BBC confirms it won’t broadcast Glastonbury Festival headliner’s set live 

One of Glastonbury’s biggest headliners this year won’t have their set shown live by the BBC (Picture: Getty)

The BBC has confirmed it will not show Neil Young’s headline set at Glastonbury Festival live ‘at the artist’s request’.

The 79-year-old is due to perform on the Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm on Saturday night with his band the Chrome Hearts.

Tongues had been set wagging after Young was absent from the BBC’s initial coverage schedule published on Tuesday, and after previous comments from the artist about the broadcaster.

A BBC spokesperson said: ‘On Saturday on BBC iPlayer, our Glastonbury Channel and five streams for the main stages will bring a range of live performances to audiences.

‘At the artist’s request, we won’t be live streaming Neil Young’s set. Our plans, including those for our TV highlights shows and on-demand coverage, continue to be finalised right up to and during the festival.’

The singer, who began his career in the 1960s with the band Buffalo Springfield, previously said he had initially turned down the offer to perform at the festival, saying it was ‘under corporate control’ of the BBC in a message on his website.

Neil Young has expressly requested to be kept off the live schedule (Picture: Getty)

But Young later backtracked and was announced as one of the headliners, saying he had ‘always loved’ the event and he was looking forward to performing.

The music icon is best known for songs such as Rockin’ In The Free World, Cinnamon Girl and Like A Hurricane, and albums such as Zuma, Harvest and After The Gold Rush.

Earlier this week, The Mirror had reported that the rock veteran was ‘still wrangling’ with the BBC about coverage with just days to go until his performance.

‘Whether they will be live or part of an edited highlights package is still unclear,’ the publication reports.

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The outlet added that insiders suspected he would agree to letting just a handful of songs go out on TV or BBC iPlayer, so fans could still see a snippet of the music icon after his headline set..

The legendary singer initially turned down returning to Glastonbury (pictured at the festival in 2009) after accusing the event of being ‘under corporate control’ from the BBC (Picture: Getty)

A BBC spokesperson previously told Metro: ‘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.’

Belfast rap group Kneecap are also missing from coverage after Prime Minister Kier Starmer said their Glastonbury performance was ‘not appropriate’.

Sir Michael Eavis, 89, and his daughter, organiser Emily Eavis, opened the gates to the festival on Wednesday morning and could be seen counting down and cheering as a brass band played while keen attendees flocked in.

Sir Michael, who has used a wheelchair to get around the festival in recent years, said he still gets ‘really excited’ for the five-day celebration of performing arts and music, though he can ‘no longer run around like I used to’.

He told Glastonbury Free Press, the festival’s resident newspaper: ‘I still take a lot of pleasure from all of it. I’m enjoying every day.

Revellers have been flocking in since Glastonbury opened its gates on Wednesday morning (Picture: Belinda Jiao) This includes performer Jack Cullen, who cycled over 650 miles to Somerset from Edinburgh and arrived today (Picture: PA)

‘And Emily is doing so well. I’m just feeling really safe with the show being in her hands.’

This year’s line-up features a number of acts listed as TBA, as well as a mysterious act called Patchwork, who will take to the Pyramid Stage on Saturday.

Among the music stars rumoured to be performing a secret set is New Zealand singer Lorde whose fourth studio album, Virgin, is set for release on Friday.

The pop star, 28, posted a picture of Woodsies stage to her Instagram story on Thursday, fuelling speculation that she could be the act listed as TBA slated to perform on the stage at 11:30am on Friday morning.

This year’s event will also see headline performances from British pop band The 1975 and US pop star Olivia Rodrigo.

Performing in the coveted Sunday teatime legends slot this year is Sir Rod Stewart, who previously said he will be joined by his former Faces band member Ronnie Wood, as well as some other guests.

Young’s fellow headline acts include The 1975 (Picture: Getty) Sir Rod Stewart will perform during the Sunday teatime legends slot, after illness forced him to postpone concerts recently (Picture Getty)

His performance is to come after the Maggie May singer postponed a string of concerts in the US, due to take place this month, while he recovered from flu.

Among the acts expected to draw large crowds this year is alternative pop star Charli XCX, who will perform songs from her genre-defining sixth studio album Brat.

She is performing on Saturday night on the Other Stage, 15 minutes before the West Holts stage is graced by US rapper Doechii, another artist who has exploded in popularity in the last year.

Other performers include viral TikTok sensation CMAT, Prada singer Raye, US musician Brandi Carlile, Nile Rodgers and Chic, hip-hop star Loyle Carner, US pop star Gracie Abrams, indie outfit Wet Leg, Mercury Prize-winning jazz quintet Ezra Collective, US rapper Denzel Curry, and rising star Lola Young.

This year, the BBC will provide livestreams of the five main stages – Pyramid, Other, West Holts, Woodsies and The Park.

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