Glastonbury Festival Not Going To Change Its Name To Something Dumb After All
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The Glastonbury Festival has been an institution in the UK for decades. Since its 1970 inception, it’s been a crucial part of the cultural and musical landscape. And it’s always been called Glastonbury. But in a couple of years, that’ll change. The festival is planning to take a year off next year and to move, at least, temporarily, to a new location in 2019. And when it moves, it’ll have a new name: the Variety Bazaar.
As FACT reports, Glasto founder Michael Eavis made the announcement during a recent radio interview. “That’s a good name, don’t you think?,” he asks. It is not a good name.
Eavis’ rationale for the name change is that the festival will be 100 miles away from where its original location, so nowhere near Glastonbury. Eavis is making the move to preserve the land where Glastonbury is currently held. And of the name change, he says, “I’ve been a risk taker all my life. In 47 years of taking risks, so far, touch wood, I haven’t come unstuck. This might be one risk too far, I don’t know.” This is definitely one risk too far.
This year’s edition of Glastonbury runs 6/21-25, and as of right now, the only confirmed act is Radiohead. If you’re ever going to go, you should go this year.
UPDATE: According to Eavis’ daughter Emily, who organizes the festival along with her father, Glastonbury will not change its name or its location. Billboard reports that, after its one-year break, Glastonbury will return to Worthy Farm in 2019 and keep its name. However, the Eavises are also planning another big event, and that will be called Variety Bazaar.
— Emily Eavis (@emilyeavis) January 17, 2017
