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BBC and Rolling Stones reach agreement over Glastonbury broadcast

By Andy Malt | Published on Friday 21 June 2013

We were only saying yesterday that two hours seemed a bit long for The Rolling Stones to play at Glastonbury, and thankfully they and the BBC have agreed. The TV broadcast of the band’s headline set will be cut after an hour.

As previously reported, when the BBC announced last month that it was planning its most extensive coverage of the Glastonbury Festival ever, this didn’t at that point include the Stones’ performance. According to reports, Jagger et al only wanted a handful of songs to be shown, but the broadcaster was pushing for more – preferably the entire show. And now, according to Glastonbury chief Michael Eavis, they’ve reached a compromise.

Eavis told reporters yesterday: “I think they’re all friends now. I think Mick Jagger wanted to play to the people here, rather than a TV show. They’re going to be playing for about an hour for the TV”. Which I think is plenty for most of us.

Eavis also revealed that the area around the Pyramid Stage has been extended this year, to cope with the larger than usual Glastonbury headliner audience he’s expecting for the Stones. Eavis admitted that the Rolling Stones could even be too popular. “With the whole Stones thing, there might be a problem with the size of the crowd so it’s slightly worrying for me, in a way”, he said. “I’ll be in there myself. I’d love to see the Stones. It’s taken a long time to get them to come and play. Everyone wants to see the Stones, basically”.

This year’s festival opens on Tuesday, with the music kicking off on Friday. As well as the Stones, Artcic Monkeys and Mumford & Sons will also headline.