An Introduction to Glastonbury Festival

Glastonbury Festival is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. It is the largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world and is now attended by around 200,000 people.

The festival takes place in the small village of Pilton, home to the Worthy Farm of dairy farmer Michael Eavis, who established and still helps organise the event each year. Since the early 1970s, the festival has expanded from a small one-day event known as Pilton Pop Festival to become an enduring and established part of British culture and musical tradition. Worthy Farm remains the spiritual home of Glastonbury Festival, with the Pyramid Stage, the festival's main stage, located next to many of the farm's buildings. The farm spans around 900 acres.

While best known for modern rock and popular music, the festival has always embraced a wide variety of genres and pursuits beyond music too, including dance, circus, theatre, art, debate, and spiritualism. It attracted widespread national and international media attention as an ongoing example of youth culture. Today it is attended by music legends, celebrities, and enthusiastic members of the public and annually raised millions of pounds for good causes - continuing to be widely considered the pinnacle of the British summer events calendar.

The 1970s

The first recognised incarnation of Glastonbury Festival was a small one-day event held in September 1970, influenced by hippie ethics and the free festival movement in a time of cultural change after the 1960s. The event was established and organised by local dairy farmer Michael Eavis and his second wife Jean, after attending the Bath Festival of Blues, with an original headline appearance by Marc Bolan of T. Rex. Attended by 1,500 people, it was known as Pilton Pop Folk & Blues Festival.

However, the 1970 Pilton Pop Festival made losses, and throughout the 1970s the event struggled financially. It took on the name Glastonbury Fayre after moving to mid-summer. But by 1981, adequate funding and resources resulted in a growth in attendance and the festival slowly became established and financially secure during the 1980s and 1990s respectively.

Establishment in the 1980s and Growth

A new age travellers' field known as the Peace Convoy was also established by 1984 expanding the community. By 2002, media coverage expanded from four stages to six, increasing capacity. From 2010 onwards, the festival sold out in advance - before line ups are revealed or tickets are on sale - cementing itself as an enduring event. The festival site, centred around the spiritual home of Worthy Farm, covers around 900 acres whilst crowds now peak at over 200,000 attendees during the event each June.

Now established as the largest greenfield festival globally after decades of growth, Glastonbury Festival has cemented itself as an important cultural institution embodying social change. Its enduring legacy stems not only from providing a platform for artists, but through bringing together a kaleidoscope of changing generations and families annually on Worthy Farm.

Continuing a practice originated by founder Michael Eavis, the event has long supported a wide variety of ethical causes and charities since its earliest incarnations supporting WaterAid and Oxfam. Today, this culture of giving now raises over £2 million yearly for hundreds of organisations supporting social justice, wildlife conservation, refugee welfare and sustainability initiatives worldwide. Over £45 million has been raised for good causes by 2021 alone.

Beyond charitable fundraising, the festival strives to promote environmental, political and social consciousness amongst attendees of all ages and backgrounds. Its Left Field area provides a hub around activism and campaigns. Outreach to marginalised groups and ethical trading are supported through panels and immersive talks. Pioneering sustainability drives positive climate action beyond Worthy Farm too. Ultimately this marrying of conscience and community has created a legacy where one of the world's largest gatherings of people can revel together in calling for positive global change.

In this way, Glastonbury Festival stands apart simply as an event, but as an evolving community pushing progressive social transformation decade after decade. With families and friends returning annually through the generations to this greenfield site, the spirit of togetherness and legacy created ensures both unity and a brighter tomorrow remain at the event’s core.

Glastonbury Festival hosts over 3,000 performances and dozens of stages showcasing music, theatre, cabaret, and circus.

Main Stages

The largest stage is the Pyramid main stage, where headliners perform for crowds up to 100,000. Nearby is the Other stage hosting prominent acts. The West Holts stage caters for world music whilst Worthy Farm, Left Field, Avalon and Acoustic also draw big crowds, and more intimate venues like the Rabbit Hole suit developing artists. Dance music has a dedicated area called Silver Hayes.

Recent Pyramid Stage headliners were Elton John, Guns N Roses, Lizzo and Arctic Monkeys. 2022 saw Pet Shop Boys on the Other Stage and acts like Foals, Olivia Rodrigo and Noel Gallagher appearing amongst the extensive lineup.

Performance Areas

Areas like Shangri-La and Arcadia boast immersive environments and theatre until sunrise. The Greenfields area brings together hundreds of educational, campaigning and activist groups in sustainability and social justice realms too through talks and workshops.

The event reveals its full lineup months after its release sells out each November, some eight months before gates open each June. While 2024’s Pyramid Stage headlines remain unconfirmed, rumours suggest Dua Lipa, Madonna and Coldplay could appear.

While tickets typically sell out ahead of the annual lineup reveal, eager fans maximise chances enjoying Worthy Farm each June by securing admission early. Registration and deposits commence the preceding autumn.

Purchasing Tickets

Glastonbury Festival 2024 returns from June 26-30, with standard tickets costing £340. A deposit per person is made upon sale, with the balance settling in early April. Joint ticket + coach packages combining transport, are also available. Those more flexible can try resale for returned tickets, or otherwise donations support refunded tickets for those struggling financially.

Local Accommodation

Aside from camping on site, more comfort can come from boutique pop-up hotel and B&B options now across the site and locally, although limited in availability. Many roads close over the event itself so traffic is highly restricted. Travel by free public coach instead transports most attendees directly onto site, minimising local impact.

Infrastructure and Amenities

Facilities include charging ports, cash points, an on-site post office and even mobile phone charging tents. More than 3,300 toilets, 1,200 long drop and urinals are delivered and humorously named after music acts. Water points and weekly waste pumping maintains hygiene. Between 900-1,000 tonnes of waste is impressively recycled yearly.

Services and Support

The festival site also hosts its own hospitals, a veterinary clinic, sanctuary for lost children and even an operational dairy by the farm’s cows. Teams handle lost property, disabled accessibility needs and safety for vulnerable guests via the welfare tent. Ultimately conscientious amenities make the temporary site liveable.

Charities, Sustainability and Legacy

As a charity fundraising event, Glastonbury has raised over £45 million supporting causes like Greenpeace, Oxfam and WaterAid. Funds stem from ticket sales or on-site purchases whilst volunteering supports infrastructure. Attendees can donate to charities on-site too.

Fundraising and Campaign Partners

Its Green Fields hub has since the 1980s, hosted educational groups plus eco-friendly charities championing social justice. Workshops, panels and immersive talks continue positive impact worldwide beyond the June event. Pilton-based charities also receive funds for local causes in the festival's legacy.

Environmental and Ethical Drives

Sustainability spans banning single-use plastic to renewable energy across the sprawling, temporary site. Power is thanks to local charity Frome Renewable Energy Cooperative's biofuel. Carbon offsetting and reducing capacity lessen environmental impact. The Common supports economic growth for ethical Somerset traders. Ultimately such seminal development makes Glastonbury an evolving global leader on event sustainability.

By embracing ethics and community, the fundraising and drives towards conscience seen for over half a century at Worthy Farm will ensure Glastonbury Festival's legacy as both an evolving musical institution and force for wider good continues indefinitely.

Meteorologically, Glastonbury Festival endures variable British summer weather. While June highs average 18-21°C and lows 10-13°C, conditions still range from hot sun to heavy rain - attendees should prepare for mud.

Essential Kit

Sturdy, warm, waterproof clothing is essential with layers and hats or umbrellas. Walking boots suit muddy terrain better than flimsy footwear. Camping requires basics like roll mats, warm sleeping bags, cooking hobs, food and utensils—often carried in trolleys from car parks. While phone charging points feature on site, external battery packs assist. Ear plugs, eye masks, biodegradable toiletries and recycling help live more sustainably.

Prohibited Items

Some prohibited items are obvious like explosives or weapons. Gas canisters over 3kg or unsealed disposable barbecues are banned for fire risk after incidents, although small camping stoves are permitted. Certain food and drink items that risk litter like single-use bottles or tetra packs are restricted but most cuisine is allowed. Ultimately an ethos of community safety and responsible hedonism predominates.

The experience of attending Glastonbury spans sight, sound and personal voyage—a wave of adventure and community uniting many individual stories and perspectives. While advance preparation is key and the practicalities important, experiencing this green field site often transfixes first-timers and veterans alike once one fully arrives on Worthy Farm for those five intense summer days.

Arrival and Early Days

The sheer effort of hauling tent, supplies and rucksacks from often-distant car parks and coach drop offs sees the opening Wednesday and Thursday host a quieter build of anticipation. The dedicated cross the site seeking that perfect camp spot to call home amid the emerging communities, hook ups and amenities amongst the festivals fields, hedgerows, valleys and landmarks. New arrivals acclimatise, eager regulars reunite nearby and entertainment starts with lower key acts appeasing those first early hours afoot in wellies.

Essence and Ethos

Soon enough, a scattering of schedules and lanyards help navigate all the exciting artists and areas to explore—spontaneity ruled over firm agenda. Signposts point from mind expanding Green Fields talks, flea market finds and charity stalls towards dancefloor catharsis between stages or premium cider stops up the hill. An atmosphere of communality and conscious hedonism lets inhibitions dissolve—strangers striking conversation over food stalls and accidental friends sheltering crowds in the maelstrom of a sudden downpour. A microcosm of wider realities, miniature applications for face paint stand aside charging kiosks for phones urging essential action.

The Main Event

As that fabled Friday dawns, queues snake endlessly for showers not seen for days during the beautiful chaos that follows everywhere from Arcadia’s fiery performers to Pyramid fields ringing out with iconic headliners until the early hours. Impromptu costume themes and mementos dot the landscape by Saturday lunchtime when acts often spin surprise collaborations and duets amid the sonic spectacle. By the teary final hours, crowds wander joint in arms back to temporary homes, bittersweet in departure yet photo finish moments bursting in value after a half decade waited and just ahead for the next.

Attending Glastonbury is not a passive experience but an adventurous privilege, its money can’t buy moments stemming from the connections and personal epiphanies earned amid the mud, revelry and unity of Worthy Farm. A true immersion in the extremes of British life, spirit and soundscape, the ripple effects of memories forged here spread outwards across the global community it welcomes home each June.

Spanning over fifty years now, Glastonbury Festival holds major cultural and historical significance as the largest greenfield music festival globally. Musically it has provided a platform for legends and launchpad for new artists, from David Bowie to Billie Eilish.

Pillars of Culture

Socially it brought generations together as an example of counterculture. Even beyond music it has been political in promoting issues or hosting civil rights activists. Its appearance in films, books and photography has documented British fashion, subculture and society kinetically while performances are etched in cultural memory.

An Evolving Establishment

Alongside landmarks like Woodstock or Notting Hill Carnival, Glastonbury Festival will remain an era-defining celebration of arts and community for decades. While the BBC broadcast 35 hours coverage in 2022, the records demand year upon year plus archived filmed headline sets evidence insatiable global appetite. With the Eavis family obtaining an entertainment licence until 2037 at least, this beacon embedded deep in the Somerset soul is only set to evolve.

From musical legends to marginalised voices, Glastonbury’s stages have long amplified messages of conscience and hope to the wider world. Long may Worthy Farm ring out in harmony.