Glastonbury 2024: Festival to honour pioneering broadcaster Annie Nightingale
Following the death of pioneering BBC Radio 1 broadcaster Annie Nightingale, Glastonbury Festival have unveiled plans to celebrate her legacy at this year’s event.
Nightingale, who passed away aged 83 in January, was the first female DJ to work for the station after starting her BBC Radio 1 career in 1970, opening doors for countless more women to broadcast to the nation. Additionally, Nightingale was their longest-serving DJ, with her final show being aired weeks before her death following a short illness.
For her services to the industry, Nightingale was awarded an MBE in 2002 and later received a CBE in for her extensive contributions to British culture. Additionally, Nightingale is the first female DJ from BBC Radio 1 to be inducted into the Radio Academy Hall of Fame.
Her story also intertwines with Glastonbury, as the festival explained in a new statement: “Annie Nightingale loved Glastonbury Festival. Her BBC Radio 1 show was broadcast from the Festival on Thursday nights through the 2000s from Silver Hayes and The Glade, and the last time she played the festival, in 2017, was on The Glade Main Stage.”
The ‘Celebrating Annie’ event will be split into two sections, one taking place during the afternoon in The Glade, before an “after-dark” second chapter on the BBC Introducing Stage. Acts confirmed to participate include The Orb, Fish56Octagon, Jon Carter, Martha and Paper Dragon.
In the statement, the festival explained how different acts will be championing genres close to Nightingale’s heart with her “beloved breakbeat” being represented by King of The Beats. While The Orb was an act that “she championed in the early ’90s, bringing their music to the world.”
Glastonbury continued: “The celebration then moves to the BBC Introducing Stage after darkness has fallen, for a late-night session going into the early hours. The DJs will be covering the music Annie brought to the world from the ‘90s through to the present day through her show.”
Furthermore, following Nightingale’s death, Glastonbury’s Emily Eavis shared a powerful tribute to the broadcaster and labelled her as “an inspiration to so many women in music, broadcasting and beyond and just a lovely human being.”
The line-up for Glastonbury is now almost complete, and they recently announced the programme for this year’s Pilton Palais Cinema, which includes pre-release screenings, music documentaries, and Q&A sessions with guest actors and directors, including Paul Mescal, Andrew Scott and Edgar Wright.
Dua Lipa, Coldplay, and SZA are set to headline the Pyramid Stage at Pilton. Meanwhile, Shania Twain will take the legend’s slot. Other acts confirmed to appear include LCD Soundsystem, Little Simz, Idles, The National, The Streets, Michael Kiwanuka, Fontaines D.C., Bloc Party, The Last Dinner Party, Jungle, Disclosure, Jamie XX, PJ Harvey, Janelle Monae, Sampha, James Blake, Sleaford Mods and Avril Lavigne.
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