Brian May and Queen have never participated in the United Kingdom’s biggest festival, Glastonbury, due to some ideological differences regarding wildlife. Recently, those views and May’s refusal to perform resurfaced as he again voiced that he and the band would not be participating in the festival in 2027, given founder Michael Eavis’s perspective on the contentious badger culling in the United Kingdom.
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May, the co-founder of the Save Me animal welfare organization, said in an interview with The Daily Mail, “I wouldn’t do Glastonbury next year because of the politics of the people who run it. Unless that changes, I won’t do it.”
“They like killing badgers, and they think it’s for sport, and that’s something I cannot support because we’ve been trying to save these badgers for years, and they are still being killed for years, so that’s the reason we’re missing out on it,” added May.
In previous years, Eavis, who is also a dairy farmer, has criticized May’s viewpoint by calling him a “danger to farming,” per NME. Eavis refutes May’s claims since badger culling is a licensed government process that reportedly prevents the spread of bovine tuberculosis.
The Previous Time Brian May Expressed His Frustration with Eaves
Back in 2023, Brian May shared a similar comment regarding Queen’s participation in the festival. “Michael Eavis has frequently insulted me, and I don’t particularly enjoy that. What bothers me more is that he’s in favour of the badger cull, which I regard as a tragedy and an unnecessary crime against wildlife.”
As stated previously, May is the co-founder of the Save Me animal welfare organization and generally a strong advocate for animal rights. That being so, it seems Queen will never appear at Glastonbury unless “the politics of the people who run it” changes.
As of now, there is no official lineup for Glastonbury 2027. However, already, people are speculating that the 2027 headliner could be anyone from Sam Fender, Ed Sheeran, or Rihanna. Glastonbury will not transpire in 2026 due to a fallow year, a practice that lets the land recover from the previous year.
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