Glastonbury Festival announces first dedicated South Asian space

DJ Bobby Friction says the dedicated space is "a dream come true"

Glastonbury has announced it will have its first ever dedicated South Asian area at this summer's festival.

Named Arrivals, the space will host artists including DJ Ritu, Anish Kumar, Manara and Nabihah Iqbal.

It was designed by South Asian cultural organisations and will be part of the Shangri-La area of the festival site in Somerset from 26-30 June.

The announcement follows rising calls for greater representation of British Asian music and artists.

"This is a seminal moment for UK festival culture," says DJ and presenter Bobby Friction.

Bobby also runs Going South, an organisation which helped to bring the space to life alongside Dialled In and Daytimers.

"South Asian and British Asian music have had their own small festivals over the years and some Asian artists have performed in the big gatherings that are now a quintessential part of a British Summer," he says.

"But a full on Glastonbury space dedicated to South Asian music, beats and DJs for the entire festival?

"That's just crazy and a personal dream come true."

Arrivals will be part of the Shangri-La area of the festival, known for its celebration of art

South Asian artists are underrepresented in the festival line-up, which has headliners including Dua Lipa, SZA and Shania Twain.

However, the industry more widely is waking up to the global rise of South Asian music.

Last year, Coachella was praised for its line-up which included Mercury Prize nominee Joy Crookes as well as Diljit Dosanjh, Ali Sethi, Jai Paul and Jai Wolf.

And on Thursday, BBC Asian Network also launched the first ever Official British Asian Music Chart which focuses on making room for British Asian artists in a chart often crowded by Bollywood and, increasingly, Canadian acts.

• British Asian artists hope for chart show boost

• 'Proud to see South Asians on Coachella line-up'

• Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA to headline Glastonbury

The space at Glastonbury has been described as "an alien jungle planet".

Organisers say it will be a "redefined South Asian aesthetic" and that visitors to Arrivals will be "immersed by an audio-visual world coded in solar punk, carnivorous plants, cyborg beasts and space pirates".

Tickets for the festival, which cost £355 per person, sold out in under an hour when they first went on sale in November.

Resale tickets are available on Sunday however organisers have warned they're "very limited" and coach resale tickets sold out in 18 minutes when they went on sale on Thursday.

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