Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival is the largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world. It takes place in the beautiful location of the Vale of Avalon, an area that is steeped in symbolism, mythology and religious traditions dating back many hundreds of years. Although best known for its contemporary music, the Festival also features dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and many other arts. Glastonbury is heavily influenced by the hippie ethics and the festival movement from the 1970s.
The festival takes place in South West England at Worthy Farm between the villages of Pilton and Pylle, six miles east of the town of Glastonbury and overlooked by the majestic Glastonbury Tor. Worthy Farm is a dairy farm owned by festival organiser and committed environmentalist Michael Eavis. The very first festival was held on 19th September 1970, the day after Jimi Hendrix died, and performers included Marc Bolan, Keith Christmas, Stackridge and Al Stewart. Entrance fee was £1 and that included free milk from the farm. Now in its 36th year, Glastonbury Festival is the longest running greenfield festival in the UK.
For five days a year a vast array of international talent arrives to perform in pastures of what is still a working dairy farm near Shepton Mallet. Whilst the festival takes place the dairy herd enjoy a silage break in their winter quarters. Including staff and performers, the number of people on the 900 acre site has now reached epic numbers of over 150,000. The BBC began filming at Glastonbury in 1997 and now broadcasts over 30 hours live each year, and so enabling a global audience of millions to enjoy the festival on TV and radio.
A third of the site is devoted to ‘green’ activities, for instance crafts, alternative technology, a healing field and a magical circle of tepees‘, with most of the area being powered entirely by renewable energy, mainly solar panels and wind turbines. Three of the fields, Glebeland, East Holts and the Circus Field are taken over by theatre and circus, with more than 1,200 shows taking place in these three fields over each Festival weekend, ranging from stunning street theatre, serious mime, drama and dance to every conceivable circus skill. The main stages at Glastonbury are the places where the headlining bands play. However, the iconic Pyramid stage has been part of the Festival since 1971, and although having been through several incarnations, some of the most famous artists in the world have played on this stage. It has become a part of modern British folklore and is the centre of the Festival every year.
With a turnover of around £18m, Glastonbury makes a major contribution to the local economy. Somerset businesses run many of the over 800 stalls selling everything from jewellery to exotic cuisine as well as providing services such as marquees and toilets. Typical of the event’s commitment to sustainability is that all cutlery and plates used by stallholders must be biodegradable, no plastic is allowed. In 2005 the festival succeeded in recycling 50 per cent of its rubbish. However, despite its success, the festival has made a principled stand against commercial sponsorship. Even though major businesses are involved, there is no branding. Instead, over £1m each year is given to a long list of ‘good causes’. The main beneficiaries are Greenpeace, Oxfam and Water Aid, with smaller sums donated to numerous local charities and voluntary organisations.
The history of the event has recently been recorded in a book, Glastonbury Festival Tales. Compiled by Crispin Aubrey and John Shearlaw, two people who have worked in the festival press office for many years, it is a significant record of a history that is crammed with vivid and colourful stories. It covers the festival’s entire 33 year life span, with David Bowie, Julie Christie, Fatboy Slim and the Chemical Brothers just some of the names who feature. The book contains previously unseen photographs and a foreword by Michael Eavis, and is a must for everyone who has ever been, or wanted to go to Glastonbury.