'I organise the BBC's coverage of Glastonbury - it's changed massively in 30 years'

Bringing the magic of Glastonbury to television screens is an immense undertaking, especially as the BBC’s coverage has expanded over the years, with live streams from the five main stages available via the BBC iPlayer in addition to a dedicated Glastonbury channel as well as extensive coverage between Friday and Sunday on BBC One and Two and extensive programmes on Radio 1, 2 and 6 Music.

Kaiser Chiefs, English Teacher and Self Esteem will be among the acts flying the flag for Yorkshire at this year's festival.

The woman masterminding the BBC’s television coverage is Alison Howe, who is Executive Producer for BBC Studios Music and has been involved with covering the festival since the 1990s.

“I worked at Radio 1 in the mid-90s and was lucky enough to work Glastonbury then. Then I moved across to start a whole career in music television and Glastonbury stayed with me thankfully and has just been a constant in my life ever since,” she says.

"Things have changed massively for both the festival and the BBC’s coverage. The secret of its success is they have grown exponentially together.”

She says while the coverage still offers the ‘communal moments’ of the nation watching the main headliners live, the BBC coverage has evolved with live streaming of multiple stages.

"We are now able to offer a kind of curated coverage which has often been in the evening and late night on the traditional channels. We are now able to do that earlier from midday on the three big festival days. On the first day, traditionally you would have to wait until teatime for it to be on TV but now on iPlayer it is coverage right through the day.”

She says her job at the festival “entails a lot but is quite simple”. “I have loads of incredible people who all work with me on the coverage. It takes a lot of really talented people because there’s stages to film and record, there’s pre-filmed segments to make, there’s presenters to brief. I oversee everything and make sure everyone is talking to each other, the right arm and left arm know what they are doing, and we are thinking about what do the audience want.

"I spend an awful lot of time talking to the artists because what is incredibly important to us is that the performances look and sound the best they can. There’s a lot of artists playing but if you’ve got a slot on the Pyramid Stage, that’s your moment and we want that to be the best it can be. We do our best to make that happen.

"The BBC do big events. But in terms of the music team, Glastonbury is the biggest thing. It is our Wimbledon.”

Glastonbury has infamously been affected by rain and med in previous years but Howe says all conditions bring their own challenges.

"The hot years can be just as challenging because there is no shade. We have to make sure our teams are looked after. When it rains, there’s been time when the weather has become the story and you have to make sure everyone is safe but equally viewers want to see everybody battling with the weather. You want to see a presenter battling with an umbrella or artists dealing with the wind.

"It is a big part of the challenge but if you are not excited by those challenges, live events producing is probably not your bag.”

While her job means most of her time is spent in the BBC’s on-site production office, Howe says she still gets to enjoy plenty of memorable moments.

"I haven’t been to see a group at Glastonbury for a long time, I’m mostly seeing it through camera screens. But I’ll always remember going to another part of the site when Dolly Parton was performing on the Pyramid Stage. I could hear the audience and it was incredible. You really felt a legend was on the farm.

"What’s so lovely about the festival is it really starts on Wednesday and the atmosphere is so wonderful with that mixture of giddiness and people trying to find the best camping spot. That evening we allow ourselves a little walk around to soak it up and just enjoy it.”

Another member of the BBC team this year is 6 Music presenter Deb Grant, who says she has rapidly learned to take a different mindset into the festival than her usual organised approach to life.

"The first time I went was two years ago. It was definitely overwhelming initially. I’m the type of person who if you visit a new city tries to fit everything. Something I learnt at Glastonbury almost immediately was if you have too much of a strict agenda you are going to end up frustrated and exhausted. It is better to just let things happen.

“There’s lot of bands I’m looking forward to seeing this year but I don’t want to have any particular agenda. I feel it is my obligation to wander around and see if I can get into anything interesting.”

Her fellow 6 Music presenter Huw Stephens, who will also be presenting iPlayer coverage, has been going to Glastonbury since 2000.

"It felt like you’d landed on some other planet. I’d been to Reading Festival before but I realised Glastonbury is more than just a festival. Without being too pretentious, it is a feeling. You can get it from watching it and listening to it at home, you get it from being there and it is why it is so special, why it sells out every year and why artists want to play it. It is something really magical.

"All good festivals evolve and Glastonbury has naturally changed. But generally the main ethos of performing arts and culture, the charity element and the communal magic is still there.”

With Glastonbury taking a year off in 2026, Stephens says this year’s event promises to be particularly memorable. "Every time you know there’s a fallow year coming, it makes the one you are at even more special. Though as anyone who has been to Glastonbury knows, you treat any of them as though it is your last weekend on Earth really.”

Coverage of the Glastonbury weekend will take place across iPlayer and BBC Sounds from this Friday