• With over 200,000 attendees and nearly 4,000 artists, the 2025 edition of Glastonbury festival has come to a close.
• In 2026 the festival will not take place, allowing the farmland to recover and the natural environment to regenerate.
• The decision also has social motivations, aimed at protecting the communities that live in the area.

The 2025 edition of Glastonbury festival has wrapped up, and next year a break is planned for environmental reasons. The most important music festival on the Old Continent, held in the English countryside of Somerset, ran this year from 25 to 29 June, drawing in over 200,000 people. Every five years the festival takes a sabbatical year to let the land rest and reduce stress on local communities. After this year's edition — marked by political controversy linked to the Israeli genocide in Gaza — the next date is 2027.

Another record-breaking edition

Over 200,000 attendees, nearly 4,000 artists, an area as large as 500 football pitches. These are the numbers behind the 2025 edition of Glastonbury festival, one of the most important music festivals in the world.

The festival is held on the grounds of Worthy Farm, amid the countryside of Somerset in south-west England. This year's headliners were English indie rockers The 1975, Canadian-American singer-songwriter Neil Young, and American pop star Olivia Rodrigo. Among the other acts to perform was Northern Irish hip hop band Kneecap, who took to the stage amid Palestinian flags, slogans against the Israeli genocide in Gaza, and attacks on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Duo Bob Vylan also took a firm stance on the issue, with phrases such as "Death to the Israeli army" that sparked significant institutional controversy, prompting a response from the Israeli embassy in the United Kingdom.

Glastonbury festival returns in 2027

The 2025 edition of Glastonbury festival confirmed the sheer power of the event. But now it is time for a break. The music festival has historically paused every five years to avoid causing irreparable damage to the pastures of Worthy Farm, allowing the farmland to recover and the natural environment to regenerate. "The fallow year is important because it gives the land a bit of a rest and gives the cows a chance to be outside for longer and reclaim their land," stressed Emily Eavis, co-organiser of Glastonbury festival.

The last time the festival voluntarily took a break was in 2018; the pandemic and restrictions on events then led to two further interruptions in 2020 and 2021. That was followed by four hugely popular editions, the latest of which took place this past weekend, and the announcement of a new hiatus. The decision also has social motivations, relating to the community that lives in the area and whose everyday life is turned upside down at every edition by the arrival of hundreds of thousands of people. "The sustainability and the need to live in harmony with the land have always been fundamental to Glastonbury Festival," added Eavis, who highlighted how over the years a series of sustainability-focused initiatives have been implemented during the festival, such as a ban on single-use plastic and the signing of an environmental pledge by all attendees at the point of purchasing a ticket.