Glastonbury viewers to see hour of Rolling Stones live

Viewers will be able to watch an hour of The Rolling Stones' headline set at Glastonbury on TV after a compromise was reached in a dispute over coverage of the set.

The Stones, playing for 90 minutes on the Saturday night of the music festival, had reportedly initially limited the BBC to broadcasting four songs from their show. Urgent talks were then held between the parties.

Speaking as he gears up for next week's opening of Glastonbury, now in its 43rd year, organiser Michael Eavis said: "I think they're all friends now.

"They're going to be playing for about an hour for the TV.

"I think Mick Jagger wanted to play to the people here, rather than a TV show."

Only those at Glastonbury will see the band's final half hour, with fireworks set to light up the sky over the Worthy Farm site. Fans can expect a spectacular show, with 90 minutes between the end of the previous set on the Pyramid Stage - by Primal Scream - and the arrival of The Rolling Stones to allow for their set to be built.

Michael admitted that they could even be too popular. "With the whole Stones thing, there might be a problem with the size of the crowd so it's slightly worrying for me, in a way," he said.

The Pyramid area has been extended to allow for the thousands of fans expected for the band's set in a bid to avoid any problems with overcrowding, Mr Eavis added.

"I'll be in there myself," he said. "I'd love to see the Stones. It's taken a long time to get them to come and play."

What he described as 'even better' than having the veteran rockers performing at his Worthy Farm site was the expected appearance of another festival rarity - the sun.

"We're particularly excited because the forecast is fantastic from Tuesday," said Mr Eavis. "It's going to be a mini heatwave, can you believe it? I'm thrilled."

Glastonbury Festival opens its gates next Wednesday, with the main bands playing from Friday. The official Glastonbury 2013 app from festival partner EE, which includes set times, news and interactive maps, will feature live streams of the BBC's coverage over the weekend.

 

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.