The festivals are female

There have been many casualties of the pandemic for the UK’s culture sector with long-standing venues being closed down and people across the music industry, from sound engineers to grass-root artists, being unable to work.

This meant that Glastonbury’s 50th anniversary was cancelled two years in a row and ticketholders have been holding their breath until they were alerted at the end of February that they could officially pay off their ticket for this year’s event (and had only one week to do so).

From the original 1500 people in attendance to 210,000 in 2019 and tickets going from £1 in its first year to £280 this year, the festival has gotten bigger and bigger since it was founded in 1970 by Michael Eavis. The festival has always attracted a range of musicians with the festival showcasing artists from all genres.

The first line-up announcement for 2022 was released at the beginning of March and, unsurprisingly, held some familiar and impressive names. Headliners include Billie Eilish who will be the youngest ever solo headliner and Paul McCartney who, in comparison, will be the oldest ever headliner at the festival.

The first poster also held an exciting statistic with 48, out of the 89 musicians announced so far, being women or acts that include women. International female artists such as Haim, Kacey Musgraves, Megan Thee Stallion and Doja Cat will be in attendance.

Similarly, some of the most exciting British female acts are performing at this year’s festival, including Arlo Parks, Joy Crookes, Greentea Peng, Little Simz and Self Esteem. Emily Eavis had previously stated that the future of the festival is to be 50/50.

While it is definitely a step in the right direction however it does make you wonder why it has taken them so long – almost 50 years – to announce this goal. Additionally, Eilish is only the fifth woman (including Taylor Swift’s booking in 2020 despite not actually being able to perform) to be named as a Glastonbury headliner.

There is a distinct gender imbalance across many festival line-ups and gender equality starts at the bottom with people nurturing and promoting female musicians from the very beginning of their career.

Chrissie Huntley is one of many musicians who got to perform at Glastonbury in 2019 Credit: Sally von Hoftsen

Glastonbury aims to address this imbalance at the very top with the hope that people can see the demand and the popularity of women artists and invest their time and money into grassroots artists who need it the most. One such example of this is their Pilton Stage Competition which is judged my Michael Eavis and Bristol based musician Chrissie Huntley won in 2019.

With 2022’s line-up being not only inclusive but also incredibly exciting and it being only the first step in Glastonbury’s 50/50 objective, we can’t wait to see what the future holds for this festival.

Main photo: Sally von Hoftsen  

Read more: Tom Hunter’s exhibition of naked Glastonbury portraits to be shown at the Martin Parr Foundation

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