​Glastonbury Festival’s profits more than doubled in 2024 to £5.9 million

Glastonbury Festival’s profits more than doubled last year to a whopping £5.9 million, the BBC reports.

According to reports, the Somerset festival raked in £5.9 million in pre-tax profits in 2024, compared to £2.9 million the year prior.

Last week, Glastonbury responded to criticism over news of its high profit margin, saying that it annually donates millions to UK-based charities.

The BBC reported that between 2023 and 2024, Glastonbury donated £5.2 million to charitable organisations such as Oxfam, WaterAid, and Greenpeace.

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A spokesperson for the festival pinned large profits on “successful, dry Glastonburys” in its past two editions, which have helped to “rebuild” the festival’s financial reserves, and allowed it to continue supporting charities and “good causes”.

The spokesperson also noted that Glastonbury saw record losses during the pandemic, which cost the festival “millions” after pulling the plug on its 2020 and 2021 editions.

Last week, Neil Young announced that he and his band, The Chrome Hearts, would not headline Glastonbury 2025 in a ‘boycott’ against the festival’s involvement with the BBC.

In a post on his website, the Neil Young Archives, he explained: "The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my all-time favourite outdoor gigs.”

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"We were told that BBC was now a partner in Glastonbury and wanted us to do a lot of things in a way we were not interested in,” he said. “It seems Glastonbury is now under corporate control and is not the way I remember it being."

Just days later, Young and his band backtracked on their decision and announced that they will perform at the festival later this year, saying that they had received an “error in information” that caused them to initially drop out.

Glastonbury co-organiser Emily Eavis confirmed the news that Neil Young will headline the festival shortly after, writing on Instagram: “We can’t wait to welcome him back here to headline the Pyramid in June.”

[Via BBC]

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter