BBC to mark cancelled Glastonbury Festival weekend by airing past performances

Worthy Farm won't look like this in a few weeks time. Instead, the BBC will air past performances on TV and online. Credit: PA images

The BBC will mark this year's cancelled Glastonbury Festival by airing past performances from pop legends including Adele, Beyonce and David Bowie.

The Somerset event was due to celebrate its 50th anniversary in June with headliners Sir Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar confirmed.

Instead the coronavirus pandemic forced the Eavis family to postpone the iconic event.

The BBC has now announced it will air 'The Glastonbury Experience' from Thursday 25 June, featuring previous performances.

From the comfort of their own homes viewers will be able to watch sets from Adele in 2016, Beyonce in 2011, David Bowie in 2000 and Coldplay in 2016.

Performances from Amy Winehouse, Arctic Monkeys, Blue, Dizzee Rascal, Lady Gaga and The Rolling Stones will also feature in the BBC coverage.

Festival goers can watch some of the best performances from previous years. Credit: PA images

There will also be three live 90-minute programmes broadcast on BBC Two to mark the three headlining nights of the Worthy Farm festival.

The BBC has also confirmed it will launch a pop-up Glastonbury channel on iPlayer, with more than 60 previous sets uploaded.

Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis said she and her father Michael, who founded the festival in 1970, will be watching.

She said, "There are so many memorable sets being played across the BBC over what would have been our 50th anniversary weekend.

"Personally, I'm looking forward to a weekend of reflecting on the history ofour festival and going back to some classic performances from David Bowie,Adele, REM, Beyonce, The Rolling Stones, Jay-Z, Billie Eilish and lots more."