Glastonbury stream technical nightmare leaves thousands of ticket holders without access

Image by Anna Barclay for Glastonbury Festival via Getty Images

Glastonbury Festival experienced a livestream error this past weekend when thousands of ticket holders were denied access to the stream on the night of May 22nd. 

The festival announced that they would be going digital for the 2021 edition, with sets from artists including Coldplay, HAIM and Wolf Alice performed live from the iconic festival grounds at Worthy Farm and streamed to audiences at home. According to the BBC, audiences were asked to purchase tickets at £20 a piece, and a unique code was sent to ticket-holders to access the stream. However, thousands of ticket-holders reported invalid codes on Saturday night prompting festival organisers and streaming host Driift to open the stream for free access. 

Among the acts performing on Saturday was DJ Honey Dijon. Artists performed sets at various locations across the site, including famous locations the Stone Circle and the Pyramid Field. After streaming issues were flagged, audiences were told that they would be able to rewind the stream to avoid missing anything. However, it was later reported that approximately an hour of the stream was missing. 

Writing on Twitter, festival organizer Emily Eavis issued an apology; “I am so sorry about the problems with the stream tonight. If you weren’t able to get on, I’m told that the new link is working.” She continued, “We will obviously make sure we show the whole film again from tomorrow too and give you the chance to catch up on any bits you missed.”

Streaming host Driift released the following statement: 

It was announced on the festival’s official website that the BBC will broadcast a special, condensed edit of the stream in the coming weeks alongside festival highlights as part of the BBC’s The Glastonbury Experience, the network’s annual celebration of the festival. The Evening Standard reports that the 2022 edition of the festival has reportedly been planned, and organisers are awaiting confirmation on the lineup.