Glastonbury confirms incredible tribute to BBC Radio host Annie Nightingale

28 May 2024 , 12:36

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The late Annie Nightingale will be celebrated at Glastonbury Festival next month (Image: Fiona Hanson/PA Wire)

A very special celebration in memory of Annie Nightingale will be held at Glastonbury Festival over the summer. 

It was announced in January that radio host Annie - who is credited as having been the first female presenter on BBC Radio 1 - had passed away aged 83 after a "short illness". There was an outpouring of tributes following the news.

Paying tribute at the time, Annie's family said about the late presenter in a statement: "Annie was a pioneer, trailblazer and an inspiration to many. Her impulse to share that enthusiasm with audiences remained undimmed after six decades of broadcasting on BBC TV and radio globally."

There's now set to be a "special" celebration of her life by Glastonbury and the BBC at the festival next month. It has been announced that it will be held over two stages and that some of Annie's "favourite music" will be showcased as part of the tribute at the event at Worthy Farm on June 27.

Organisers shared the news on Tuesday and said in a statement that Annie "loved" Glastonbury. They noted that her BBC Radio 1 show was broadcast from the festival over the years and added that she last played there in 2017 from the Glade Main Stage. They said: "So it's fitting that the Celebration of Annie's life starts in the Glade on [the] Thursday before moving to the BBC Introducing Stage for the after-dark part two."

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The late Annie Nightingale will be celebrated at Glastonbury Festival in June (Getty Images Europe)

The late radio host and DJ had worked at the festival on several occasions over the years (PA)

It was further shared as part of the announcement that the daytime celebration is set to include the Nextmen featuring Kiko Bun and Fish56Octagon, who will be "using his encyclopaedic knowledge of dance music to play a set of Annie's favourite tunes". Other acts set to be involved include King of The Beats.

And it's been stated that the afternoon tribute will include one of Annie's "favourite acts," the Orb, who she is said to have championed in the early '90s. The celebration is due to then move to the BBC Introducing Stage later in the evening

The late-night session into the early hours is set to feature DJs covering the music that Annie brought to the world from the '90s through to the present day through her show. Krafty Kuts and Plump DJs will be playing "a special back-to-back set" for example. Whilst Martha, who is said to have been mentored by the late radio host, is scheduled to bring "the latest sounds that Annie loved to discover".

Glastonbury will be held on Worthy Farm near Pilton from June 26 to 30 this year. The line-up for the upcoming instalment of the annual festival includes the likes of Dua Lipa, SZA, Coldplay, Shania Twain and LCD Soundsystem, who are all set to perform.

Joel Leaver