Last Updated on 23/09/2023 by Emma Purcell
Don’t worry if you missed out on a ticket to Worthy Farm this weekend because the BBC will be streaming more than 40 hours of Glastonbury Festival, and the best bit, BBC iPlayer will have live performances on the Pyramid Stage with British Sign Language (BSL).
For more than 25 years, the BBC has been the exclusive broadcaster bringing us live coverage of the Glastonbury Festival, showcasing music, comedy, dance, theatre and much more. One of the newest features will be signed live performances from the Pyramid Stage, making the coverage more inclusive and accessible to the deaf community.
BBC’s process into streaming live BSL at Glastonbury Festival
To produce live BSL on the Glastonbury coverage, the BBC has partnered up with Red Bee Media, the only national provider of live British Sign Language services for live programmes. It has a unique solution that involves combining technical innovation and expert translators to deliver a sign language service for live news and event broadcasts.
Lorna Clarke, BBC Director of Music said: This year we’re proud to deliver over 40 hours of coverage across our TV channels to our audiences, as well as over 85 hours of live radio broadcasts, in addition to content on BBC Sounds. We’ll also be increasing the scale and accessibility of our BBC iPlayer offer, with even more themed and live streams.
For the first time, we will be streaming Pyramid Stage performances live in British Sign Language, making our coverage more accessible than ever before.”
Lorna added: “Our thanks once again go to Emily and Michael Eavis, for allowing us to bring their treasured festival to so many music fans throughout the weekend and beyond.”
Emily Eavis, Glastonbury Festival co-organiser said: “We’ve worked in partnership with the BBC since 1997, and they’ve become an incredibly valuable part of what we do at Glastonbury. I think we’ve created something really special together and we’re delighted that they’re continuing to evolve their coverage with additions such as streaming Pyramid Stage performances live in British Sign Language. We’re looking forward to welcoming them to the farm in June and here’s to many more Glastonbury together.”
The deaf community’s reaction to BSL at Glastonbury Festival
There are said to be 11 million people in the UK who are deaf or hard of hearing, with approximately 151,000 BSL users. Therefore having sign language streamed at one of Britain’s biggest festivals will benefit and excite thousands of deaf music fans.
Liam O’Dell, a deaf and disabled journalist, said: “As a seasoned festival goer who’s braved the muddy fields of Glastonbury several times already, I’ve always made sure to stop by the on-site DeafZone tent as I continue my journey towards learning more BSL.
They do fantastic work every festival providing deaf awareness and BSL sessions, as well as ensuring interpreters are available at the main performances for those who need them, so I’m pleased to see that the BBC has stepped in to offer the same provision for deaf Glastonbury fans keen to enjoy the fun on TV at home, from the comfort of their own sofa!”
Some people have questioned why BSL is only going to be streamed at the Pyramid Stage and not more stages.
We asked the BBC if the BSL performances will be expanded to more stages in the future. A BBC spokesperson said: “We’re delighted to be streaming Pyramid Stage performances live in British Sign Language this year for the first time, making our coverage more accessible than ever before. All decisions about next year’s Glastonbury programming and production will be taken after this year’s event.”
Tweeting about the announcement, the charity RNID said:
We’re pleased to see @BBCiPlayer introduce Pyramid Stage – Signed, a brand new live stream, which will provide every performance on the @glastonbury Pyramid Stage live in British Sign Language (BSL). 🙌 #Glastonbury2023https://t.co/0AG5EUuuMG
— RNID (@RNID) May 31, 2023
The acts set to headline Glastonbury Festival are Arctic Monkeys, Guns N’ Roses and Elton John. Other artists and bands appearing on the Pyramid Stage will include Royal Blood, Texas, Rick Astley, Lewis Capaldi, Blondie, Sophie Ellis Bexter and many more.
British Sign Language at Worthy Farm
For those lucky enough to attend Glastonbury Festival in person at Worthy Farm, British Sign Language services are also available and have been for over a decade.
Since 2009, DeafZone has been working alongside Glastonbury’s own Accessibility team to support Deaf Festival-goers at the festival. DeafZone provides a team of 20 BSL interpreters that cover music performances on the Pyramid and Other stage. They also interpret theatre, poetry, Green Field events and music at other stages on request. One highlight was having interpreters on the Pyramid Stage for Adele’s performance in 2016.
Also, in 2019, a video of a BSL interpreter – Tara Asher – translating grime artist Stomzy’s headline set went viral.
DeafZone has also been working to encourage other areas of the festival to take on their own teams of interpreters and now the Left Field have a team of their own. In 2017, they taught the audience to sign ‘Ooh Jeremy Corbyn’ during his session there.
As well as interpreting duties, the DeafZone Tent Crew also offer Deafhood awareness information and British Sign Language (BSL) classes and performs BSL poetry throughout the festival.
The tent, which is located by the meeting point also acts as a ‘respite’ space for deaf festival-goers, where they can relax and communicate freely. And because it also attracts many hearing people who have already learnt some BSL, it is a vibrant and exciting place for people to make new friendships.
The relationship with DeafZone helped Glastonbury Festival become the first festival awarded the Gold Standard by disability organisation, Attitude Is Everything, in 2014.
Can deaf people enjoy live music?
There is a misconception that deaf people cannot enjoy music or watch or attend concerts and festivals. Some people are only partially deaf or deaf in one ear, so they can still hear some level of music.
Others with more profound or total hearing loss can hear very little to no sound, but at live events, such as Glastonbury Festival, they can still enjoy the visuals of the performance and feel the vibrations of the music.
Having BSL interpreters can give an additional description of the lyrics being sung and the instruments being played.
The Glastonbury Festival – Signed stream will be available on BBC iPlayer from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th June 2023.
