The BBC will mark the cancelled Glastonbury Festival by airing classic performances, including by Adele, Beyonce and David Bowie, across the weekend it was due to take place.
The Somerset event had been due to celebrate its 50th anniversary in June, with Sir Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar all headlining the Pyramid Stage, but it was axed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Glastonbury Experience will be broadcast from Thursday June 25 to Monday June 29 across the BBC’s TV channels, iPlayer, radio and BBC Sounds.
BBC Two, BBC Four and iPlayer will air a number of recent stand-out headline performances in full, such as Adele in 2016, Beyonce in 2011, David Bowie in 2000, and Coldplay in 2016.
Performances by Amy Winehouse, Arctic Monkeys, Blur, Dizzee Rascal, Lady Gaga, PJ Harvey and The Rolling Stones will also be featured.
There will also be three live 90-minute programmes aired during prime time slots on BBC Two from the Friday to Sunday to mark the three headlining nights of the main Glastonbury weekend.
Presenters will include Clara Amfo, Edith Bowman, Jo Whiley, Lauren Laverne and Mark Radcliffe.
There will also be a new pop-up Glastonbury channel on iPlayer, with more than 60 previous sets available,
Julien Temple’s film Glastonbury, which documents the festival’s history via artists such as The Velvet Underground and Radiohead, will air on BBC Four on June 25.
On BBC One, The One Show will celebrate Glastonbury in the lead up to the weekend.
Blue Peter will also join The Glastonbury Experience with children creating music festivals at home to earn a Blue Peter Music badge designed by former headliner Ed Sheeran.
The BBC Music Introducing Stage, which has promoted up-and-coming acts at the festival since 2007, will be honoured with a film.
Voiced by BBC Radio 1 presenter Huw Stephens and Jaguar from Introducing, the film will be available on iPlayer from June 22.
Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis said she and her father Michael, who founded the festival in 1070, would be watching: “There are so many memorable sets being played across the BBC over what would have been our 50th anniversary weekend.
“Personally, I’m looking forward to a weekend of reflecting on the history of our festival and going back to some classic performances from David Bowie, Adele, REM, Beyonce, The Rolling Stones, Jay-Z, Billie Eilish and lots more.
“Me and my dad will definitely be watching!”
BBC controller of pop music, Lorna Clarke, said: “Glastonbury Festival has for decades been a huge moment in the BBC’s music calendar, thanks to Michael and Emily’s magical creation.
“Even though Worthy Farm can’t be full of thousands of music lovers this year, the BBC will celebrate with… memories and archive footage across TV, BBC iPlayer, radio and BBC Sounds, to give our audience a taste of the festival in their own homes.”