The first festival was held at Worthy Farm, the same location of the current day festival, and was called the “Pilton Pop, Blues and Folk Festival”. It was set up by Michael Eavis, after he saw a Led Zeppelin similar style gig nearby, and his first festival attracted a crowd of 1,500. The entry fee was just a pound, and allowed you to witness “Tyrannosaurus Rex” take the stage.
The year after, such artists as David Bowie and Quintessence took to the stage at Worthy Farm., surrounded by a larger crowd of 12,000. Up till 1981, the festival was held irregularly before becoming an annual concert with the exception of every fifth year to allow the land to recover. As the festival went on, the fame increased and now, 175,000 tickets are sold for each event.
Nowadays, the stages are taken up by a range of diverse acts such as Katie Perry, Radio Head, and Stormzy, with some of their biggest attractions being Coldplay, Shirley Bassey, The Who and Oasis. However with 79 stages available at the festival, and 85 different acts taking to the stage in 2017, there is a style of music for everyone.
The festival has also done a tremendous amount for charities such as Oxfam, Greenpeace and Water Aid. In addition to this, the Glastonbury festival organisers have also made several attempts to be eco friendly, whether that be fewer carbon emissions or encouraging more recycling and launching a clean up programme (Love The Farm, Leave No Trace) to remove any litter from the site.
Overall, The Glastonbury festival has come a long way from an informal set up in a farm to one of the biggest music festivals in the UK and even Europe.
