Have you ever crossed a fence to access a concert? The modern equivalent could have been mass produced on Saturday, as fans were able to attend the UK‘s biggest music festival for free after suffering technical difficulties.
“Once again, I’m so sorry for the issues with the first part of the stream,†festival organizer Emily Eavis said in a tweet. “But thank you for all the messages of support, as well as the incredible responses we have seen to the film itself.”
The “Live at Worthy Farm” show started at 7 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET), but within minutes fans online were complaining that they couldn’t watch the first act, Wolf Alice, though. they have already paid.
Glastonbury’s streaming partner Driift said in a statement he was “devastated” by the technical failure.
The online event organizer, who has successfully hosted artists such as Niall Horan and Andrea Bocelli, sent a replacement link two hours after the show started, allowing fans to look back for free.
George Ezra performs in the special five hour production which featured artists such as Coldplay and Jorja Smith. Credit: Anna Barclay for the Glastonbury Festival / Getty Images
“I could possibly watch the whole festival, but of course, the organization of the event was not up to par with a festival as big as this one is supposed to meet,†said Ana Bravo DÃaz, who has tried to access the festival online from Madrid. Spain after paying for a ticket.
She told CNN on Sunday that she couldn’t access the stream for two hours and that even if she could, there was no option to jump back to the start until the show ended.
Bravo DÃaz said he was not offered a refund directly, but Driift has made a form available to those who wish to request one. He said anyone who purchased a ticket would also have access to Sunday’s feeds, and a view link would also be available until May 30.
Driift sent a second statement to CNN on Sunday saying he was “mortified” and that the technical issues were unacceptable.
“Driift is not a technology company or a media platform, and we rely on a third party company for some aspect of delivering the stream,†he said. “This supplier has now identified the cause of the issues last night and while we are awaiting a full technical report, there have been no subsequent issues for ticket buyers accessing subsequent feeds for North America. or Australia. ”
The events company apologized to Glastonbury, the artists who performed and customers. He added that he was not making any money from the live event.
Glastonbury did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Tickets already purchased will be carried over to 2022 – when Glastonbury intends to hold only its second event in five years, after one year in 2018 and two back-to-back canceled events.
Grammy-nominated director Paul Dugdale created the production of five hours, which takes viewers on a virtual tour of the festival site. Three other streams configured to accommodate other time zones were not affected by the malfunction.
“We put all our heart and soul into making this film, and we are very proud of it. We are also extremely grateful to all the artists who gave their time to deliver such a stunning performance,” said Eavis in a separate tweet.
The show will air again on Sunday.
The internationally renowned event normally takes place on 900 acres of the Eavis family’s Somerset farm in the South West of England.
The 2019 festival drew a crowd of 175,000 attendees and featured performances by The Cure, Stormzy and The Killers, among others.
Glastonbury – arguably the world’s most esteemed live music event – has been headlined by a sparkling array of British and global stars since its first date in 1970, including David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Oasis, U2 and Beyoncé.
