Glastonbury's 2020 Emerging Talent Competition Announced

The competition gives new artists from the UK and Ireland the chance to compete to play one of the main stages at this year’s festival. The winners of the free-to-enter competition will also be awarded a £5,000 Talent Development prize from PRS Foundation to help take their songwriting and performing to the next level. Two runners-up will also each be awarded a £2,500 PRS Foundation Talent Development prize.

Acts from any musical genre can enter the 2020 competition for one week only, from 9am Monday 27 January until 5pm Monday 3 February 2019 via glastonburyfestivals.co.uk.

The 2019 Emerging Talent Competition winner was the soulful singer-songwriter Marie White, who has since signed with Decca Records and Universal Music Publishing Group following a year of highlights which included her performances at Glastonbury, a 6 Music live session and supporting Keane at the Royal Albert Hall. Other recent Emerging Talent Competition finalists include BBC’s Sound of 2019 list featured, Nigerian-born rapper Flohio, and R&B singer Izzy Bizu (a 2016 BRITs Critics’ Choice nominee and winner of the 2016 BBC Music Introducing Award).

Once the entries are in, a panel of 30 of the UK’s best music writers will help compile a long list of 90 acts. The longlist will then be narrowed down to a shortlist of eight artists by judges including Glastonbury organisers Michael and Emily Eavis, before the live finals in Pilton in April decide the winning act. For the past five competitions, all eight of the finalists were offered slots at that year’s Festival - including Shunaji and iiola, both chosen by us.