Glastonbury Festival organisers have been given permission to host a special one-day event at Worthy Farm in September.

The annual music and arts event has been cancelled for two years in a row because of the coronavirus pandemic but Mendip Council has given the go-ahead for a scaled-down concert later this year.

The licence allows for up to 50,000 attendees but they will not be allowed to camp overnight.

The regular Glastonbury Festival usually takes place in June and attracts around 200,000 people.

Earlier this week, co-organiser Emily Eavis told NME the event would be a larger version of the Pilton Party, an annual fundraising concert for villagers, workers and local residents, and would be called Equinox.

However, she did not provide information on the intended capacity, line-up or ticketing.

Sam Phripp, chairman of licensing at the council, said of the decision: “With a view to Covid-19, of course, any event would have to be Covid-safe, and Mendip Council will work with other organisations and the organisers to make sure that’s the case.

“We hope that, Covid-depending, this event will be a success, and we look forward to welcoming music lovers back to our corner of Somerset this autumn.”

It comes after the festival was cancelled for a second consecutive year due to uncertainty around coronavirus restrictions.

Instead, the festival is this weekend hosting Live At Worthy Farm, a livestream event featuring acts including Coldplay, Damon Albarn, Haim, Idles, Jorja Smith, Kano, Michael Kiwanuka, Wolf Alice and DJ Honey Dijon.