BBC to broadcast Glastonbury in UHD

The Glastonbury Festival (Wednesday 22 – Sunday 26 June) makes a much anticipated comeback in this year, after being disrupted by the pandemic for the past two years.

Diana Ross is performing in the “Legends” slot, Kendrick Lamar is playing Glastonbury for the first time, and there are headline sets from Billie Eilish and Paul McCartney.

Sets from the Pyramid Stage will be shown live in UHD on BBC iPlayer on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with key performances and a special programme featuring highlights from the Pyramid Stage available on demand in UHD after the event.

The BBC is airing over 35 hours of coverage across each of its TV channels, and over 40 hours on BBC iPlayer. BBC iPlayer’s dedicated Glastonbury channel launches on Thursday 23 June, presenting a four day stream of live performances and preview programmes.

Lorna Clarke, BBC director of music, said: “Our expert team of presenters will guide audiences around Worthy Farm, whilst BBC iPlayer - with its dedicated Glastonbury channel - and BBC Sounds will allow people to watch and listen on demand, throughout the festival weekend and beyond.”

Viewers will be able to watch live performances from Glastonbury in Ultra HD and HDR on BBC iPlayer.

The BBC uses the Hybrid Log-Gamma version of HDR it invented with Japanese broadcaster NHK, which provides improved picture quality to Ultra HD HDR devices and the vast majority of Standard Dynamic Range devices too.