Is Glastonbury's status and reputation at risk due to BBC's The Biggest Weekend?

Glastonbury taking a year off in 2018 is sad news for many... but perhaps not for the BBC.

Every few years the globally renowned and high anticipated festival takes a 'fallow year' in order to allow the field to recuperate. Quickly after the news that the festival won't be going ahead next year, the BBC have announced their 'The Biggest Weekend' festival... is this an attempt at reducing, or even replacing, Glastonbury's status and its world wide reputation?

While BBC already run their Big Weekend festival hosting the biggest artists in pop music, it appears they saw an opportunity and took it. What's a better way to fill that Glasto-shaped void than by creating a bigger version of their own existing festival... not to mention making it bigger than Glastonbury alone, claiming more than 175,000 tickets will be available.

Essentially, it could just be a fancier, more elaborate version of their existing pop party Big Weekend. But perhaps, if they're pulling inspiration from Glastonbury, who knows if a simple stumble into a tent could introduce you to your new favourite indie band or lead you to a mesmerising cabaret.

If it turns out to be bigger and better, what would that mean for future of Glastonbury? It could make or break them. It may increase expectations and spark comments, "their line-up isn't as good as BBC's last year", "they didn't have this, that BBC had last year". An unsuccessful year for the BBC poses less threat - they can simply slip back into their annual Big Weekend festival and continue to host music on their various stages incorporated into other festivals across the country.

The festival being announced as a festival to fill the void in Glastonbury's absense wasn't the best move; should that phrase have been left out of the stories, there probably wouldn't be any discussion about what it could mean on the impact of Glastonbury in years to come. It feels competitive, as if they're trying to pose a threat - and with festivals aiming to bring people together due to a love of music, it doesn't quite sit well.

Who knows, maybe there's some kind of collaboration between the two or alliance to avoid a future negative impact on Glastonbury.