In 1970, the day after legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix passed away, a new festival was started in the West Country by a man called Michael Eavis. He had been inspired to create his own festival by the Blues festival at the Bath & West Showground. The attendance that year was around 1,500 and a ticket cost £1.
Fast forward 45 years and 32 festivals later, and Glastonbury is the most prestigious festival in the British Isles, if not the world. 120,000 people trekked south-west last year to see the likes of Arcade Fire, Metallica and Kasabian amongst many, many others.
This year, the headlines surrounding the festival have been dominated, up until the last week or so, by one man – Kanye West. The Atlanta native was announced as Saturday’s headline act and almost immediately “broke the internet” for a mix of reasons. Legendary English rock band The Who will headline the final day on Sunday, whilst Florence & The Machine will headline Friday night in the absence of the Foo Fighters due to Dave Grohl’s broken leg.
There is something for everyone at Glastonbury, with many acts to look out for. Everyday is blessed with a mixture of old hands and new kids on the block.
On the Friday festival goers will be treated to the likes of Motörhead, Mary J. Blige and James Bay on the iconic Pyramid Stage. Those who prefer to stay away from the main stage and tend to be lured to the Other Stage will get the chance to catch Mark Ronson, The Vaccines and Catfish and the Bottlemen, amongst others. Saturday’s Pyramid Stage line-up welcomes Pharrell Williams, Paloma Faith and George Ezra before Yeezy makes his Glastonbury debut. Those in attendance at the Other Stage will get to see Deadmau5, Ben Howard and Ella Eyre. On the final day, Paul Weller, Lionel Richie and Hozier will come before The Who, whilst The Chemical Brothers headline the Other Stage after Jamie T, Twin Atlantic and SOAK have treated the crowd.
Tickets for Glastonbury have sold out, but the BBC will be providing those unlucky enough not to get tickets live streams of six stages, over 50 hours of TV and BBC Red Button coverage. Broadcasts from Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music and highlights of over 90 artists will be available on iPlayer.
Glastonbury will take place between Wednesday 24th and Sunday 28th June in Pilton, Somerset. For more information about the festival and to view the whole lineup, visit Glastonbury’s website here.
