BBC won't be showing Neil Young's Glastonbury headline set on TV at all tomorrow in rare blackout
One of Glastonbury's headliners won't be shown on TV tomorrow in a rare case for the festival.
It's that time of the year again; music festival season has hit, and thousands have flocked to the acres of open fields where the events have been held to set up camp.
Many have paid top-dollar for tickets, despite concerns, though warnings have already been sent out to attendees about any anti-social or illegal behaviour.
Arguably the UK's most iconic and popular festival, Glastonbury, officially kicked off on Wednesday 25 June at Worthy Farm in Pilton.
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Today (27 June) marks the first day of the festival's headliners though, with the likes of The 1975 and Loyle Carner taking to main stages for their sets.
While organisers are expecting around 210,000 visitors, the millions that couldn't make it will likely be tuning into the BBC's coverage of the event.
Unfortunately for some fans though, one of the headliners won't be on TV at all, for a bizarre reason.
In the coming days, Olivia Rodrigo, Gracie Abrams, Franz Ferdinand, Busta Rhymes, and more will be taking to the main stages, but while there is plenty to look forward to, one name is missing from TV coverage.
Iconic singer-songwriter Neil Young and his band, the Chrome Hearts, will not be shown on the British broadcaster.
The news first broke with BBC Breakfast correspondent Colin Paterson, who reported that on Saturday night, while Young was headlining, he would not be part of their coverage.
He said: "The headliner on Saturday night is Neil Young, he's playing the Pyramid stage.
"But, BBC One are going to be showing Charli XCX's set from the other stage on BBC One on Saturday night."
The decision has now been clarified by the BBC themselves, as they claimed that it wasn't their choice to omit the singer's set from coverage.
Speaking to the Mirror, a 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."
Young almost didn't perform at Glastonbury at all, having initially backed out of the festival when he discovered the BBC's involvement in broadcasting, citing their 'corporate control' as the reason.
Luckily for fans of the 'Heart of Gold' singer, he backtracked on this decision, and is set to take to the stage tomorrow.
The Canadian artist was in discussions with the broadcaster about how much of his set would be broadcast, worried about any editing they may do.
In January, Young said of Glastonbury: “We were told that BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in.
“It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being.”
A BBC spokeswoman has since stated: "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."
Topics: BBC, Glastonbury, Music
Joshua Nair