Divas and angry viewers: Why Glastonbury is a 90-hour headache for the BBC ...Middle East

It’s supposed to be a jewel in the BBC’s crown: 90 hours of live coverage from the “greatest festival on earth”, delivered seamlessly to the nation’s living rooms.

But behind the scenes, broadcasting Glastonbury can be a fraught affair. BBC bosses battle uncooperative headliners, technical gaffes, angry viewers and jealousy from colleagues who haven’t scored a golden ticket to Worthy Farm, insiders have claimed.

This year, the BBC will also have to deal with impartially issues when airing the controversial rap group Kneecap, after the festival defied calls for the band to be pulled.

An estimated 400 BBC staff and freelancers will descend on the Somerset site next week, joining 200,000 revellers set to be entertained by headline acts including Charli XCX, The 1975, and Olivia Rodrigo.

With extensive coverage across five main stages simultaneously broadcast live on iPlayer streams, as well as prime-time TV and radio slots, the BBC claims its network is “the ultimate place to watch Glastonbury”.

Irish rap group Kneecap has launched a provocative billboard campaign across London, reappropriating a historically racist slogan to highlight enduring issues of prejudice and exclusion. This initiative coincides with the court appearance of band member Mo Chara, whose real name is Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who faces charges under the UK Terrorism Act related to alleged actions during a performance. kneecap mochara billboard campaign court

Yet the BBC’s commitment to spending millions of pounds a year on the event, confirmed in a multi-year extension to its exclusive contract as Glastonbury’s broadcast partner in 2023, is the source of some resentment within Broadcasting House.

“Sending 400 people to cover a music festival seems a huge expense to people who work in departments facing cuts like news or local radio,” said one news figure.

“It looks like a lot of duplication when you have radio and TV stations sending staff to cover the same event.”

A BBC spokesperson said: “The number of accredited workers, such as specialist technical and camera crew, producers and presenters, reflects what is required to ensure the quality and breadth of coverage audiences expect from the BBC.”

BBC presenter Nick Grimshaw (with Pixie Geldof) has been a Glastonbury ever-present since his first festival in 2003 (Photo: Getty)

Another insider noted: “There is no weekly music TV since Top of the Pops so Glastonbury has come to dominate the BBC output. But the BBC doesn’t have control over it.

“They pay for the rights but what the BBC shows is in the hands of the organisers and artists.”

‘It’s not the BBC’s show’

The BBC’s lack of control is illustrated by clashes with some rock veterans over how much of their sets it can broadcast live on TV.

Saturday’s Pyramid Stage headliner Neil Young pulled out in January claiming that the “corporate” BBC wanted him to “do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in”.

Days later, Young was reinstated but the BBC is still haggling with his management over what portion of his performance it can show.

One former senior Glastonbury producer said: “Viewers now expect to see the headline act live on TV. It felt like Elton John’s touring farewell in 2023 became a national moment.

“[Viewers] get angry when the BBC isn’t showing it, but the BBC can only show what the artist allows. Sometimes a star doesn’t want a greatest hits set out there in case it affects future ticket sales. Or it’s because they can’t control how they look and sound on TV. ”

The figure added that Bruce Springsteen’s manager had initially restricted the BBC to airing only 25 minutes of the Boss’s 2009 performance. “But he saw how well Bruce was going down on the TV monitors so he told them to keep the cameras rolling and the BBC got 90 minutes in the end.”

Young permitted the BBC to air five songs at his 2009 Glastonbury performance.

A BBC source said: “We aim to bring audiences as many performances as possible from the Pyramid Stage, and broadcast plans continue to be finalised.”

Social media exploded in anger when the TV broadcast of Sir Paul McCartney’s headline set in 2022 was delayed by an hour and did not appear on iPlayer until day later.

The BBC cited the “complexities” of broadcasting an event on the scale of Glastonbury, with insiders disclosing that technicians, relying on outside broadcast facilities in a Somerset field, struggled to upload the full three-hour performance onto iPlayer.

Read Next

Read More

Equally, viewers complain when there is too much of a headliner they do not like. US singer SZA’s performance in 2024 was beset by technical problems that made her voice sound muffled, and a relative lack of well-known UK hits prompted complaints that she was an unsuitable headliner.

Viewers also complained of sound problems affecting Cyndi Lauper and Shania Twain’s vocal performances last year.

The producer said: “The BBC is vulnerable to any extreme weather, which can affect the broadcast quality. But off-key singing and muffled vocals are usually a Glastonbury stage or artist issue. It’s an amazing feat to broadcast 90 hours of free coverage from multiple stages but the BBC gets beaten up even when it’s not the BBC’s fault.”

Boozy jolly for staff?

The BBC is also battling the perception that Glastonbury is a boozy jolly for staff, with the 4-star Chorlton House hotel used as a base for those not expected to rough it on the camp site.

One former BBC worker said: “The top executives stay in hotels or a rented house off site but the real excess was when Alan Yentob [former creative director] hosted a party for corporate guests at his Somerset residence and the licence fee paid for it.”

The BBC defended the 2002 party, calling it a legitimate event, since it was related to its Glastonbury coverage.

The BBC has cut back on its largesse since 2007, when a Freedom of Information request revealed that it spent £68,000 on corporate hospitality, entertaining 230 guests at backstage receptions.

A BBC source said: “There are no free tickets. Everyone who has a ticket provided by the BBC is working at Glastonbury around the clock to bring audiences blanket coverage across our platforms.”

There is no shortage of BBC toilers hoping to snag an onsite role at the event and immerse themselves in the festival spirit. “Of course, younger staff who are music fans volunteer to work at Glastonbury,” one former BBC attendee said. “They work hard and enjoy themselves when their shift is over – and why shouldn’t they?”

The BBC’s presenters also have to appear bright-eyed and ready to perform, even after an all-night rave in Shangri-La.

Nick Grimshaw, the 6 Music presenter who has worked at every Glastonbury since 2003, wrote in this month’s Gentleman’s Journal that “no two years are the same, though the hangovers get worse”.

His highlights include “the time we took my 15-year-old niece with a stick-on handle-bar moustache to Block 9 with Scissor Sisters and raved till dawn”.

Read Next

BBC will not ban Kneecap from its Glastonbury coverage

Although Glastonbury can give the BBC a bigger headache than a Grimshaw hangover, it also delivers a cross-generational audience no other event can match.

Elton John’s 2023 set was watched live by a peak BBC One audience of 7.6 million viewers.

A record 21.6 million people, more than one third of the UK population, watched the BBC’s Glastonbury TV coverage that year with over 50 million streams recorded across BBC Sounds and iPlayer.

Next weekend there will be more than 100 full sets available. With so much to cover, ensuring all broadcasts meet the BBC’s rules on impartiality and offence will be challenging.

The BBC has said it does not censor acts and will not ban Kneecap, who will still perform after band member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with displaying a flag in support of proscribed organisation Hezbollah at a London gig.

Kneecap previously said: “We deny this ‘offence’ and will vehemently defend ourselves.”

In 2019, the BBC broadcast live Stormzy encouraging the audience to shout “f*** Boris” during his headline set, knowing in advance the line was set to feature in his hit, “Vossi Bop”.

A BBC spokesperson said its coverage will include dozens of sets available on both iPlayer and Sounds, which will remain available throughout July.

Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Divas and angry viewers: Why Glastonbury is a 90-hour headache for the BBC )

Also on site :

• Surging travel in Europe spikes concerns over tourism's drawbacks
• Iran& 039;s key nuclear sites & 039;obliterated& 039; by US airstrikes, Trump says
• PRT vs PCC Dream11 Prediction Today Match, Dream11 Team Today, Fantasy Cricket Tips, Playing XI, Pitch Report, Injury Update- ECS T10 Czechia Premier 2025, Qualifier 1