Glastonbury Festival has clarified whether or not punters can expect the Euros football matches to be shown at this year’s instalment.
The has been some debate from music lovers over recent years on whether or not the Worthy Farm festival should broadcast football matches for punters attending the event over the summer.
Generally, organisers have opted against the decision, although some exceptions have been made in the past.
Now, with the Euros in mind, the festival has shared a statement discussing the stance it will be taking for the 2024 edition.
“Should England or Scotland’s men’s teams qualify from the group stages of this summer’s European Football Championships in Germany, their matches in the Last 16 of the tournament could take place on the Saturday or Sunday evening of this year’s Festival,” read a post on the festival’s website.
“In previous years, we have endeavoured to show notable matches on big screens where possible, particularly on days before the main stages have opened.
“However, with England and Scotland’s Last 16 matches potentially clashing with headline sets at this year’s Festival, the decision has been made that – as in 2014 and 2016 – should England or Scotland qualify from their groups, their Last 16 matches will not be shown at the Festival.”
The post continued, explaining why they have shared the news so far in advance, and sharing their best wishes to the teams.
“It won’t be known until the week of the Festival whether or not England or Scotland will actually play a match during the Festival. But, as we have already been asked about our plans, we wanted to let everyone know well in advance that the decision has been made not to screen the potential matches,” the update concluded.
“We would like to wish both Gareth Southgate and Steve Clarke’s sides all the best in Germany. And we hope we’ll all be able to watch them play Quarter Final matches in the days after this year’s Festival.”
As aforementioned, the festival has, on rare occasions, made an exception to the rule. Back in 2019, for instance, a match for the England’s women’s team at the World Cup was aired at the site, and saw thousands of punters gather for a screening at the West Holts Stage.
The screening marked the first sporting event to be shown at the festival since the 2010 World Cup Quarter Finals and took place after midfielder Georgia Stanway pleaded with the festival to screen the game.
The statement shared by organisers about the 2024 matches coincides with comments made by festival organiser Emily Eavis back in 2014, when she explained that the decision not to air sports events at the site was made for several reasons.
“If it was on Sunday at nine o’clock in the morning, you could obviously put it on the main stage and it wouldn’t matter,” she said following a push to show World Cup matches. “But we don’t have a field big enough spare to put an enormous game on, potentially at that time when we are dealing with 177,000 people.
“We can’t just put it on at that time of day. It’s also… a music event!”
The legendary live music event is due to return next month, boasting headline sets from Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA, as well as the likes of Shania Twain, LCD Soundsystem, Little Simz and The National.
Following the initial wave of acts being confirmed in March, organisers have been drip-feeding separate posters for the festival’s many areas and stages – including the Left Field, Woodsies, The Glade, the Acoustic Stage and Silver Hayes. The most recent of which was the line-up for The Common.
Further area announcements for Glastonbury Festival 2024 are expected in the coming weeks. Visit here for the full line-up and stage splits so far.
Glasto recently announced a brand new stage dedicated to South Asian talent as part of the Shangri-La area, with Bobby Friction, Anish Kumar, Nabihah Iqbal and Nikki Nair as part of its bill.
The final batch of tickets for this year’s edition of the event sold out in 20 minutes last month. A limited amount of coach/ticket packages were snapped up in 18 minutes three days prior.
Eavis had revealed earlier that the festival had seen its “highest percentage of ticket balances paid ever”. “Incredible. Thanks so much everyone,” she added.