Glastonbury Festival
Location(s)	Pilton, England
Years active	Every year, except every 5th year
Founded by	Michael Eavis
Date(s)	last weekend of June (3 days)
Genre(s)	Rock, Alternative rock, Indie rock, Dance, World music, Punk Rock, Electronic music, Reggae, Folk music. Pilton is a village in Somerset, England, situated on the A361 road in the Mendip district 3 miles (5 km south west of Shepton England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Athelstan Joseph Michael Eavis, CBE (born October 17 1935) is an English dairy Farmer and the founder of the Glastonbury Festival Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. Alternative rock (also called alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative; known primarily in the UK as indie) is a genre of Indie rock is genre of Alternative rock that primarily exists in the independent Underground music scene This article is about music for dancing in general You may also be looking for Electronic dance music. The term world music includes Traditional music (sometimes called Folk music or roots music of any culture that are created and played by indigenous musicians Electronic music is music that employs Electronic musical instruments and Electronic Music technology in its production Reggae is a Music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s Folk music can have a number of different meanings including Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous
Website	www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or Glasto, is the largest^[1] greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world. A festival is an event usually and ordinarily staged by a local community which centers on some unique aspect of that community The festival is best known for its contemporary music, but also features dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and many other arts. Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring Comedy, Song, Dance, and Theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue &mdash a Restaurant For 2005, the enclosed area of the festival was over 900 acres (3. 6 km²), had over 385 live performances^[2] and was attended by around 150,000 people. In 2007, over 700 acts played on over 80 stages^[3] and the capacity expanded by 20,000 to 177,000. ^[4]

Glastonbury was heavily influenced by hippie ethics and the free festival movement in the 1970s, especially the Isle of Wight Festival. The Hippie Subculture was originally a Youth movement that began in the United States during the early 1960s and spread around the world The Isle of Wight Festival is a Music festival which takes place annually on the Isle of Wight, England. Organiser Michael Eavis stated that he decided to host the first festival, then called Pilton Festival, after seeing an open air Led Zeppelin concert at the nearby Bath and West Showground in 1970. Athelstan Joseph Michael Eavis, CBE (born October 17 1935) is an English dairy Farmer and the founder of the Glastonbury Festival Led Zeppelin were The Royal Bath and West of England Society is a Charitable society founded in 1777 to promote and improve agriculture and related activities around the West ^[5] The festival retains vestiges of this tradition, including the Green Futures/Healing Fields area.

Location

Map showing the location of the Glastonbury Festival within Somerset. Somerset ( or) is a county in south west England The County town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county

The festival takes place in South West England at Worthy Farm between the small village of Pilton and Pylle, six miles east of the town of Glastonbury, overlooked by the Glastonbury Tor in the mystical "Vale of Avalon". South West England is one of the Regions of England. It is the largest such region in terms of area and extends from Gloucestershire and Wiltshire to Pilton is a village in Somerset, England, situated on the A361 road in the Mendip district 3 miles (5 km south west of Shepton A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a Dry point on the Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. Glastonbury Tor is a Hill at Glastonbury, Somerset, England, which features the roofless St Avalon (probably from the Celtic word abal: apple see Etymology below is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend, famous for its beautiful The area has a number of mythological and spiritual traditions and is a 'New Age' site of interest: several ley lines are considered to converge on the Tor. Ley lines are hypothetical alignments of a number of places of geographical interest such as ancient Monuments and Megaliths Their existence was suggested ^[6] The nearest town to the festival site is Shepton Mallet, three miles (5 km) north east, but there continues to be interaction between the people espousing alternative lifestyles living in Glastonbury and the festival itself. Shepton Mallet is a small rural Town in Somerset, England. It is situated five miles (8 km to the east of Wells, and lies just The farm is situated between the A361 and A37 roads. The A361 is a major Road in England and at 195 miles is the longest 3 digit A road in the UK The A37 is a major Road in southern England. It runs north from the A35 at Dorchester in Dorset into Somerset through

Worthy Farm, a dairy farm for most of the year, is shown here in 1983 as the first festival-goers' tents are pitched. When the music started the tents stretched half-way to the pyramid stage.

Worthy Farm is situated (map) in a valley at the head of the Whitelake River, between two low limestone ridges, part of the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. Limestone is a Sedimentary rock composed largely of the Mineral Calcite ( Calcium carbonate: CaCO3 The Mendip Hills (commonly called The Mendips) are a range of Limestone hills situated to the south of Bristol and Bath in Somerset On the site is a confluence of the two small streams that make the Whitelake River. Confluence, in Geography, describes the meeting of two or more Bodies of water. In the past the site has experienced problems with flooding, though after the floods that occurred during the 1997 and 1998 festival, drainage was improved (see Timeline below). A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land a deluge This did not prevent flooding during the 2005 festival, but allowed the flood water to dissipate within hours. The Highbridge branch of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway ran through the farm on an embankment, but was dismantled in 1966 and now forms a main thoroughfare across the site. Highbridge is a Somerset Market town situated on very edge of the Somerset Levels near the mouth of the River Brue. The Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway – almost always referred to as "the S&D" – was an English railway line connecting Bath in north east Somerset and Another prominent feature is the high-voltage electricity line which crosses the site east-west.

Pennard's Hill, 2004

In recent years the site has been organised around a restricted backstage compound, with the pyramid stage on the north, and other stage on the south of the compound. Attractions on the east of the site include the acoustic tent, comedy tent and circus. To the south are the green fields, which include displays of traditional and environmentally friendly crafts. In King's Meadow, the hill at the far south of the site, is a small megalith circle which, like Stonehenge, is coordinated with the summer solstice, and since 1990 represents a Stone circle. Stonehenge is a Prehistoric Monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury Solstices occur twice a year when the tilt of the Earth's axis is most oriented toward or away from the Sun, causing the Sun to reach its northernmost and southernmost extremes A stone circle is an ancient monument Such a monument is not always precisely circular and often forms an ellipse or a setting of four stones laid on an arc of a circle ^[7]

The restricted-access backstage compound is populated almost entirely by bands and their support crews. Ironically, the backstage bar, Lulu's, is the cheapest bar at the festival, and hosts many charity functions and auctions.

Organisation

The view from the stone circle on Thursday afternoon, 2004

Since 1981, the festival has been organised by local farmer and site owner Michael Eavis CBE (through his company Glastonbury Festivals Ltd). Athelstan Joseph Michael Eavis, CBE (born October 17 1935) is an English dairy Farmer and the founder of the Glastonbury Festival Michael ran the festival with his wife Jean until her death in 1999, and is now assisted by his daughter Emily Eavis. Emily Eavis (born 1979 is the youngest daughter of Glastonbury Festival organiser Michael Eavis, and his second wife Jean. Since 2002, Festival Republic (then Mean Fiddler Music Group) has taken on the job of managing the logistics and security of the festival through a 40% stake in the festival management company. Festival Republic (formerly the Mean Fiddler Music Group) is a UK Music promoter. Logistics is the management of the flow of Goods, Information and other resources including Energy and people between the point of origin and the point Each year a company, joint owned by Glastonbury Festivals Ltd and Mean Fiddler Plc, is created to run the festival, with profits going to the parent companies. Glastonbury Festivals Ltd donates most of their profits to charities. The Mean Fiddler contract is a rolling one reviewed every five years.

Several stages and areas are managed independently, such as The Left Field which is managed by a cooperative owned by Battersea and Wandsworth TUC,^[8] Radio Avalon and a field run by Greenpeace. The Left Field is a travelling stage and bar which forms part of a number of British Festivals The event is organised by Geoff Martin Battersea and Wandsworth TUC is a Trades Union Council (also known as a Trades Council) covering the London Borough of Wandsworth in South West London The beginning The idea of launching a radio station at the Glastonbury Festival was coined at the festival in 1982 by Lawrie Hallett and Norman McLeod Greenpeace, originally known as the Greenpeace Foundation, was founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1972 ^[9]

With the exception of technical and security staff, the festival is mainly run by volunteers. Some 1400 stewards are organised by the aid charity Oxfam. Oxfam International is a confederation of 13 organizations working with over 3000 partners in more than 100 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice In return for their work at the festival Oxfam receive a donation, which in 2005 was £200,000. Oxfam International is a confederation of 13 organizations working with over 3000 partners in more than 100 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice ^[10] The bars are organised by the Workers Beer Company, sponsored by Carlsberg (previously Budweiser), who recruit teams of volunteer staff from small charities and campaign groups. A bar (also called a Pub or Tavern) is a business that serves drinks especially Alcoholic beverages such as beer liquor and mixed drinks for consumption The Workers Beer Company (WBC is a British - Irish organisation which runs temporary bars at events and festivals in Europe. The Carlsberg Group (ˈkɑrlzbɚɡ is a large Brewing company founded in 1847 by J Budweiser is an American-style lager and is one of the most popular beers in the United States. In return for their help, typically around 18 hours over the festival, volunteers are paid in free entry, transport and food, while their charities are given donations by the organisers.

Catering, and some retail services, are provided by various small companies, typically mobile catering vans. The camping retail chain Millets, and many independent shops, set up makeshift outlets at the festival. Additionally many charities and organisations run promotional or educational stalls, such as the Hare Krishna vegetarian food stand. The Hare Krishna Mantra, also referred to reverentially as the Maha Mantra ("Great Mantra" is a sixteen-word Vaishnava mantra made well Vegetarianism is the practice of a diet that excludes Meat (including game and slaughter by-products Fish (including Shellfish and other sea Network Recycling manage refuse on the site, and in 2004 recycled 300 tonnes and composted 110 tonnes of waste from the site. This article is about the tonne or metric ton For other tons see Ton. Compost (ˈkɒmpɒst or US /ˈkɒmpoʊst/ also known as brown manure is the aerobically decomposed remnants of Organic matter. This article is about the tonne or metric ton For other tons see Ton. ^[11]

Glastonbury over time

A series of concerts were established in the town of Glastonbury between 1914 and 1926 by classical composer Rutland Boughton (1878-1960), and with their location attracted a bohemian audience by the standards of the time. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> Rutland Boughton ( Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire January 23 They featured works by then-contemporary composers, sponsored by the Clark family, as well as a wide range of traditional works, from Everyman to James Shirley's Cupid and Death. Everyman (German Jedermann) is a late 15th century English Morality play, There is a similar Cupid and Death is a mid-seventeenth-century Masque, written by the Caroline era dramatist James Shirley, and performed on March 26 1653 ^[12]

The next section is largely based on A Brief History of the Glastonbury Festival. ^[13]

An example of the many sculptures and other artwork displayed across the site

1970s

The first festival at Worthy Farm was the Pilton Festival, mounted by Michael Eavis in 1970, and attended by 1,500 people. Athelstan Joseph Michael Eavis, CBE (born October 17 1935) is an English dairy Farmer and the founder of the Glastonbury Festival The first act to perform was the group Stackridge; the headline act was T.Rex. Stackridge are a British folk, pop and Progressive rock group who were at the height of their success during the early 1970s TRex (occasionally spelled T Rex or T-Rex) were an English rock band fronted by guitarist singer and songwriter Marc Bolan.

The larger free festival at the summer solstice in June the next year was the first to attract nationwide interest, and the event became an important precursor of the later Glastonbury Festivals. Solstices occur twice a year when the tilt of the Earth's axis is most oriented toward or away from the Sun, causing the Sun to reach its northernmost and southernmost extremes The Glastonbury Fayre of 1971 was organised by Andrew Kerr with help from Arabella Churchill. Andrew Kerr, born 29 November 1933 is one of the core group of early founders of the Glastonbury Festival, originally known as Glastonbury Fair in 1971 along with Arabella Spencer-Churchill ( 30 October 1949 &ndash 20 December 2007) was an English charity founder festival co-founder and fundraiser The 1971 festival featured the first incarnation of the "Pyramid Stage" conceived by Bill Harkin, built from scaffolding and metal sheeting. Performers included David Bowie, Traffic, Fairport Convention, Quintessence, and Melanie. David Bowie (ˈboʊiː born David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947 is an English Musician, actor producer, and arranger. Traffic were an English rock band formed in 1967 by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason. Melanie Anne Safka-Schekeryk (born 3 February 1947 in Astoria, New York City) is an American singer-songwriter It was paid for by its supporters and advocates of its ideal, and embraced a mediaeval tradition of music, dance, poetry, theatre, lights and spontaneous entertainment. The 1971 festival was filmed by Nicolas Roeg and David Puttnam and was released as a film called simply Glastonbury Fayre. Nicolas Jack Roeg, BSC (born August 15, 1928 in London) is an English Cinematographer and Film director. David Terence Puttnam Baron Puttnam, CBE, FRSA, (born 25 February 1941 is a film producer and politician Glastonbury Fayre is a 1972 Documentary film directed by Peter Neal of the 1971 Glastonbury Festival which was held on 20 June

There was a small unplanned event in 1978, when the convoy of vehicles from the Stonehenge festival was directed by police to Worthy Farm; the festival was then revived the following year (1979) by Churchill, Kerr and Eavis, in an event for the Year of the Child, which lost money.

1980s

The 1980s saw the festival become (barring periodic fallow years) an annual fixture.

In 1981 Michael Eavis took control of the festival for the first time, and it was organised in conjunction with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). Athelstan Joseph Michael Eavis, CBE (born October 17 1935) is an English dairy Farmer and the founder of the Glastonbury Festival That year a new Pyramid Stage was constructed from telegraph poles and metal sheeting (appropriately, repurposed from materials of the Ministry of Defence), a permanent structure which doubled as a hay-barn and cow-shed during the winter. The Ministry of Defence ( MoD) is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters

In the 1980s the children's area of the festival (which had been organised by Arabella Churchill and others) became the starting point for a new children's charity called Children's World. Children's World is a charity based in the UK It is known internationally (as Children's World International) 1981 was the first year that the festival made profits, and Eavis donated £20,000 of them to CND. In the following years donations were made to a number of organisations, and since the end of the Cold War the main beneficiaries have been Oxfam, Greenpeace and WaterAid, who all contribute towards the festival by providing features and volunteers, who work at the festival in exchange for free entry. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the Oxfam International is a confederation of 13 organizations working with over 3000 partners in more than 100 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice Greenpeace, originally known as the Greenpeace Foundation, was founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1972 WaterAid is an international Non-profit organisation dedicated to helping people escape the Poverty and Disease

Since 1983 large festivals have required licences from local authorities. This led to certain restrictions being placed on the festival, including a crowd limit and specified times during which the stages could operate. The crowd limit was initially set at 30,000 but has grown every year to over 100,000. In 1985 the festival grew too large for Worthy Farm, but neighbouring Cockmill Farm was purchased.

1985 was a wet festival with lots of rain. Worthy Farm is a dairy farm and what washed down into the low areas was a mixture of mud and liquefied cow dung. This didn't prevent the festival-goers from wallowing in the knee-deep slurry in front of the pyramid stage.

1990s

1990 saw the biggest festival yet; however, violence at the end of the festival between the security guards and new age travellers - the so-called Battle of Yeoman's Bridge - led to the organisers taking 1991 off to rethink the festival. An expanded festival returned in 1992, and this proved to be a great success. For more information on the next festival see Glastonbury Festival 2008. 1992 was the first year that the new age travellers were not initially allowed onto the site free, and a sturdier fence was designed. This success was carried through to 1993 which, like 1992's festival, was another hot, dry year. For more information on the next festival see Glastonbury Festival 2008.

In 1994 the Pyramid Stage burned down just weeks before the festival; a temporary main stage was erected in time for the festival. The 1994 festival also introduced a 150 kW wind turbine which provided some of the festival power. The watt (symbol W) is the SI derived unit of power, equal to one Joule of energy per Second. A wind turbine is a rotating machine which converts the Kinetic energy in Wind into Mechanical energy. This festival also included the setting of a new world record on 26 June when 826 people, juggling at least three objects each, kept 2,478 objects in the air. A world record is the best performance in a certain discipline usually a Sports event Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sassanid Empire. This was also the year the festival was first televised by Channel 4; concentrating on the main two music stages, it provided a glimpse of the festival for many who knew little of it. Channel 4 is a public-service Television and Radio broadcaster in the United Kingdom centred around a television channel of the same name which began Channel 4 also televised the following year as well, which proved to be very successful. 1994 was also the year that the British band The Levellers set the record for the highest ever stagefront crowd, which still stands to this day. The Levellers are a popular English rock band influenced by punk and traditional English music.

The giant LOVE sign inspired by The Beatles. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the British rock band The Beatles.

The following year saw the attendance rise drastically due to the security fence being breached on the Friday of the festival. Estimates suggest there may have been enough fence-jumpers to double the size of the festival. This aside, 1995 proved to be a highly successful year with memorable performances from Oasis, PJ Harvey, Jeff Buckley and The Cure. Oasis are an English rock band that formed in Manchester in 1991 Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English Musician and Songwriter. Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17 1966 – May 29 1997 raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American Singer-songwriter and Guitarist He was the son The Cure are an English rock band that formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976 This was also the first year of the festival having a dance tent to cater for the rise in popularity of dance music, following the success of Orbital's headline appearance the previous year. This article is about music for dancing in general You may also be looking for Electronic dance music. Orbital were an English electronic duo consisting of brothers Phil Hartnoll and Paul Hartnoll whose career lasted from 1989 until 2004

The dance acts of 1995 were led by Massive Attack on the Friday and Carl Cox on the Saturday. Massive Attack are an English Trip hop group founded in 1988 by Robert Del Naja, Grantley Marshall, and Andrew Vowles in Bristol Carl Cox (born July 29, 1962 in Oldham, Lancashire, England) is an international techno and house

The festival took a year off in 1996 to allow the land to recover and give the organisers a break. This would be a pattern which would be followed every five years from now on. 1996 also saw the release of Glastonbury the Movie which was filmed at the 1993 and 1994 festivals. Glastonbury the Movie is a 1996 Documentary film about the Glastonbury Festival produced and directed by William Beaton, Robin Mahoney In that year, local artist Paul Branson established his Glastonbury Arts Festivals to provide a platform for classical works and put on a highly successful production of Rutland Boughton's opera "The Immortal Hour" at Strode Theatre as well as an art exhibition and a "son et lumière" at Glastonbury Abbey. These festivals, however, were short-lived.

The festival returned in 1997 bigger than ever. This time there was major sponsorship from The Guardian and the BBC, who had taken over televising the event from Channel 4. The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. This was also the year of the mud,^[14] with the site suffering severe rainfalls which turned the entire site into a muddy bog. This caused many festival goers to leave early on the Friday, or not even bother to attend after radio and television reports gave details of just how muddy the site was. However those who stayed for the festival were treated to many memorable performances, including Radiohead's headlining Pyramid set on the Saturday which is said to be one of the greatest ever Glastonbury performances. Radiohead

Circus area, 2004

In 1998 the festival was once again struck with severe floods and storms, again some festival goers departed early but those who stayed were treated to performances from acts such as Pulp, Robbie Williams and Blur. Pulp were an English Alternative rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978 by Jarvis Cocker ( vocals Guitar) Robert Peter Maximilian Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer Blur are an English Alternative rock band that formed in London in 1989 1998 was also the first year that attendance officially broke the 100,000 mark.

1999 was a hot dry year, much to the relief of organisers and festival goers. Memorable performances from R.E.M. (see here), Fun Loving Criminals, Pavement and Al Green were among the highlights. REM is an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by Michael Stipe ( lead vocals) Peter Buck ( Guitar The Fun Lovin' Criminals (often referred to by their initials FLC) are an American Alternative rap / Alternative rock group from New York City Pavement was an American Indie rock band in the 1990s Although they experienced only moderate commercial success they achieved a significant cult Albert Greene (born April 13 1946 better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and Soul music singer who received great acclaim in Again, the festival was overcrowded due to fence-jumpers, this however would not be a major problem till the following year when the festival suffered from massive numbers of fence-jumpers. This surge increased the attendance to an estimated 250,000 people. The 1999 festival is also remembered for the Manic Street Preachers requesting and being given their own backstage toilets, however it was revealed by the band that this was a joke; the 'reserved' sign on the toilet was not at the authorisation of the management. Manic Street Preachers (often known colloquially as the " Manics " or " MSP " are a Welsh rock band consisting of James

2000s

2000

2000 saw a new Pyramid Stage introduced as well as several new features such as The Glade and The Leftfield. The Glade is an electronic dance music Festival which originally started out as a stage at Glastonbury Festival. The Left Field is a travelling stage and bar which forms part of a number of British Festivals The event is organised by Geoff Martin The festival was headlined by David Bowie playing 30 years after his first appearance. David Bowie (ˈboʊiː born David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947 is an English Musician, actor producer, and arranger. The Pyramid Stage also hosted an unusual event on the Saturday, with the wedding of Chelfyn & Helen Baxter conducted by actor Keith Allen (whose daughter Lily would perform at the 2007 festival). Keith Philip George Allen (born 2 June 1953) is a British Comedian, Actor, singer and writer Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English Singer-songwriter and television presenter. This year also saw an estimated 250,000 people attend the festival (only 100,000 tickets were sold) due to gatecrashers. This led to public safety concerns and the local District Council refused any further licences unless and until the problem could be solved.

2001

The organisers took 2001 off to devise anti-gatecrashing measures and secure the future of the festival. It was at this point that the Mean Fiddler Organisation was invited to help.

2002

In 2002 the festival returned after a hiatus, with the controversial Mean Fiddler now handling the logistics and security — especially installing a substantial surrounding fence (dubbed the 'superfence') that reduced numbers to the levels of a decade earlier. The lower attendance led to a much more relaxed atmosphere and massively reduced crime levels compared to previous years. There were some incidents outside the fence involving frustrated individuals who arrived at the festival assuming they would be able to jump the fence, but despite this the event was hailed as a great success by the media companies that had taken an interest in the festival. 2002 also saw Coldplay headline the Pyramid Stage for the first time. Coldplay TalkColdplay#Is_or_Are_dispute_again The show was closed by a set from Rod Stewart on the Sunday night. Roderick "Rod" David Stewart, CBE (born 10 January 1945 is a Singer and Songwriter born and raised in London England and currently 2002 also saw the introduction of the inflatable cinema screen.

Glastonbury Festival's "Other Stage"

2003

By 2003 most people had accepted the idea that it was no longer possible to crash the festival and hence it is recognised as one of the most successful years to date. The number of tickets available to the public was increased slightly over 2002, partially in response to criticism that the 2002 festival was underpopulated and lacked atmosphere. The tickets sold out within one day of going on sale, in marked contrast to the two months it took to sell a similar number in 2002. It was also the first year that tickets sold out before the full lineup was announced. This was also the year Radiohead returned to headline the Pyramid Stage. Radiohead Revenue raised for good causes from ticket and commercial licence sales topped £1 million, half of which went to Oxfam, Greenpeace and Water Aid.

2004

In 2004 tickets sold out within 24 hours amid much controversy over the ticket ordering process, which left many potential festival goers trying for hours to connect to the overloaded telephone and internet sites. The website got two million attempted connections within the first five minutes of the tickets going on sale and an average of 2,500 people on the phone lines every minute. The festival was not hit by extreme weather, but high winds on the Wednesday delayed entry, and steady rain throughout Saturday turned some areas of the site to mud. ^[15] However Sir Paul McCartney's^[16] Saturday performance cheered many festival goers up. Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942 is an English rock Singer, Bass guitarist songwriter Composer, The festival ended with Muse headlining the Pyramid Stage on Sunday, after Oasis had headlined on Friday. Muse are Oasis are an English rock band that formed in Manchester in 1991 Franz Ferdinand also performed.

After the 2004 festival, Michael Eavis commented that 2006 would be a year off — in keeping with the previous history of taking one "fallow year" in every five to give the villagers and surrounding areas a rest from the yearly disruption. This was confirmed after the licence for 2005 was granted.

2005

A stream runs through one unfortunate punter's tent after two inches of rain were dropped in an hour on Friday morning of the 2005 festival.

In 2005 the 112,500 ticket quota sold out rapidly — in this case in 3 hours 20 minutes,^[17] leaving many thousands of potential attendees frustrated.

The Sunday headliner was originally scheduled to be Kylie Minogue, but she pulled out in May to receive treatment for breast cancer. Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE, born 28 May 1968 is an Australian pop Singer - Songwriter and occasional Actress. Breast cancer is a Cancer that starts in the cells of the Breast in women and men ^[18] Basement Jaxx were announced as a replacement on June 6. Basement Jaxx are a critically acclaimed UK House duo comprising Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe that rose to popularity in the late 1990s Events 1508 - Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year Both Coldplay and Basement Jaxx performed a cover of Kylie's "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" during their concert. Coldplay TalkColdplay#Is_or_Are_dispute_again 2005 saw a big increase in the number of dance music attractions, with the multiple tents of the Dance Village replacing the solitary dance tent of previous years. This new area contained the East and West dance tents, the Dance Lounge, Roots Stage, and Pussy Parlure, as well as a relocated G Stage, formerly situated in the Glade. ^[19] The introduction of the innovative silent disco by Emily Eavis allowed revellers to party into the early hours without disturbing the locals — a requirement of the festival's licensing. The concept of a silent party, Silent Gig or silent disco involves party-goers dancing to music received directly into headphones Following the death of DJ John Peel in the autumn of 2004, the New Tent was renamed the John Peel Tent, in homage to his encouragement and love of new bands at Glastonbury. A disc jockey (also known as DJ or deejay) is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004 known professionally as John Peel, was an English Disc jockey, radio

The opening day of the 2005 festival was delayed by heavy rain and thunderstorms: Several stages, including the Acoustic Tent (and one of the bars), were struck by lightning, and the valley was hit with flash floods that left some areas of the site under more than four feet of water. A bar (also called a Pub or Tavern) is a business that serves drinks especially Alcoholic beverages such as beer liquor and mixed drinks for consumption Lightning is an atmospheric discharge of Electricity, which typically occurs during Thunderstorms and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or A flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic lowlying areas - washes rivers and streams A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit ^[20] The severity of the weather flooded several campsites, the worst affected being the base of Pennard Hill, and seriously disrupted site services. Description The term "camp" comes from the Latin word campus, meaning field However Mendip District Council's review of the festival called it one of the "safest ever" and gives the festival a glowing report in how it dealt with the floods. ^[21]

Also this was the year that The Levellers set another record by having the biggest ever stagefront crowd for the Jazzworld stage. The Levellers are a popular English rock band influenced by punk and traditional English music. They now hold two records for the biggest crowds at the festival.

2006

There was no festival in 2006. Instead, a documentary film directed by Julien Temple was released to make up for the lack of a festival. Julien Temple (born November 26, 1953 in London) is an English film documentary and music video director The film consists of specially shot footage by Temple at the festival, as well as footage sent in by fans and archive footage. Glastonbury was released in the UK on 14 April 2006. Glastonbury is a 2006 Rockumentary film directed by Julien Temple which details the history of the Glastonbury Festival from 1970 to 2005 Events 43 BC - Battle of Forum Gallorum: Mark Antony, besieging Julius Caesar 's assassin Decimus Junius Brutus in Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ^[22]

2007

Mud at the "Other Stage" 2007

Glastonbury 2007 (20-24 June) was headlined by Arctic Monkeys, Björk, The Killers, Iggy & The Stooges, The Who and Chemical Brothers on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Arctic Monkeys are a British Indie band from High Green, a suburb of Sheffield. Björk Guðmundsdóttir (born 21 November 1965 is an Icelandic Singer-songwriter, Composer, actress and music producer. The Killers are an American rock band from Las Vegas Nevada. Formed in 2002 the group consists of Brandon Flowers ( vocals, keyboards The Stooges are an American rock band that was active from 1967 to 1974 then reformed in 2003 The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964. The primary lineup consisted of guitarist Pete Townshend The Chemical Brothers are an English Grammy Award winning Electronic music duo of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons (occasionally referred to as Chemical Dame Shirley Bassey was also featured. Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey DBE (born 8 January 1937 Cardiff, Wales) is a Welsh Singer. This was the first year that 'The Park' area opened. Designed by Emily Eavis, its main stage featured extra sets by several artists playing on the main stages including Pete Doherty and Gruff Rhys, whilst the BBC launched their new "Introducing" stage in the area. Gruff Rhys (grɪf r̥iːs in Welsh born July 18, 1970 in Haverfordwest in South-West Wales) is a musician performing solo and with several

The festival had the largest attendance since the construction of the security fence, and the largest legitimate attendance to date: ticket allocation was raised by 27,500 to 177,500, which were charged at £145 and sold out in 1 hour 45 minutes. ^[23] As an extra precaution against touts, purchasers had to pre-register, including submission of a passport photo which was security printed into the ticket. In British English, a tout is any person who solicits business or employment in an importune manner (generally equivalent to a solicitor in American . ^[24] To reduce the number of attendees travelling by car, a portion of the tickets were tied to a mandatory coach travel deal, with ticket holders only being issued their tickets upon boarding the coach; these sold out slightly later than the others.

Jazz World field on the opening Wednesday afternoon of the festival

Continued periods of rain throughout much the festival caused muddy conditions, though without the flooding of 2005, in part due to the new £750,000 flood defences. ^[25] However this constant rain made the general conditions within the site worse than 2 years before and more like the mud plains of 1998. It was difficult to find anywhere to sit down that had not turned to mud and key choke points, such as the thoroughfare at the front right of the Pyramid stage, turned into a quagmire. Muddy conditions on many of the temporary roads on the periphery of the site led to delays for many people leaving the site. ^[26]

The level of mud eventually lead to the closure of a number of areas including the circus field. This focussed the attendees into areas that remained viable and this, coupled with the high ticket allocation, lead to crowding in other areas such as the Sacred Space. Some camping areas also became very crowded, including Lower Mead, with tents spilling onto and eventually blocking some roadways.

On 25th June, when the vast majority of festival goers were attempting to leave the festival, cars in the western car parks took over nine hours to exit the site. There was no stewarding provision in these areas, no information was disseminated regarding the delays, no organised marshalling of traffic was undertaken by the festival organisers, and no provision of drinking water was made to people stranded in their vehicles. Verbal and physical violence was witnessed between festival goers. When cars were finally allowed to leave the site the surrounding roads were found to be clear. ^[27]

Reported crime was down from 2005 but the number of arrests were "well up", after a proactive operation of the police and security on site. There were 236 reported crimes, down from 267 in 2005; of these, 158 were drug related (183 in 2005). ^[28] This new emphasis on security was visible on arrival with many people having their belonging searched on arrival, something that had not been seen at Glastonbury before. One of the more unusual crimes was the impersonation of stewards on the second night in the area surrounding the other stage. There were, perhaps surprisingly, just 15 complaints in total, with only 8 of those relating to noise levels. 1,200 people required medical aid with 32 hospitalised,^[29] most of which were accidents caused by the mud. There was one fatality: a West Midlands man found unconscious early on the Saturday morning died in Yeovil District Hospital of a suspected drugs overdose. ^[28]

This year saw a rise in the number of people leaving their tents and personal belongings as donations to the Global Hand charity's "Give Me Shelter" campaign, which aimed to use the tents to meet needs internationally. ^[30] However, due to weather damage only a small proportion of the tents were used. The ICount charity also announced that they had over 70,000 people join their "Stop Climate Chaos" campaign^[31].

On December 20 2007 Arabella Churchill, an instrumental figure in the conception of the 1971 festival and since the 1980s area coordinator of the Theatre Field, died at St Edmund's Cottages, Bove Town, Glastonbury at the age of 58. Events 69 - Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of Emperor. She had suffered a short illness due to pancreatic cancer, for which she had refused chemotherapy and radiotherapy. She was a convert to Buddhism, and arrangements following her death respected her belief. Michael Eavis, paying tribute to her after her death, said "Her vitality and great sense of morality and social responsibility have given her a place in our festival history second to none".

2008

The festival will be held on 27th, 28th and 29th June, The headline acts include Kings of Leon, The Verve, and Jay-Z. Kings of Leon is a rock band made up of three brothers and their first cousin from Tennessee, USA. The Verve (originally Verve) are an English rock band formed in Wigan, Greater Manchester in 1989 at Winstanley Sixth Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4 1969 better known as Jay-Z, is an American Rapper and former CEO of Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella ^[32] with other notable acts including Shakin' Stevens, The Levellers^[33] and Stackridge, who opened the first festival in 1970. Shakin' Stevens also known as ' Shaky' (born Michael Barrett, 4 March 1948 in Ely Cardiff, Wales) is a Platinum selling Welsh Rock The Levellers are a popular English rock band influenced by punk and traditional English music. Stackridge are a British folk, pop and Progressive rock group who were at the height of their success during the early 1970s ^[34]

Continuing the procedure introduced in 2007, ticket buyers had to pre-register and submit a passport photo between the 1 February and 14 March in order to buy tickets which went on sale at 9am on Sunday 6 April. ^[35] Following 40,000 tickets not being sold, the pre-registration process was re-opened on the 8th April. ^[36] Several reasons have been cited for this, including the poor weather of the previous four years^[37] and the controversial choice of featuring the hip hop artist, Jay-Z, as a headlining act. Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4 1969 better known as Jay-Z, is an American Rapper and former CEO of Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella ^[38]. It has also been announced that any remaining tickets will be sold from major branches of Further tickets will also be sold from HMV Stores from Wednesday 11th June. ^[39]

This years festival is reported to cost £22 million to produce. ^[40]

See Glastonbury Festival 2008 for more information. Glastonbury Festival line-ups The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts was held on the weekend of 27th 28th and 29th June 2008 gates opened to the public

Line-ups

See Glastonbury Festival line-ups for listings. For more information on the next festival see Glastonbury Festival 2008.

References in Culture

The bands Nizlopi and Scouting For Girls wrote songs titled Glastonbury about the festival. Nizlopi (nɪzlɔpi is a two-piece band Luke Concannon (vocals guitar and Bodhran) and John Parker ( Double bass, Human beatbox and backing Scouting for Girls are a London -based UK Indie pop band formed in 2005 by Roy Stride Greg Churchouse and Peter Ellard

Amy Macdonald, in her song "Let's Start a Band" referenced Glastonbury "Give me a festival and I'll be your Glastonbury star"

See also

• List of music festivals in the United Kingdom
• Glastonbury Fayre
• Glastonbury the Movie
• Glastonbury Anthems
• Glastonbury
• Worthy FM (formerly Radio Avalon)
• Rutland Boughton
• Michael Eavis
• Workers Beer Company

Bibliography

• Shearlaw, John; Aubrey, Crispen (2005). Amy Macdonald may refer to Amy Macdonald (singer, Scottish singer/songwriter Amy MacDonald (writer, American author There are a large number of music festivals in the United Kingdom, covering a wide variety of genres Glastonbury Fayre is a 1972 Documentary film directed by Peter Neal of the 1971 Glastonbury Festival which was held on 20 June Glastonbury the Movie is a 1996 Documentary film about the Glastonbury Festival produced and directed by William Beaton, Robin Mahoney Glastonbury Anthems is a DVD featuring live performances from the Glastonbury Festival from 1994 to 2004 Glastonbury is a 2006 Rockumentary film directed by Julien Temple which details the history of the Glastonbury Festival from 1970 to 2005 Worthy FM is a local radio station broadcasting in the UK to the site of The Glastonbury Festival. The beginning The idea of launching a radio station at the Glastonbury Festival was coined at the festival in 1982 by Lawrie Hallett and Norman McLeod WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> Rutland Boughton ( Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire January 23 Athelstan Joseph Michael Eavis, CBE (born October 17 1935) is an English dairy Farmer and the founder of the Glastonbury Festival The Workers Beer Company (WBC is a British - Irish organisation which runs temporary bars at events and festivals in Europe. Glastonbury Festival Tales. Ebury Press. ISBN 0-09-189763-7.  
• Naylor, Royston (2002). Stone Free: A Photographic Trip Through 10 Years of Glastonbury Festival. Southgate publishers. ISBN 1-85741-145-5.  
• McKay, George (2000) Glastonbury: A Very English Fair. London: Victor Gollancz. ISBN 0-575-06807-8
• McKay, George (1996) Senseless Acts of Beauty: Cultures of Resistance Since the Sixties, chapter 1 'The free festivals and fairs of Albion'. London: Verso. ISBN 1-85984-028-0

References

External links

• The official site of Glastonbury Festival
• Detailed FAQ for Glastonbury Festival goers
• GlastonWiki
• BBC: Glastonbury Festival
• BBC Somerset: Glastonbury Festival
• Guardian Unlimited: Glastonbury Festival from The Guardian newspaper
• Virtual Festivals: Glastonbury Festival
• eFestivals: Glastonbury Festival
• * Festival News: Glastonbury Festival
• History of Glastonbury Festival 1970-1990
• Avon and Somerset Constabulary: Glastonbury Festival
• BBC: Glastonbury Festival Webcam
• NME.com: Glastonbury Festival
• Videos of Glastonbury Festival

Photographs

Flickr: Photos tagged with "GlastonburyFestival"

• Galleries at Virtual Festivals
• Gallery at Festival Photos
• Photos of the 2005 gallery of Asian acts
• 2005 gallery at eFestivals
• SUPERSWEET photographic review 2007