Neil Young Glastonbury 2025: Rock legend pulls out of music festival while making dig at BBC - after last performing at Worthy Farm in 2009

Neil Young has announced that he will no longer be performing at Glastonbury as the festival is now "under the corporate control of the BBC". The singer and his new live band, The Chrome Hearts, were set to appear at Worthy Farm in Somerset, this summer, 16 years after the 79-year-old headlined the Pyramid Stage.

However, a shock U-turn has caused the Canadian star to pull out of the festival. In an open letter on the Neil Young Archives website, Neil wrote: "The Chrome Hearts and I were looking forward to playing Glastonbury, one of my all time favourite outdoor gigs.

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

He added: “We will not be playing Glastonbury on this tour because it is a corporate turn-off, and not for me like it used to be. Hope to see you at one of the other venues on the tour."

The BBC has broadcast the festival since 1997 and it was available globally for the first time last year. Neil Young's most recent performance at Glastonbury, in 2009, was broadcast across the BBC's television and radio stations.

It was first reported last month that Neil was firming up plans to headline Glastonbury 2025. A source told The Sun: "Neil and his band The Chrome Hearts are firming up plans for European dates next year and Glastonbury is on the cards.”