Sir Lenny ‘surprised’ by lack of diversity in Glastonbury crowd

SIR LENNY Henry has said it is “interesting” to see the apparent lack of black people in the audience at Glastonbury Festival.

The actor and comedian, 63, inset, also said he was “surprised” by the lack of diverse faces at festivals in the UK generally.

He made the comments while in conversation with BBC journalist and presenter Clive Myrie for Radio Times. Discussing diversity and places where different groups do not mix, he said: “It’s interesting to watch Glastonbury and look at the audience and not see any black people there.

“I’m always surprised by the lack of black and brown faces at festivals. I think, ‘Wow, that’s still very much a dominant culture thing’.”

Glastonbury takes place next week at Worthy Farm in Somerset, finally celebrating its 50th anniversary after being delayed by the pandemic, with Sir Paul McCartney, Billie Eilish and rapper Kendrick Lamar confirmed as headliners. Sir Lenny, who is fronting a two-part documentary about Caribbean culture in the UK, also addressed Myrie recently becoming the first black host of longrunning BBC quiz show Mastermind.

He said: “It’s great to have David Olusoga on television talking about black British history that goes back to Hadrian’s Wall. Somewhere the gatekeepers have changed, because now we’re allowed to have you on Mastermind. But how long did that take? We still want more representation because we deserve it. We are British citizens, we are colonials.

“We’ve been in this country, we have grown up in this country, we’ve contributed and a lot of us feel it still isn’t being reciprocated enough. That’s also what this documentary is about. It’s about that feeling of ‘Well, come on, I fitted in. Now what? I’ve integrated, now what happens?’”

Glastonbury has been contacted for comment.

Sir Lenny’s comments came as mobile operator EE said it expects data usage at Glastonbury to double compared with the last time the festival was held, in 2019, as the network was confirmed as the event’s technology partner.

EE said it is installing seven temporary masts – alongside the

two permanent sites in the area – to boost coverage at Worthy Farm during the festival.

As a result of the continued rise of social media, messaging services and video live-streaming, as well as faster 5G connectivity, the mobile operator said it expects data usage during the event to exceed 200 terabytes – equivalent to viewing eight billion Instagram posts – and double the 100 terabytes used during the last Glastonbury Festival in 2019.