BBC Announces Glastonbury 2017 Coverage
- Written by Marky Edison
The BBC announces its plans for broadcasting the world’s best-known music festival .Once again the BBC is the place to watch and listen to all the best sets from Worthy Farm, from headline performances to emerging new artists across TV, Radio and Online. In 1997, BBC TWO broadcast from Glastonbury for the first time capturing Radiohead playing their seminal set on the Pyramid Stage. Now 20 years on, BBC TWO will be devoting Friday night to an evening with Radiohead, broadcasting their headline set on the Friday night, as well as the whole of the performances by headliners Foo Fighters on Saturday and Ed Sheeran on Sunday, along with legendary Bee Gee, Barry Gibb, who is performing in the much loved Sunday teatime slot.
This year there will be over 30 hours of Glastonbury on TV across BBC TWO and BBC FOUR, with more hours on BBC TWO in peak than ever before. BBC Radio 3 will be broadcasting from the festival for the first time, treating their listeners to the very best of world music. BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 6 Music will all host live shows from Worthy Farm. Online, the BBC will be streaming 120 performances from six stages across the festival, all in HD and available to watch on BBC iPlayer, both live and on demand throughout the weekend and beyond. The BBC’s Glastonbury 2016 coverage on TV (3+ minutes of viewing) reached a record-breaking 18.9m people (31.9% of UK population).
“Glastonbury on the BBC has become the pop music highlight of the British summer. BBC Music is thrilled to be offering music lovers so many ways to experience the unique atmosphere of the world’s most famous music festival – at home or on the move. This year we will broadcast 30 hours of TV coverage, as well as live broadcasts on Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, 6 Music and for the first time, Radio 3. There will be well over a hundred performances streamed online - bringing an unsurpassed range of music to our audience, from multi-million selling headline acts to emerging artists on the BBC Music Introducing stage.”
The BBC’s coverage on TV and Radio will be hosted by some of the most popular and knowledgeable music presenters including Alice Levine, Annie Mac, Cerys Matthews, Charlie Sloth, Chris Evans, Clara Amfo, Gemma Cairney, Huw Stephens, James Ballardie, Jo Whiley, Lauren Laverne, Mark Radcliffe, Steve Lamacq and Tom Ravenscroft, as well as others still to be confirmed. The team will be bringing audiences all the most memorable moments from all six stages from the headliners on the legendary Pyramid Stage to new talent on the BBC Introducing stage.
TV
This year BBC TWO will have more hours of Glastonbury in peak time than ever before and will be the home of some fantastic music from the Pyramid Stage. On Friday BBC TWO will bring viewers Glasto Friday On Two, an evening with Radiohead, broadcasting their full headline set as they mark 20 years since the release of OK Computer. On Saturday BBC TWO will show the Foo Fighters’ first appearance at Worthy Farm since 1998. Fans will also be able to see Ed Sheeran’s only UK festival appearance this summer and his first time headlining Glastonbury. In the Sunday afternoon Legends slot, BBC TWO will be joining in the sing-along as Bee Gee Barry Gibb takes to the stage, following his guest appearance with Coldplay last year. BBC TWO will be showing highlights from a range of artists on all stages across Friday, Saturday and Sunday. BBC FOUR will also be showing a variety of whole sets from acts across all stages, as well as highlights from an eclectic mix of music.
The presenting team hosting the TV shows will be Alice Levine, Clara Amfo, Huw Stephens, James Ballardie, Jo Whiley, Lauren Laverne, Mark Radcliffe and Nick Grimshaw. Glastonbury is commissioned for television by Jan Younghusband, Head of Commissioning Music TV. The BBC’s Glastonbury TV coverage is being produced by BBC Studios, the BBC’s commercial production arm, overseen by Mark Cooper, Head of Music Television, and Alison Howe, Executive Producer.
RADIO
BBC Radio listeners will be able to choose from a wide range of live shows and different sets from the festival.
Radio 1
Annie Mac will kick off the BBC's Glastonbury coverage on Thursday evening with a broadcast from the BBC Music Introducing Stage with live music, performances and DJs. Later that evening, Radio 1’s Residency will come live from the same stage with sets from Eats Everything and Kolsch. Radio 1's Clara Amfo, Huw Stephens and Alice Levine will also broadcast shows featuring Tipi sessions and surprise moments from the BBC Introducing Stage, whilst a live Essential Mix featuring Peggy Gou, Jackmaster and Patrick Topping & Richy Ahmed back to back will also come from the site. Ed Sheeran’s full set will also be broadcast live on Radio 1.
1Xtra
Charlie Sloth will present a Saturday night Radio 1 and 1Xtra simulcast show (10pm-1am) that will feature highlights from the best new grime acts live on the Sonic Stage including AJ Tracey, Nadia Rose and Kojo Funds. Live music from the festival will also be broadcast across 1Xtra over the weekend.
Asian Network
BBC Asian Network presenter Yasser will be representing on the BBC Introducing stage, bringing the best new and emerging talent to various networks. He will broadcast a special show for the Asian Network on Wednesday 28th June.
Radio 2
The Chris Evans Breakfast Show (Friday 23 June, 7 – 10.00am)
Radio 2 listeners will wake up to Worthy Farm on Friday 23 June as Chris is live from the festival with special live performances from The Courteeners and a stripped back Clean Bandit in the BBC Music Tipi. He’ll be catching up with Emily Eavis to find out what's new for 2017 and will roam the grounds before Ed Sheeran, Barry Gibb and Katy Perry wow the crowds. Sports reporter Vassos Alexander joins in the fun on Worthy Farm and there will also be a moment of reflection with the daily Pause for Thought.
Jo Whiley (Sat 24 June & Sunday 25 June, 4pm – 7pm)
On Saturday Jo will be chatting to Lorde and she'll have a BBC Music Tipi session from Maggie Rogers and live music highlights from the weekend.
On Sunday Jo has highlights of the legends slot - Barry Gibb and Chic, she’ll also be catching up with Nile Rodgers and have Tipi performances from Rag & Bone Man and Laura Marling.
Radio 3
World on 3
Lopa Kothari presents a special edition of BBC Radio 3's World on 3 live from Glastonbury on Friday 23rd June (11pm – 1am) featuring Pat Thomas & Kwashibu Area Band performing on the West Holts Stage and a session from the Rajasthan Heritage Brass Band. Also on the programme, new releases from some of the world music artists appearing at the festival including Oumou Sangare, Songhoy Blues and Orchestra Baobab, plus selections from studio guest Quinton Scott, record collector and founder of Afrobeat specialists Strut Records.
BBC Radio 6 Music
6 Music will be bringing music devotees a magnificent 25 hours of live coverage direct from Worthy Farm.
Lauren Laverne kicks off 6 Music’s Glastonbury coverage with a later slot (1- 4pm) on Friday 23 June and will also be hosting a Saturday afternoon show too (1- 4pm).
Steve Lamacq will be hosting his show live from the festival on all three days, in his usual afternoon slot on Friday (4– 7pm) and then on Saturday evening (7 – 9pm) and late Sunday evening (10pm – 12am).
Tom Ravenscroft will also be live from Worthy Farm on all three days bringing the entire set from headliners Radiohead to listeners on Friday night (9pm – 12 am) and with another headline set on Saturday night (9pm – 12am), as well as hosting a Sunday evening show (8 – 10pm).
Cerys Matthews, whose Sunday morning show is the biggest single weekend programme on 6 Music with an audience of 666,000, will be bringing listeners her much-loved Sunday morning show (10am – 1pm) live from Glastonbury.
Roving reporter Gemma Cairney will be joining Steve Lamacq, Cerys Matthews and Tom Ravenscroft with reports from the Green fields and the outer reaches of the festival.
DIGITAL
This year the BBC will be streaming approximately 120 performances from six stages across the festival. All in HD, they will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer across computers, mobiles, tablets and connected TVs, both live and on demand throughout the weekend and beyond.
Highlight performances from the Pyramid, Other, John Peel, Park, West Holts and BBC Introducing stages will also be available on BBC iPlayer and bbc.co.uk/glastonbury, whilst the BBC Glastonbury website will also offer roaming photography, exclusive interviews and backstage performances, immersing fans in the magic of Worthy Farm. The Glastonbury website will also for the first time be broadcasting a live, always-on curated stream, focusing on major live moments and big highlights from across the weekend. The BBC Glastonbury Archive will be celebrating 20 years of the BBC at Glastonbury and 10 years of BBC Introducing at the festival with a throwback to archive content from throughout the years.
Fans can also enjoy the return of the BBC’s famous webcam, offering behind-the-scenes footage of Glastonbury’s extraordinary transformation from dairy farm to world-famous festival of performing arts. Watching your favourite artists has never been easier, with information on when and where to catch live performances made available on social media at ‘@bbcglasto’.
What’s more, the BBC’s coverage doesn’t end after Ed Sheeran’s headline slot on the Sunday. As well as guiding fans to all the best musical moments broadcast throughout this year’s festival on BBC iPlayer, fans will have the opportunity to vote using social media for their favourite sets from across the weekend, with the most popular counted down on a special BBC Red Button show on Friday 30 June.
For more details on the full range of BBC Glastonbury coverage go to bbc.co.uk/glastonbury
BBC INTRODUCING
BBC Music Introducing, now in its tenth year after its launch at Glastonbury in 2007, returns to showcase new under-the-radar UK talent, as well as special surprise slots from Introducing’s finest alumni.
With nearly 700,000 unique tracks uploaded to the Introducing website and over 170,000 artists registered, BBC Music Introducing provides a network dedicated to supporting the best emerging talent from across the UK, and a platform to propel them onto the national stage through Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, 6 Music, Radio 3 and the Asian Network.
Introducing also gives up-and-coming artists broadcast opportunities on BBC Radio, Television and Online, alongside the chance to performance at major festivals and international showcases.
It has helped launch the careers of acts such as Jake Bugg, George Ezra, Florence + the Machine, James Bay, Slaves, Izzy Bizu, Catfish and the Bottlemen, SOAK, Blossoms and many more.
The full Introducing line-up at Glastonbury will be announced on BBC Radio 1 in Huw Stephens’ show, hosted on Tuesday 6 June by Phil Taggart.
Each performance on the BBC Music Introducing stage will be live streamed at bbc.co.uk/glastonbury for the audience at home