BBC confirms Glastonbury coverage

8th June 2010

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The BBC today announced its television coverage of Glastonbury 2010, unveiling comprehensive and exclusive coverage from Worthy Farm.

From Friday 25 to Sunday 27 June, there will be programming across BBC Two, BBC Three and BBC Four and on four Red Button streams, complemented by live BBC Radio coverage from BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 1 and a host of offerings at bbc.co.uk/glastonbury.

Celebrating the festival’s 40th birthday year, the award-winning BBC television coverage comes together on BBC Two, BBC Three and BBC Four and on Red Button, to bring viewers three days of glorious live music across four stages.

Across the programming, viewers can enjoy live headline sets from the likes of Gorillaz and Muse; classic acts like Ray Davies and Jackson Browne; the hottest British acts from Dizzee Rascal to Florence and the Machine; experience Willie Nelson and Snoop Dogg; and sample unsigned acts on the BBC Introducing stage.

They can also explore cutting-edge bands from the John Peel Tent and groove to music from around the world on the West Holts Stage, formerly the Jazz/World Stage. 

In addition to these musical treats, viewers can meet the people who make Glastonbury what it is – the entertainers, circus and cabaret acts, the workers and the crowd that have made Glastonbury the world’s paramount live music festival – all brought to your armchair courtesy of BBC television, Red Button, Radio and Online.

Jan Younghusband, BBC Commissioning Editor, Music & Events, says: "It is a great privilege to be working with Glastonbury in this special birthday year.

"With the help of our expert presenters, we will bring one of the world’s greatest cultural events directly to the viewers over a weekend of live music entertainment across TV, Radio and Online."  

Mark Cooper, Creative Head, BBC Music Entertainment, adds: "We can’t wait to get back to Glastonbury, come rain or shine.

"Ever since the BBC’s first TV broadcast from Worthy Farm, back in 1997 when we captured Radiohead going live into Paranoid Android in a sea of mud, our TV team look forward to the challenge of filming as many stages as possible for as long as we can amongst a huge crowd of very happy people!"

BBC Two’s coverage is presented by Jo Whiley, Lauren Laverne, Mark Radcliffe and Zane Lowe and combines live performances, festival highlights, interviews and special acoustic sets across the weekend.

With live headline sets from major artists, including Gorillaz and Muse, BBC Two also has extended highlights of each day’s events into the early hours of the morning.

Viewers can watch the best of the festival with a two-hour highlights programme on Friday 2 July at 11pm.

BBC Three programming is presented by Edith Bowman and Reggie Yates and kicks off the BBC’s television coverage on Friday evening with Vampire Weekend and Florence and the Machine.

They are followed by a transatlantic hip-hop clash with Dizzee Rascal and Snoop Dogg. Saturday’s coverage includes sets from Shakira, The Cribs, Scissor Sisters and Pet Shop Boys, while Faithless are covered live on Sunday.

BBC Three viewers are encouraged to share their thoughts about the live artists and guest interviewees on Twitter and Facebook, via their own dedicated Glastonbury hashtag. There is also a highlights programme on Monday 28 June at 7pm.

BBC Four’s coverage is hosted by Mark Radcliffe and includes sets from a discerning blend of heritage artists and critically acclaimed favourites. Friday’s programming showcases Corinne Bailey Rae, Willie Nelson, Seasick Steve and Groove Armada, while Saturday sees performances from Jackson Browne and The National. Sunday sees sets from Jack Johnson, Norah Jones and Toots & The Maytals.

BBC Four’s coverage is preceded on Sunday 20 June (9pm) by the two-hour documentary Glastonbury at 40 – From Avalon To Jay-Z, which celebrates all of the iconic things now associated with this great performing arts festival.

Red Button coverage includes performances from all four stages during the festival, with 6 Music presenters Craig Charles and Cerys Matthews appearing on all streams. The BBC Introducing stage is also showcased on the Red Button each day.

The BBC’s dedicated website – bbc.co.uk/glastonbury – launched on 7 June with a major new section called Archive. Archive mines the BBC archives showing highlights from every year of the festival to date. Audiences are invited to add their own Glastonbury memories.

In conjunction with 6 Music listeners, there is an online vote on the greatest Glastonbury performances. The results are announced on Thursday 24 June.

A Glastonbury quiz goes live at the end of this week and can be accessed via the site and on mobile and Facebook.

During the Festival, the site will offer live streaming across the weekend, visualising 6 Music’s activities plus several performances.

Following the weekend’s coverage, there are extended highlights of 60 performances from the Pyramid, Other, John Peel, West Holts and BBC Introducing stages. The iPlayer broadcasts are also aggregated into the site.

Full television/Red Button transmission details (not confirmed):
Sunday 20 June
BBC Four: Glastonbury at 40 – From Avalon To Jay-Z
9-11pm

Friday 25 June
BBC Two: 10-10.30pm and 11pm-2am (Saturday 26)
BBC Three: 7pm-10pm and 2.15-3.15am (Saturday 26)
BBC Four: 9pm-12.00midnight
Red Button: Sky and Virgin 7pm-11.20am (Saturday 26)
Freeview: 9.10pm-9.40am (Saturday 26)

Saturday 26 June
BBC Two: 4-5.30pm/10.30pm-2am (Sunday 27)
BBC Three: 7.45-11.45pm/2-3am (Sunday 27)
BBC Four: 9-11pm
Red Button: Sky and Virgin, 4.30pm-11.40am (Sunday 27)
Freeview: 10.30pm-10.50am (Sunday 27)

Sunday 27 June
BBC Two: 4-5.30pm/10pm-2am (Monday 28)
BBC Three: 8.50-10pm/2-3am (Monday 28)
BBC Four: 7-9pm
Red Button: Sky and Virgin, 4pm-2am (Monday 28)
Freeview: 10.10pm-2am (Monday 28)

Monday 28 June
BBC Three: highlights programme
7-8.30pm

Friday 2 July
BBC Two: highlights programme
11pm-1am

For those of you outside the UK, we’ll be giving info on BBC Worldwide’s broadcast plans as soon as we get it (but you will be able to listen to 6 Music’s coverage online).