Sir Lenny Henry has said he is “always surprised” by the apparent lack of diversity at British music festivals, including at Glastonbury.
The 63-year-old actor and comedian made the comments during an interview with BBC journalist and presenter Clive Myrie for the Radio Times.
Discussing diversity and places where different groups do not mix, Henry 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,” he continued, adding: “I think, ‘Wow, that’s still very much a dominant culture thing’.”
The Worthy Farm music festival returns this summer, following a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar are headlining the weekend, with Diana Ross in the legends slot and hundreds of other acts, including Sam Fender and Megan Thee Stallion, lined up across the festival’s many stages.
Over half of these acts are women, in a nod to co-organiser Emily Eavis’s pledge in 2015 to commit to an equal gender balance of performers.
However Eavis, in a recent interview, acknowledged that Stormzy’s headliner show in 2019 was “a little bit late maybe”.
In a new BBC Two documentary, celebrating 50 years of Glastonbury, Eavis said: “[Stormzy] was representing the black community in a very predominantly white festival and obviously that’s a really important moment for us, but it’s also a little bit late maybe. We should have probably done it before.”
The British grime artist and multiple-Grammy winner was the first black solo British headliner in the festival’s history.
Henry’s new documentary Carribbean Britain is scheduled for release on BBC Two on 22 June in the UK.
Additional reporting by Press Association
