Edith Bowman has urged the BBC not to spend money on ‘another headline set of Coldplay‘, after Glastonbury 2024 was slammed by fans as being the most boring yet.
The DJ and television presenter – who previously fronted the corporation’s coverage of the festival – said it would be better off ‘spreading’ its money across smaller gigs.
It comes after this year’s Glastonbury – usually the ultimate festival for partygoers – was dubbed as the ‘worst-ever’ after revellers complained about a ‘boring’ line-up, overpriced tickets and expensive drinks.
Fans were especially underwhelmed by news that Coldplay was to be headlining, having already done so at Glastonbury four times prior.
Speaking on the podcast Beyond The Title, Bowman said the BBC should not throw ‘all its eggs in one basket’.
DJ Edith Bowman, who used to front the BBC’s coverage of Glastonbury, said the corporation should not spend money on another ‘headline set of Coldplay’ and instead should spend on smaller gigs
Chris Martin, of Coldplay, performing on the Pyramid stage during day four of Glastonbury Festival 2024. It was the band’s fifth time performing at the festival
Coldplay (L-R) Jonny Buckland, Chris Martin, Will Champion and Guy Berryman
The 50-year-old said: ‘I love Coldplay, but it’s like, do I need to watch another headline set of Coldplay? I just wish the BBC would spread their money more out throughout the year to, I mean, do some shows from little venues.
‘Do you know, that kind of thing, rather than throwing all your eggs in one basket.’
In the past it has been reported that the BBC spends several millions of pounds covering the festival and sends upwards of 500 staff.
Disappointed festivalgoers took to X to complain of the ‘worst’ Glastonbury line-up earlier this year.
One X user wrote: ‘Coldplay AGAIN? Jesus. And sorry, who is Sza? Genuinely’.
Singer SZA was one of the headline acts this summer.
Another wrote: ‘Never in the history of Glastonbury has there been a more underwhelming set of headliners. Imagine wading through two foot deep mud to be greeted by a Coldplay headline set.’
Glastonbury Festival’s 2024 line-up was branded ‘the worst ever’ by disappointed fans who slammed the ’embarrassing’ bill
Bowman began presenting the BBC’s Glastonbury coverage in 2003 with Colin Murray.
The DJ, who left the BBC in 2014 and has her own hit podcast Soundtracking, said: ‘I think Glastonbury is obviously such a big part of our history and we expect it now every year and we expect this coverage.
‘I would like to see, going back to that whole idea of the kind of grassroots thing, you see someone like Nadine Shah, who’s offered a place, offered a slot at Glastonbury – it’s not on a televised slot, so therefore she can’t afford it.
‘It’s like, let’s do The Old Grey Whistle Test on tour, something like that, do you know what I mean, when you’re going round supporting little venues and you pull in artists on a BBC Introducing level in those venues.’
Nadine Shah is an Indie music artist who in June this year shared on X that it would be ‘too expensive’ for her to play at Glastonbury without her slot being televised.
Singer Nadine Shah (pictured in July 2019) said she had to turn down Glastonbury because it’s ‘too expensive’
Nadine Shah slammed the festival on X, formerly Twitter, and claimed she was offered just ‘a fifth’ of the amount of money she gets for other shows
The 38-year-old singer said: ‘The rumours are untrue. I am NOT playing @glastonbury I would have liked to but I wasn’t offered a televised stage so I declined. It’s too expensive a hit for me to take otherwise.. ‘
In a follow-up post, she wrote: ‘It’s just a reality that playing live is super expensive and if you can justify the costs (like being on telly and having a wider reach) then sometimes you take the hit. Otherwise no, we’ve all bills to pay. X’
She alleged that she was offered a fifth of what she had been offered to perform at other shows this summer.
The Old Grey Whistle Test was a BBC music television show which aired in the 1970s and 1980s.
