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Glastonbury in numbers: Sir Elton John’s performance sees 7.3 million watch BBC

Figures released include the number of attendees, temperatures and arrests.

Charlotte McLaughlin
Monday 26 June 2023 15:23 BST
Festivalgoers during the hot weather at the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset (Ben Birchall/PA)
Festivalgoers during the hot weather at the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset (Ben Birchall/PA) (PA Wire)

More than seven million viewers watching Sir Elton John’s performance on the BBC are just some of the numbers from this year’s festival.

Figures available from the event at Worthy Farm, Sommerset also include the average weather temperatures and number of arrests.

The PA news agency looks at the numbers below:

– How many people tuned in to watch Glastonbury on the BBC?

The coverage on Glastonbury on the BBC was throughout the weekend but not all acts were shown directly on television.

An average of 7.3 million viewers watched BBC One between 9pm and 11.05pm when Sir Elton, who was playing the last UK date of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, was on the Pyramid Stage.

The BBC said this was the biggest ever overnight audience for a Glastonbury set and the broadcaster had a nearly 50% share of all TV audiences at that time on Sunday.

A peak audience of 7.6 million of five minutes was also seen during the programme, according to the corporation.

The 76-year-old megastar surpassed rock band Arctic Monkeys’s headline set on Friday night with an average of 1.5 million viewers on BBC One.

Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi’s and American artist Lizzo’s Pyramid Stage performances on Saturday saw 2.3 million viewers on average.

– How many people were arrested?

A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police said a total of 35 arrests were made at on- and off-site at Glastonbury.

The force also recorded 120 incidents, which included 27 thefts, 20 drug offences and seven sexual assaults.

– How many people attended?

According to the BBC, more than 200,000 festival goers attended the event from June 22 to 26.

The dates included the Foo Fighters playing a surprise gig along with billed performances from Rick Astley, Lana Del Rey, Guns N’ Roses and Yusuf/Cat Stevens.

– What was the highest temperature recorded?

The Met Office said the closest weather station to Glastonbury at Yeovilton, Somerset, saw temperature highs of 26.1C on both Saturday and Sunday.

Another monitoring site at Lyneham in Wiltshire recorded 27.5C on Sunday.

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