Glastonbury Guide
About the festival
Almost every year, the number of people to populate a town, decamp to what seems like another country, to live like some ancient civilisation for one weekend of the year. So what's this massive appeal?
So why is this festival so special then?
Well the sense of inclusiveness fosters a lack of inhibitions which makes people do or say the strangest things, get married for instance, in the Church of the Annihilation, dance to nothing but the noise inside your headphones, go ballroom dancing, or just lie back and watch an amazing trapeze artist for a little while.
Whilst Glastonbury's grown to be 30 times its original size, the communal spirit remains the same as a little village. It's possibly the friendlist farm you'll ever visit and everyone, from the smallest child to the hardened cynic, goes with it.
When did it all start?
Humble, hippy beginnings spawned the first festivals at Pilton Farm: the Pilton Festival in 1970 cost a pound to get in, and provided free milk.
The next two years of Glastonbury Fayre did away with an entrance fee altogether. Come 1981, the Glastonbury Festival joined up with the CND and the Pyramid Stage doubled up as a cow shed.
And as Glastonbury's got bigger it's had to adapt to its increasing popularity to safeguard its future. But the organizers have managed to overcome many setbacks, rising up stronger each year. Practical improvements include toilets, draining systems, photo ids, phone masts, and a very strong fence.
What kind of festival is it?
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts is the largest festival of its kind in the world, and is a unique jigsaw of lots of different of festivals in one.
The music offering is now huge, spanning folk, world, jazz, dance, unsigned, rock and acoustic, classical and, in 2003, Opera for good measure.
It's big enough for the biggest names, yet cares enough to cover the newest artists from the fringes.
There's cabaret, comedy, circus acts and communal drumming in the stone circle. Plus silver service and ballroom dancing. The Greenfields and Glade offer peace and love and healing, there's a wall to rock climb, and the Love sculpture to leave your mark upon.
Isn't it supposed to be set in a magical place?
If you believe in cosmic energy, Glastonbury's the right place! The farm is located in the mystical Vale of Avalon, overlooked by Glastonbury Tor, a hill reputed to be home to the king of the fairies.
A huge number of ley lines are supposed to cross on the Tor too, and many megalithic sites in the surrounding area of mid-Somerset in the past.
The south meadow of Pilton farm has a stone circle, aligned to the solstice. This was built in the 1990s, but it's an authentically magical feeling you'll expreience if you're there at sun rise.
Who's played there?
God, who hasn't? The big names in rock include Oasis, Radiohead, PJ Harvey, REM, Manic Street Preachers (who got their own lavs) White Stripes, Kaiser Chiefs, Ash, Ian Brown.
Then there are dance acts like Lemon Jelly, Basement Jaxx, Tim Deluxe, Mylo, Chemical Brothers, Spiritualized, Asian Dub Foundation, and they're just the big acts, the ones most people have heard of!
Doesn't it raise a lot of money for charidee?
From the off there's been a close partnership between the desire for something good to come from the festival, other than the decadence of the people there!
For this reason, many charities have benefited from or been formed through the festival. Yesteryear it was CND, Children's World, and more recently, Greenpeace, Oxfam and WaterAid. Lots of smaller charities benefit, plus fair-trade goods have become more prominent year upon year.
What are the BBC doing this year?
The BBC's coverage for the festival just keeps getting better. This year, get the festival as it happens from Radio 1, 6 Music and BBC THREE who'll be handing over their schedules for continuous coverage, and there will be highlights on BBC TWO, Asian Network and Radio 3.
Press red for digital coverage around the clock, plus come here, online for broadband video of music to watch, not forgetting services to your mobile.
So when is it, then?
This year's festival takes place on the Friday 22nd, Sat 23rd and Sun 24th June.
Find out more at the official site glastonburyfestivals.co.uk.
