Glastonbury trying harder than most to address gender balance, says organiser

In an interview with Cosmopolitan UK, Emily Eavis, who organises the annual event with her husband, Nick Dewey, spoke openly about the event having come under fire due to all of the headliners for this year’s show being men.

Ms Eavis said she had tried to book a female headliner for this year but that the act had had to pull out due to calendar clashes.

“I think everyone knows that we’re trying harder than most, certainly extremely hard to address (the gender balance of acts), and I’ve been very vocal about it,” she told the magazine.

“Progress isn’t linear. I’m trying my best and, believe me, it’s a real, passionate subject of mine,” she continued. “I’ve been trying to raise the flag around gender and festivals for a long time. But we can only do so much.”

Glastonbury’s all-male headline set came under fire when it was announced in March, shortly after the Brit Awards put forward an all-male shortlist for best artist in February.

There was also controversy when American singer-songwriter Lana del Rey reportedly hinted she might pull out of this year’s event when a poster listed her name under those of less well-recognised acts.

More recent posters list del Rey’s name on the second tier, under headliners Sir Elton John, Guns N’ Roses and Arctic Monkeys, with Lizzo – who is set to play on the Pyramid Stage before Guns N’ Roses – sharing joint billing with the three acts.

Ms Eavis said that in the past she has faced a backlash for booking “too many” female artists.

“I’ve had criticisms of booking too many female headlines, criticisms for booking old people, young people, rap music,” she said.

“I mean, we’ve had it all. To be honest, I just want to tune into the festival and tune out the noise.”

In her interview, Ms Eavis also emphasised her commitment to making sure that women feel safe attending Glastonbury.

“We need to provide those (safe) spaces, especially for women,” she said. “It might not be something that happened over the weekend – it might be something that happened before, but you can go and talk to a professional about it.”

She also said that next year’s line-up will feature two female headliners, one of whom has already been confirmed.

– Read the full interview with Emily Eavis on the Cosmopolitan UK website.