Glastonbury Festival is the UK's biggest music event, welcoming more than 210,000 people each year - which takes its toll on Worthy Farm and the local community. The festival's impact means organisers, Michael and Emily Eavis, regularly enforce 'fallow' years, meaning no visitors are allowed on-site.
The festival was first held way back in 1970, but was not near-annual until the early eighties. Now, Glastonbury is held almost annually apart from fallow years, taken at specific intervals. The years off are designed to help restore the site and grounds, allow for planning and the organisation of line-ups for upcoming years.
Almost every year, Worthy Farm, an active farming business, is subjected to significant wear and tear, with thousands of people occupying the area for several days. The fallow years mean organisers can restore and rejuvenate the area, ensuring that the land can recover from the environmental damage caused by the festival. This something key to the Michael and Emily's green ethos.
The year off also allows the Eavis family to have more time to coordinate with artists, secure headliners and create impressive line-ups for following editions. They are also aware of the impact hundreds of thousands of people flocking to the village of Pilton has on locals.
Will Glastonbury Festival 2024 be held?
Every indication from Glastonbury's organisers points towards the festival being held in 2024. The festival was not held in 2020 and 2021 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, while the last official fallow year was in 2018.
With three out of the last five summers being without Glastonbury, don't expect the next fallow year to happen anytime soon. The festival returned for June 22 to 26 in 2022 with headliners Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar.
This year, Arctic Monkeys, Guns N' Roses, Elton John, Lizzo, Lewis Capaldi and Lana Del Rey will all star.
When will the next fallow year be?
Glastonbury took a large financial hit during the cancellation of the festival in 2021 and 2022, which was preceded by the planned 2018 fallow year. Typically, the event is held four of out five years.
But with so many recent summers without the festival and the site having extra time to recover, the next fallow period is unlikely to be soon. The most likely next fallow year will be in the late 2020s.
