he was playing by sharing a not-at-all-cryptic photo of Phillip Glass, Emma Stone and Chuck Berry.

Confirmation about his headline slot swiftly followed from both Eavis and McCartney himself.

Taylor Swift

Swift announced on December 15 that she will be closing Glastonbury 2020 with a Pyramid Stage headline slot on Sunday, June 28. This came after Emily Eavis described one headliner as being a woman who’s never played before while Michael Eavis said that attendees “would love her to bits” while discussing the booking.

“I’m ecstatic to tell you that I’ll be headlining Glastonbury on its 50th anniversary – See you there!” Swift wrote after the news broke.

She also shared an image of herself holding the Glastonbury Free Press announcement page, which reads: “Sunday night Taylor made for Glastonbury!”

Kendrick Lamar

After long being rumoured for the final Pyramid Stage headliner slot, the March 12 mass line-up announcement (see below) finally confirmed that the Compton rapper will indeed headline Glastonbury this summer.

Kendrick will perform on the Friday night of the festival, marking his debut Glastonbury appearance.

Lana Del Rey

At this year’s NME Awards, Emily Eavis confirmed to NME that Lana Del Rey will be playing at Glastonbury 2020.

Eavis said: “I’m very pleased to tell you that we have the most incredible Lana Del Rey. I believe it’s her only UK festival which is even better.

“It’s amazing, one of the best records of last year and for me a real coup getting her. She’s playing the pyramid on Friday, underneath our headliner.”

The Glastonbury 2020 line-up so far

March 12 brought about the first major line-up announcement for Glastonbury 2020, with over 90 names being added to the bill.

View this post on Instagram

So, after much consideration given the current circumstances, and with the best of intentions, here is the first list of musical acts for Glastonbury 2020. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ As things stand we are still working hard to deliver our 50th anniversary Festival in June and we are very proud of the bill that we have put together over the last year or so. No one has a crystal ball to see exactly where we will all be 15 weeks from now, but we are keeping our fingers firmly crossed that it will be here at Worthy Farm for the greatest show on Earth!⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ As always this is just a taste of what is to come, we plan to announce many more artists and attractions, area by area, over the coming weeks leading up to the full line-up in May. ⁣⁣ In the meantime we post this with much love to all. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ (There’s also a non-circular version of the line-up – and full text list – on our website now) Artwork by Stanley Donwood

A post shared by Emily Eavis (@emily_eavis) on

Announced during the global crisis over the outbreak of coronavirus, Emily Eavis acknowledged that the 2020 line-up announcement came amid a time of uncertainty for the music industry.

“After much consideration given the current circumstances, and with the best of intentions, here is the first list of musical acts for Glastonbury 2020,” she wrote on Instagram.
⁣⁣
“As things stand we are still working hard to deliver our 50th anniversary Festival in June and we are very proud of the bill that we have put together over the last year or so. No one has a crystal ball to see exactly where we will all be 15 weeks from now, but we are keeping our fingers firmly crossed that it will be here at Worthy Farm for the greatest show on Earth!⁣⁣
⁣⁣
“As always this is just a taste of what is to come, we plan to announce many more artists and attractions, area by area, over the coming weeks leading up to the full line-up in May.”

The big line-up announcement confirmed the three aforementioned Pyramid Stage headliners, while revealing that Dua Lipa, Pet Shop Boys and Fatboy Slim will headline The Other Stage.

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds will play in the slot before Paul McCartney’s Saturday night headline slot on the Pyramid Stage.

You can see the line-up so far for Glastonbury Festival 2020 below.

Kendrick Lamar
Paul McCartney
Taylor Swift
Diana Ross
Aitch
AJ Tracey
Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals
Angel Olsen
Anna Calvi
The Avalanches
Banks
Baxter Dury
Beabadoobee
The Big Moon
Big Thief
Black Uhuru
Blossoms
Brittany Howard
Burna Boy
Cage The Elephant
Camila Cabello
Candi Staton
Caribou
Cate Le Bon
Celeste
Charli XCX
Clairo
Confidence Man
Crowded House
Danny Brown
Declan McKenna
Dizzee Rascal
Dua Lipa
EarthGang
EOB
Editors
Elbow
Fatboy Slim
FKA twigs
Fontaines D.C.
Gilberto Gil & Family
Glass Animals
Goldfrapp
Greentea Peng
Groove Armada
Haim
Happy Mondays
Herbie Hancock
Imelda May
The Isley Brothers
JARV IS…
Jehnny Beth
The Jesus and Mary Chain
Kacey Musgraves
Kano
Kelis
Khruangbin
KOKOKO!
La Roux
Lana Del Rey
Laura Marling
Lianne La Havas
The Lightning Seeds
London Grammar
Mabel
Manic Street Preachers
Metronomy
Nadine Shah
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
Nubya Garcia
The Orielles
Pet Shop Boys
Phoebe Bridgers
Primal Scream
Richard Dawson
Robyn
Rufus Wainwright
Sam Fender
Sampa The Great
Seun Kuti
Sinead O’Connor
Skunk Anansie
Snarky Puppy
Soccer Mommy
The Specials
Squid
The Staves
Supergrass
Suzanne Vega
Thom Yorke Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes
Thundercat
Tinariwen
TLC
Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes
Tones And I

The March 12 line-up announcement revealed that 52% of the acts announced so far are either women or bands featuring a mix of genders — making good on Emily Eavis’ previous promise to ensure that the the line-up of Glastonbury 2020 be “as close to” a 50/50 gender split as possible.

“It’s important we go as close to 50-50 as we can,” she said. “It’s as important to have females on the bill as much as men but the pool – certainly on the headliner front – is not as big. So we have to work on that as an industry and nurture all these women coming through.”

Who else is rumoured to be playing?

Emily Eavis confirmed on March 12 that the full line-up for Glastonbury Festival 2020 won’t be announced until May — so don’t lose hope yet if your favourite band or artist hasn’t been included in any line-up announcements!

With that in mind, let’s run through some of the big names who have been rumoured to be playing at Worthy Farm this summer.

The crowd for Foals at Glastonbury 2019

Aerosmith

When confirming their run of UK and European arena shows for 2020 on December 12, 2019, eagle-eyed fans spotted that the ‘I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing’ band’s live listings showed that they’d be playing at Glastonbury on Saturday June 27.

Aerosmith sent out another email to their fans on January 27, which also featured the still-officially-unannounced June 27 slot at Glastonbury.

And yet, Glastonbury’s March 12 line-up announcement did not include Aerosmith among the 90+ acts who will definitely be playing at this year’s festival. Curious and curiouser…

Steven Tyler womens shelter

The 1975

The 1975’s Matty Healy has confirmed that his band will not be headlining Glastonbury 2020. Speaking to Beats 1 in January, the frontman said: “No, we’re not going to headline this year. But Glastonbury is exciting this year. I know a lot about it.

“I was talking to them about that kind of thing. So I’ve heard amazing stories and amazing things and I’m going to go as a punter… it’s going to be wicked.”

Healy also said that he might be tempted to “do a little acoustic set at the Stone Temple”.

Previously Healy had refused to rule out a headline slot, telling Beats 1 in December 2019: “I’ll be at Glastonbury [2020]. Whether we headline it or not, who knows? If I ever am headlining Glastonbury, then everyone’s going to have to be on guard for a year so that I don’t completely lose my mind.”

Emily Eavis later responded to the frontman’s comments, saying: “Oh really? That’s good. Interesting. They’re great. Obviously, we’d love to have The 1975.”

Foals

Having dropped two five-star albums  in 2019 with ‘Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 1‘ and ‘Part 2‘, Foals’ 2020 plans are filling up nicely with a UK arena tour and a summer of festivals filling up the diary. After their barnstorming secret set at Glasto 2019, both fans and bookies are expecting Foals to return and step up to take one of the big six headlining slots in June.

When NME asked Foals if they’d be returning to Glastonbury 2020, frontman Yannis Philippakis replied: “Yeah, hopefully we’ll go back. We’d be well up for playing a non-secret show.”

Go on then.

Hear Foals' new album 'Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost: Part 2' on NME Radio first
Foals, for NME

Coldplay

Coldplay are basically the Glasto house band. They’ve headlined four times (out of their six total appearances) and Chris Martin loves showing up for a surprise appearance (did you watch him play with Kylie last year?)

New album ‘Everyday Life’ arrives in November 2019, with the band expected to take in the usual stadiums and arenas in 2020. However, Chris Martin himself has now ruled the band out. Speaking on Australian radio, he said the band wouldn’t be appearing in 2020.

However, we wouldn’t put it past Coldplay to play a secret set at some point over the weekend…

Coldplay
Coldplay

Spice Girls

As for the big pop acts that tend to appear at Glastonbury, it could be Spice Girls. That’s according to Mel B, who says the group will reconvene with Victoria Beckham to discuss the idea. Say you’ll be there?

“My plan is for all five of us to do Glastonbury next year for the 50th anniversary,” she said in August. “I’m in the process of persuading Victoria to do it. And I will make it happen.”

Spice Girls performing live in 2019
Mel B, Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell and Melanie C of The Spice Girls perform on the first night of the bands tour at Croke Park on May 24, 2019 in Dublin, Ireland

 

Wolf Alice

Wolf Alice played at Glasto’s Pilton Party in September 2019, which has traditionally been reserved for acts set to return for a big slot at the festival the following summer (Liam Gallagher and Foo Fighters have done the same in recent years.

With the band currently working on their new record and after winning the Mercury Music Prize for their acclaimed second album ‘Visions Of A Life‘ in 2018, they’re more than worthy of a high billing at Glasto 2020.

Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell

Twenty One Pilots

After their theatrical and pyro-heavy set headlining Reading  & Leeds 2019 and having scored the biggest-selling rock album of the decade with ‘Blurryface‘, the genre-smashing Twenty One Pilots have more than proved their worth as one of the biggest bands on the planet. Could Glasto be calling? It’s possible: they’re already lined up some huge summer 2020 festival shows and a gig at Dublin’s RDS Arena on Thursday June 25 – the day before Glastonbury.

Biffy Clyro

Having already headlined Reading & Leeds and the Isle Of Wight Festival, Glastonbury is the next big festival Biffy need to conquer. “We’re ready for it, we love Glastonbury, we’d love to do it,” said frontman Simon Neil back in 2018. “I think the next six months to a year we’re going to be working on our new album, so I don’t think the timing will be right for next year. But it’s got to happen.”

Neil also took a dig at Fleetwood Mac’s high price tag, and again voiced his keenness to headline.

“Look at Fleetwood Mac,” he said in November 2019. “There’s not enough money for them, those cheeky bastards! It is such a shame isn’t it? It’s not in the spirit of Glastonbury, it’s not about the money. If the Rolling Stones can do it, Kanye did it, U2, and you’re telling me Fleetwood Mac can’t? Fuck it, no way.”

When asked if Biffy Clyro would be headlining themselves, Simon teased: “That would be telling, wouldn’t it?”

Biffy Clyro
Biffy Clyro (Credit: Callum Baker/Isle of Wight Festival)

Bombay Bicycle Club 

Following a performance on Radio 1′ Live Lounge session with Clara Amfo of ‘Everything Else Has Gone Wrong’, the title track from their latest album, the group responded to a message from a fan which hinted they were returning to Worthy Farm for a fifth time.

When asked by a fan “Glastonbury please, any comments?” the band said that they were “working on it.”

How many tickets are there for Glastonbury 2020?

This year 135,000 punters bought tickets in the general sale, with a total of 203,000 people (including artists, volunteers, and festival workers) onsite.

Going forward into next summer, a change to Worthy Farm’s licence means that a further 7,000 people will be allowed to go to Glastonbury – on the condition that they all get there by public transport.  The increase will give the festival a total capacity of 210,000.

In 2019, around two million people registered to buy Glastonbury tickets in total – assuming all of them gave it a try in the sale, just 6.75% of them were lucky enough to bag one.

Glastonbury

Are there any secret tips to beat the Glastonbury ticket rush?

Yup, check out our blog here where we interviewed Glasto ticket buying pros on their secrets and hacks.

Every seasoned Glastonbury-goer swears by a different method. Some swear that major cities have a harder time in the sale, and trek to the most obscure part of the UK possible. Some wire up their laptops to super-charged internet and manically turn off every other device in the house, while others take the opposite approach and juggle ten iPads, four mobiles, and two computers at the same time. But the real secret, according to organisers, is far simpler than that – be patient, be prepared, and note down all the relevant details to avoid any last-minute panic.

“Make sure you have all your registration details (including postcodes) ready and checked in advance, that there are sufficient cleared funds on the card you intend to use to book, and that you know all the security information for that card,” they advise. If you’re trying for any of your mates, it’s also worth noting their postcodes and registration numbers down, to avoid the worst case scenario – messing up and entering in the wrong details on the final page.

Glastonbury 2019
Glastonbury 2019

Once you reach the booking page,  you have exactly 6 minutes to complete the transaction. You’re a lot more likely to succeed if you don’t make any mistakes at this stage.

Glastonbury organisers also recommend a bit of determination. “Be persistent and patient – there are likely to be more people trying to buy tickets than there are tickets available, so inevitably not everyone will be able to book tickets, but the longer you try the more likely you are to get a ticket.”

Other than that, all you can really do is keep your fingers firmly crossed.

And with that, bring on Glastonbury 2020!

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