GLASTONBURY fans have been left fuming as the show is pulled off air in a huge technical blunder.
Music enthusiasts wanted to tune into the BBC and their iPlayer streaming service to watch the latest from Worthy Farm.
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If you wanted to watch the likes of Scissor Sisters and Charli XCX then you would have to switch the channel.
The BBC coverage of the 2025 Glastonbury Festival has been dogged by technical errors.
Even at the festival itself, the opening ceremony was branded a flop by disappointed festival-goers.
During a set on The Other Stage, the screen cut to black for many BBC viewers today.
And it’s no better online for those watching iPlayer as the main Saturday feed also suffered from a huge technical difficulty.
Those wanting to watch Scissor Sisters were greeted with an apology message that was emblazoned on the screen.
It read: “Sorry for the interruption. We’re working to fix this.”
Glasto fans flooded social media in their droves as they were left fuming by the blunder.
Writing on X – formerly known as Twitter – one expletive-filled fan fumed: “F****** hell @BBC you cut Blossoms short and now Scissor Sisters when it’s just a black screen. Sort it out.”
A second stated: “Scissor Sisters have been on stage 8 minutes and the screen is still black!
“I’ve only wanted to watch them, Jade, and Raye all day and now it’s not even working for Scissor Sisters!”
“#Glastonbury Jeez put up with watching that Winehouse wannabe Raye screen goes blank for Scissor Sisters,” exclaimed an angry user.
While a fourth asked: “Having to watch Charli because no streams on iplayer I don’t even know what she sings #Glastonbury.”
“Cmon BBC Iplayer…where’s Charli xcx?“, enquired someone else.
Glastonbury backlashes
Glastonbury Festival has been going for 54 trailblazing years – but at times it has been a stormy ride Here, we look at the biggest backlashes to hit the iconic music event.
The Smiths (1984): One of the first bands to divide the early Glastonbury purists were Manchester indie stars The Smiths. The band’s set even sparked a full scale stage invasion as they introduced the crowd to their guitar-driven, post-punk romanticism music. Guitarist Johnny Marr described their usual fanbase as “cup final supporters”, adding: “Eventually, I did manage to instigate a stage invasion, which raised a few eyebrows. One fan was trying to climb on stage, I helped pull him up, and then a few more people followed, and all of a sudden we’d managed to turn it into a Smiths gig.”
The Fence (2002): It wasn’t a band or musician that sparked controversy in 2002… it was a fence. Organiser Michael Eavis came under fire when he organised the erection of a £1million fence around the site. The ring of steel was brought in to protect ticket holders and those who might inadvertently endanger themselves by breaking in. Diehard Glasto fans, however, felt it was at odds with the event’s hippy ethos of peace and love. Eavis and co refused to back down, though, and the fence remains in place today.
JAY-Z (2008): Despite its long history, Glastonbury had never welcomed a rapper for a headline set – until 2008. Jay-Z’s top bill booking was met with a flurry of digs, including some from Oasis’s Noel Gallagher, who claimed hip hop had no place at the festival. In a perfect clap-back, Jay-Z walked out to a version of Wonderwall before launching into his powerful hit 99 problems. Seven years later, his pal Kanye West followed in his Glastonbury footsteps and topped the bill.
Metallica (2014): Thrash metal rockers Metallica were met with raised eyebrows when they were announced as Glastonbury headliners. Some critics claimed they lacked mainstream appeal, while others felt they were past their prime. However, frontman James Hetfield managed to quickly win the crowd round thanks to his good humour and polite manners.
Adele (2016): Although Adele wowed both festival goers and music fans at home with her headliner set, the British songstress did cause a stir by turning the air blue. She warned the crowd about her “potty mouth” but not everyone was impressed with with the 30 plus expletives she dropped on the stage during her headline set, which aired on the BBC.
And a sixth added: “Since iPlayer is so useless this weekend you only have what’s on BBC One and Two of #Glastonbury.”
On iPlayer, if you wanted to catch the action from The Other Stage, you would have to swap to the dedicated feed which was still working.
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