Queen Rule Out Glastonbury

Brian May has again made clear that Queen has no intention of playing Glastonbury, reaffirming that his long-running political differences with festival founder Michael Eavis remain unresolved.

The 78-year-old guitarist continues to tour worldwide with drummer Roger Taylor as Queen + Adam Lambert, a collaboration that has headlined arenas since 2012 and kept the band’s catalogue firmly in the live spotlight. Despite their status as one of Britain’s defining rock acts, Queen have never appeared on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, May said: “I wouldn’t do Glastonbury next year because of the politics of the people who run it.” His comments centre on animal welfare, an issue that has shaped his public activism for decades.

May, a committed animal rights campaigner and co-founder of the Save Me organisation, strongly opposes badger culling and fox hunting. He resigned as vice-president of the RSPCA in 2024 after criticising welfare standards linked to its Assured Farm scheme. That stance directly clashes with Eavis, a dairy farmer who supports the badger cull as a way to curb the spread of bovine tuberculosis.

Eavis, now 90, has previously criticised May’s views, once describing him as a “danger to farming.” The dispute has effectively ruled out a Glastonbury appearance for Queen, despite the festival’s increasing openness to heritage artists under the wider Eavis family leadership. May has previously indicated that the band would only consider performing if circumstances changed significantly.

Glastonbury is currently observing a fallow year, allowing the land to recover, and is scheduled to return in 2027. Speculation around future headliners is already building, with pop star Harry Styles among the names rumoured following the announcement of his new album.

May has also said Queen’s next return to the stage remains uncertain, suggesting the band is taking time away from touring while hinting that new projects are still to come.