Glastonbury 2025: Emily Eavis “does not believe” Neil Young’s set will be shown by BBC
Glastonbury Festival organiser Emily Eavis has said “she doesn’t believe” the BBC will broadcast Neil Young’s headline set on June 28th.
Typically, all three Pyramid Stage headliners allow their sets to be broadcast in full on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. However, when Young previously headlined Glastonbury in 2009, he only allowed the broadcaster to show a small portion of his set, and it seems that this year’s performance will be the same.
Ahead of the festival, the BBC published a lengthy guide to their coverage of Glastonbury on radio and television. Intriguingly, Young’s name is not mentioned once. The article states they will be showing “some of the anticipated sets from the likes of The 1975, Rod Stewart, Olivia Rodrigo, Raye, Charli XCX and many more”, naming every other Pyramid Stage headliner apart from Young.
Additionally, the BBC promised to broadcast Charli XCX’s headline performance from the Other Stage on Saturday evening, which clashes with Young. The BBC said they are “live at Worthy Farm on iPlayer and BBC One from 10.30pm as Charli XCX returns to headline the Other Stage in one of the most hyped sets of the weekend”.
Now, the BBC’s entertainment correspondent, Colin Patterson, said in an update on Breakfast: “One other issue that has emerged over the last 24 hours, the BBC put out the timings for their TV coverage, and one thing that really stood out was Saturday night.”
It was then explained to viewers how the coverage guide fails to mention Young’s headline performance from the Pyramid Stage, and instead, BBC One will broadcast Charli XCX’s headline set from the Other Stage.
Patterson then revealed he had spoken with Eavis about the issue surrounding coverage of Young’s set, explaining, “I asked Emily Eavis, ‘What was going on?’, and she says she does not believe that Neil Young’s set will be broadcast by the BBC. There’s been all kinds of backstage wrangling and negotiations, but as things currently stand, Neil Young’s headline set on Saturday night will not be broadcast by the BBC.”
Significantly, Young previously wrote on his website that he wouldn’t play at the festival due to its relationship with the broadcaster, writing, “We were told the BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot for things we were not interested in.”
The Canadian then accused Glastonbury of being “under corporate control” and described the event as a “corporate turn-off”.
Then, two days later, Young backtracked and confirmed he would play Worthy Farm, writing, “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.”
In a statement provided to Far Out, the BBC said of its plan to broadcast Young’s set: “We aim to bring audiences as many performances as possible from the Pyramid Stage, and our schedules and plans continue to be finalised, right up to and during the festival.”
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