What? No Glasto!
A fallow year
by Claire Law
Suitable for Whole School (Sec)
Aims
To consider the reasons behind there being no Glastonbury Festival in June 2026 and the Biblical concept of a fallow year.
Preparation and materials
- You will need the PowerPoint slides accompanying this assembly (What? No Glasto!) and the means to display them.
Assembly
- Show Slide 1.
Welcome the students to the assembly. - Point out that there are some big events taking place in 2026. Ask the students if they can name any of them.
Listen to a range of responses. - Show Slide 2.
The 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics took place in Milan-Cortina, Italy in February and March. - Show Slide 3.
The biggest ever men’s football World Cup takes place in North America in June and July this year. - Show Slide 4.
In August, the first total solar eclipse in Europe in over 20 years is anticipated to take place. - Show Slide 5.
The new Tom Holland Spider-Man film, titled Spider-Man: Brand New Day, is scheduled to be released in UK cinemas on 31st July, 2026. Many of the scenes were shot in Glasgow and other UK locations. - Show Slide 6.
However, there is an obvious omission from the list of events. This year, there will be no Glastonbury Festival as the iconic Somerset Music Festival is taking a break. The festival will return in 2027. - Ask the question: Why do you think this festival isn’t happening this year?
Point out that Glastonbury is a hugely popular music festival, with approximately 210,000 people attending each year, making it one of the largest greenfield music and performing arts festivals in the world. It usually takes place in June. This June, Glastonbury fans will have to be content with watching past performances on BBC iPlayer. - The reason that there is no 2026 Glastonbury is because the the festival takes a fallow year - a planned respite where the event does not take place This allows the farmland to recover and the natural environment to regenerate. Every 5 years, the music festival takes a break to avoid causing irreparable damage to the working pastures of Worthy Farm. Co-organizer Emily Eavis says: ‘The fallow year is important because it gives the land a rest, it gives the cows a chance to be out for longer and reclaim their land.’
People who are involved in the planning and setting up of the event get a year off, and the local community in the village of Pilton, where the festival is held, can enjoy a quieter summer in 2026, ready to welcome festival goers from around the world in June 2027. - The concept of a fallow year, or a year of rest for the land, is not new. A fallow year has been part of agricultural practices for many centuries. Land is left unplanted to improve soil quality and allow it to replenish its nutrients for cattle grazing.
- The Bible includes the concept of a fallow year.
Show Slide 7.
In the Hebrew Testament, sometimes known as the Old Testament, we read the following: ‘For six years you may sow your fields... But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land—a Sabbath to the Lord. You are not to sow your field or prune your vineyard.’ Leviticus 25:3-4.
The Biblical teaching on the fallow year, known in Hebrew as Shmita or the ‘Sabbath year’ means that agricultural land can rest and replenish, so the land remains productive in subsequent years.
Time for reflection
For music lovers, it might be frustrating that there is no Glasto in 2026. However, let’s consider a farmer’s field as an analogy for our own lives.
Let’s consider the following questions:
What do we do to rest and restore, so that we can continue to be productive?
Are we people who factor in regular breaks when we are studying – not to avoid work, but to take care of ourselves, so our energy levels and productivity are sustainable?
Or are we people who refuse to take a break, believing that if we stop, we are being lazy?
Are we people who tell ourselves that to rest is a sign of weakness? Or that we are only okay if we are constantly on the go?
As with most things in life, there is a balance to be had being productive and resting. Both are important.
If we to take a break or a rest, we might find it helpful to schedule in a 10-mins break after 50 mins of activity. Or a 5 mins break after 25 minutes of focus.
Let’s pause for a moment and to consider what the idea of a fallow year might mean to each of us in our lives.
How can you get the balance between productivity, and resting?
Pause to allow time for reflection.
Prayer
Dear Lord,
With exams on the horizon for many students in our school, it can feel like there is no time to rest, relax or find restoration.
Sometimes we can find ourselves on a non-stop treadmill of doing, working, trying to focus.
The Biblical idea of a fallow year, and the lack of a Glasto this year, is a reminder that rest, when balanced with productivity, can help us to sustain ourselves, and ensure we remain physically and mentally healthy whilst working towards our goals.
We pray that today, this week, and this month we can find ways to get the balance between rest and productivity.
Amen.
Music
‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’. An example can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4BVqj_V4gM
‘Be Still’. This can be found at: https://www.themark10mission.co.uk/worship-songs/v/be-still-for-the-presence-of-the-lord
