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Glastonbury Festival

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Musical genres, styles,
eras and events

   Glastonbury Festival
   Location(s)  Pilton, England
   Years active 1970 - present
   Date(s)      last weekend of June (3 days)
   Genre(s)     Rock, Alternative rock, Indie rock, Dance, World music, Punk
                Rock, Reggae, Folk music.
   Map sources for Glastonbury Festival at grid reference ST590397
   Map sources for Glastonbury Festival at grid reference ST590397

   The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly
   abbreviated to Glastonbury Festival or Glasto, is the largest
   greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world. The
   festival is best known for its contemporary music, but also features
   dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and many other arts. In 2005,
   the enclosed area of the festival was over 900 acres (3.6 km²), had
   over 385 live performances and was attended by around 150,000 people.

   Originally Glastonbury was heavily influenced by hippy ethics and the
   free festival movement in the 1970s, especially the Isle of Wight
   Festival. 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 .
   The festival retains vestiges of this tradition, including the Green
   Futures/Healing Fields area and the reputation for alternative culture.

Location

   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". This makes it an important " New Age" area: many ley lines are
   believed to converge on the Tor. The nearest town to the festival site
   is Shepton Mallet, three miles north east, but there continues to be
   interaction between the people espousing alternative lifestyles living
   in Glastonbury and the festival itself. The farm is situated between
   the A361 and A37 roads.
   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.
   Enlarge
   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.

Festival Site: Worthy Farm

   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. On the site is a confluence of the two small streams
   that make the Whitelake River. 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).
   This did not prevent flooding during the 2005 festival, but allowed the
   floodwaters to dissipate within hours. The Bridgwater branch of the
   Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway ran through the farm on an
   embankment, but was dismantled in the late 1960s and now forms a main
   thoroughfare across the site. Another prominent feature is the
   high-voltage electricity line which crosses the site east-west.
   Pennard's Hill, 2004
   Enlarge
   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. Constructed in 1990 to simulate an ancient
   stone circle, the site has no actual archaeological interest .

   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
   Enlarge
   The view from the stone circle on Thursday afternoon, 2004

   The festival is organised by local farmer and site owner Michael Eavis
   (through his company Glastonbury Festivals Ltd), who has hosted the
   event since its inception. Since 2002, the 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. 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 the Trades Union
   Congress , Radio Avalon and a field run by Greenpeace .

   With the exception of technical and security staff, the festival is
   mainly run by volunteers. Stewards are organised by the aid charity
   Oxfam and the bars are organised by the Workers Beer Company, sponsored
   by Budweiser, who recruit teams of volunteer staff from small charities
   and campaign groups. 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.
   Network Recycling manage refuse on the site, and in 2004 recycled 300
   tonnes and composted 110 tonnes of waste from the site .

Glastonbury over time

   This section is largely based on A Brief History of the Glastonbury
   Festival .
   An example of the many sculptures and other artwork displayed across
   the site
   Enlarge
   An example of the many sculptures and other artwork displayed across
   the site

1970s

   The first festival, a small scale event of 1,500 people called the
   Pilton Festival, was created by Michael Eavis in 1970, followed by the
   larger scale Glastonbury Fayre of 1971, now also with the help of
   Andrew Kerr and Arabella Churchill. The 1971 festival featured the
   first incarnation of the "Pyramid Stage", built from scaffolding and
   metal sheeting. It was paid for by its supporters and advocates of its
   ideal, and took a medieval 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 simply called
   Glastonbury Fayre. Although there were unofficial gatherings, the
   festival was not held again until an unplanned event in 1978, and a
   planned festival the following year which lost money. The festival has
   been an annual fixture since 1981, albeit with breaks in 1988, 1991,
   1996, 2001 and 2006.

1980s

   In 1981 the festival was organised with the Campaign for Nuclear
   Disarmament (CND). That year a new Pyramid Stage was constructed from
   telegraph poles and metal sheeting (ironically, ex- Ministry of
   Defence), a permanent structure which doubled as a hay-barn and
   cow-shed during the winter.

   In the 1980s the children's area of the festival (which had been
   organized by Arabella Churchill and others) became the starting point
   for a new children's charity called Children's World. 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 entrance.

   Since 1983 large festivals have required licenses from local
   authorities. This led to certain restrictions being placed on the
   festival, including a crowd limit and 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
   liquified 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. The festival returned in 1992 with an
   expanded festival, which proved to be a great success. 1992 was the
   first year that the new age travellers were not allowed onto the site
   for free and a sturdier fence was designed. This success was carried
   through to 1993, which like 1992's festival was another dry, hot year.

   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. 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. 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 also televised the following year as well
   which also proved to be very successful.
   The giant LOVE sign inspired by The Beatles.
   Enlarge
   The giant LOVE sign inspired by 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. 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. The dance
   acts of 1995 were led by Massive Attack on the Friday and Carl Cox on
   the Saturday.

   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.

   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. This was also the year of the mud
   , 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.
   Circus area, 2004
   Enlarge
   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. 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 and Al Green were among the highlights. 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.

2000s

   2000 saw a new Pyramid Stage introduced as well as several new features
   such as The Glade and The Leftfield. The festival was headlined by
   David Bowie playing 30 years after his first appearance. 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. 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.

   In 2002 the festival returned after a hiatus, with 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. 2002 also saw Coldplay headline the Pyramid
   Stage for the first time.
   Glastonbury Festival's "Other Stage"
   Enlarge
   Glastonbury Festival's "Other Stage"

   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. From the ticket and commercial license
   sales charities received more than £1million, half of which went to
   Oxfam, Greenpeace and Water Aid.

   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.
   However Sir Paul McCartney's Saturday performance cheered many festival
   goers up. The festival ended with Muse headlining the Pyramid Stage on
   Sunday.

   After the 2004 festival, 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.

   In 2005 the 112,500 ticket quota for 2005 sold out rapidly - in this
   case in 3 hours 20 minutes , 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 . Basement
   Jaxx were announced as a replacement on June 6. Coldplay performed a
   cover of Kylie's "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" during their concert.
   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 . 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. 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 river runs through one unfortunate punter's tent after two inches of
   rain were dropped in an hour on Friday morning of the 2005 festival.
   Enlarge
   A river runs through one unfortunate punter's tent after two inches of
   rain were dropped in an hour on Friday morning of the 2005 festival.

   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 . The severity of the weather flooded several campsites, the
   worst affected being the base of Pennard Hill, and seriously disrupted
   site services. 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.

   In 2006, a documentary film directed by Julien Temple was released to
   make up for the lack of a festival. The film comprises 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.

Line-ups

   See Glastonbury Festival line-ups for listings.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glastonbury_Festival"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
