50 Fun Facts About Glastonbury Festival

What is the name of the Eavis family land where Glastonbury Festival is held?

It sits between the villages of Pilton and Pylle in Somerset, about six miles east of the town of Glastonbury.

Which farmer founded the festival in 1970?

A Methodist-raised dairy farmer born in Pilton in 1935, he was knighted at Windsor Castle in early 2024.

Which concert inspired Eavis to hold his first festival?

He saw the open-air show at the nearby Bath and West Showground and staged his own event that September.

How much did a ticket cost for the first festival in 1970?

About 1,500 people came on Saturday 19 September 1970 to the event then called the Pilton Festival.

Which act replaced the Kinks at short notice to headline the 1970 festival?

Marc Bolan's band, later T. Rex, topped a bill that also included Stackridge, who returned in 2008.

How many people attended the very first festival on 19 September 1970?

It was billed as the Pop, Blues & Folk Festival; the site now covers 1,500 acres and hosts around 200,000.

The 1971 main stage was a one-tenth replica of what?

Bill Harkin built it from scaffolding and metal sheeting over a 'blind spring' located by dowsing.

Which future rock icon played the 1971 Glastonbury Fair and headlined the Pyramid Stage in 2000?

The 1971 fair, filmed by Nicolas Roeg and David Puttnam, also featured Traffic, Hawkwind and Melanie.

With which campaigning organisation was the festival organised from 1981?

1981 was the first profitable year, and Eavis gave the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament £20,000.

What did the permanent 1981 Pyramid Stage double as during the winter?

It was built from telegraph poles and Ministry of Defence metal sheeting.

When licences became compulsory in 1983, what was Glastonbury's first crowd limit?

It has grown every year since to well over 100,000; in 1984 fans invaded the stage during the Smiths.

What happened to the Pyramid Stage just over a week before the 1994 festival?

A temporary main stage was built in time, and the same year brought a 150 kW wind turbine.

Which band's Friday set in 1994 drew Glastonbury's record crowd of as many as 300,000?

Numbers were swollen by gatecrashers; Channel 4's first full TV coverage that year also made Orbital's rave set legendary.

Which broadcaster took over TV coverage from Channel 4 in 1997?

The Guardian sponsored the same year, and the BBC renewed exclusive rights again in 2017.

Whose muddy Saturday Pyramid set in 1997 is often called Glastonbury's greatest ever?

The BBC put their live 'Paranoid Android' on a CD titled Mud For It.

What was the nickname of the barrier installed by Mean Fiddler in 2002 that cut gatecrashing?

Numbers dropped so much that 2002 was criticised for lacking atmosphere; Coldplay headlined for the first time.

Which pop star was forced to pull out of headlining Sunday 2005 after a breast cancer diagnosis?

Basement Jaxx replaced her; the 112,500 tickets that year sold out in 3 hours 20 minutes.

Which rapper headlined the Saturday of Glastonbury 2008?

Kings of Leon and the Verve took the other nights, and buyers had to pre-register with a passport photo.

Beyoncé's 2011 Sunday headline made her the first woman to top the bill since which year?

U2 and Coldplay took the Friday and Saturday, and tickets sold out in four hours.

Why did Foo Fighters withdraw from headlining in 2015?

Florence and the Machine were promoted to Friday headliner and the Libertines filled her slot.

Which two acts joined Kanye West as headliners in 2015?

Florence had been second on the bill until Foo Fighters dropped out.

Which grime artist headlined the Pyramid Stage in 2019?

The Killers and the Cure completed the bill after the fallow year of 2018, and a giant crane from Avonmouth Docks joined the site.

Who became Glastonbury's youngest ever headliner in 2022?

Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar headlined the other nights, and Diana Ross played the Legends slot.

Which three headliners of 2023 drew criticism for an all-male top billing?

Tickets had sold out in one hour.

In 2024 which band broke the record for most Glastonbury headline appearances, with a fifth?

They overtook the Cure's four; Dua Lipa and SZA headlined the other nights.

How quickly did tickets for Glastonbury 2025 sell out in November 2024?

They cost £373.50 plus a £5 booking fee, and the festival donated £5.2 million to charity that year.

Which veteran singer played the Sunday Legends slot in 2025, 23 years after his only other appearance?

He had headlined in 2002 alongside Coldplay and Stereophonics; the 1975, Neil Young and Olivia Rodrigo headlined 2025.

Which headliner briefly pulled out of 2025 in January, claiming the festival was 'now under corporate control' because of the BBC partnership?

He was confirmed as the first headliner two days later.

Why was no Glastonbury Festival held in 2026?

It was the first planned fallow year since 2018; 2020 and 2021 were lost to COVID-19, and the festival was scheduled to return in 2027.

Which three charities have been the festival's main beneficiaries since the end of the Cold War?

Most festival staff are unpaid volunteers, which is how millions of pounds reach charity each year.

Which hill, said to be a meeting point of ley lines, overlooks the festival site?

The site lies in the 'Vale of Avalon', and the nearest town is Shepton Mallet, three miles away.

Which festival area preserves the hippie ethos with its Stone Circle and Healing Field?

The festival credits the counterculture of the 1960s and the free festival movement as its inspiration.

How many people usually attend Glastonbury?

The site's 1,500 acres need their own water, electricity and transport infrastructure for the week.

What was the event called when Eavis first staged it in 1970?

The following year's event was called Glastonbury Fair; the full modern title is the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts.

What unplanned event took place on the Eavis farm in 1978?

The festival was formally revived in 1979 for the Year of the Child, and lost money.

Which charity grew out of the festival's kids' area organised by Arabella Churchill?

Churchill, granddaughter of Winston, had helped organise the 1971 Fair.

According to Emily Eavis, what persuaded her father to keep the festival going past retirement age?

Many 1990s editions had been billed as 'the last one'; Emily, born 1979, now runs the festival.

How many tickets sold for 2003, the first year the festival sold out before the line-up was named?

They went in a day, against two months to shift 140,000 in 2002; Radiohead returned to headline.

Which unusual event took place on the Pyramid Stage on the Saturday morning of 2000?

The couple had written to ask permission; the ceremony was conducted by an actor.

Which honour did the festival's founder receive in the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours?

The knighthood followed in 2024, conferred at Windsor Castle by the Princess Royal.

Which Labour leader was invited to speak on the Pyramid Stage in 2017?

The same year the BBC renewed its exclusive rights to broadcast the festival until 2022.

For the cancelled 50th-anniversary festival in 2020, what did the BBC broadcast instead?

Highlights included Taylor Swift, Adele, Beyoncé, the Rolling Stones and Jay-Z.

Glastonbury Festival takes place on farmland covering roughly how many acres?

Most festival staff are unpaid volunteers, which helps the event raise millions of pounds for charity.

Which railway station serves as the festival's mini hub for extra trains from London Paddington?

Shuttle buses ferry arrivals from the station to the site, an intensive operation each Wednesday and Thursday.

The 1990 clash between security guards and new age travellers became known as what?

Combined with pressure from locals, the trouble meant no festival was held in 1991, as captured in the Channel 4 film Showdown at Glastonbury.

Which act replaced U2 as Friday headliner in 2010 after Bono injured his back?

It was Damon Albarn's second headline slot in two years; U2 had even written a song called 'Glastonbury' for the occasion.

In 2023 the John Peel Stage was renamed what?

The tent had carried the late DJ's name since 2005, after earlier life as the New Bands tent.

How tall is the Pyramid Stage?

It carries 292 speakers and 8.5 km of audio and video cable, and the whole site's sound systems total 650,000 watts.

Which actor conducted the wedding of two festival-goers on the Pyramid Stage in 2000?

The couple had written to organisers asking for permission to marry on the main stage on Saturday morning.

What green innovation did the 1994 festival introduce to supply some of its power?

The same year, the Levellers played to as many as 300,000 people, still the festival's biggest ever crowd.