Glastonbury Festival 2026: Why will there be no festival next year - what is a fallow year and when will it be back?

The world-famous event traditionally takes place in late June, with hundreds of thousands of festivalgoers descending on Glastonbury for a weekend of singing, dancing and late nights. As one of the biggest festivals in the world, demand for Glastonbury tickets is understandably high.

But for those who are looking ahead to 2026, there is a big warning that you’ll have to wait a little longer to get involved in the action, with Glastonbury Festival not taking place next year.

Here’s everything you need to know as the event takes a fallow year in 2026.

Why is there no Glastonbury festival in 2026?

There will be no Glastonbury in 2026 because the festival is taking what is known as a ‘fallow year’. A ‘fallow year’ is when the event pauses to help Worthy Farm recuperate from the mega event.

Emily Eavis said: "The fallow year is important because it gives the land a rest, it gives the cows a chance to be out for longer and reclaim their land." She has also previously said that the fallow years allow for the village of Pilton to recover after having more than 210,000 revellers descend on it.

This is traditionally taken every five years to avoid the huge set-ups that make Glastonbury run smoothly from severely damaging the land. The last traditional fallow year was in 2018, however fallow years were also unexpectedly observed in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, when the festivals were cancelled.

When will Glastonbury be back?

For those wanting to head back to Worthy Farm as soon as possible, there is good news, as the festival is scheduled to return in 2027 with a run of uninterrupted festival after this. If the five-year-rule is observed as planned, the next fallow year is set to take place in 2031.