Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival is the largest open air music and arts festival in the world. It became an example which other festivals followed. Of course, Glastonbury is best known for modern music, but its programme also includes dance, comedy, theatre, circus and other arts.
The festival organiser, Michael Eavis, was a common farmer. In 1970 he visited an open air concert which greatly impressed him. So he decided to organise a big festival outdoors in the same year. He knew, it wouldn’t bring any money, but it didn’t matter. At the first festival there were more than one thousand people. Each of them paid £1 for the ticket. The price also included free milk from the farm. Later on, the festival took place almost every year and grew in size and audience.
The festival takes place in southwest England on a farm. It's a beautiful and mystical place called the “Valley of Avalon”. It is surrounded with a lot of legends, symbols, myths, and religious traditions dating back many hundreds of years. Legends say that here King Arthur's sword was made and the king himself was buried there. No wonder that the main stage of the festival, Pyramid Stage, has the form of a pyramid. Many believe that this is a very powerful structure, which gets energy from the stars and gives it to people.
In many ways, Glastonbury is like a mix of different festivals, which take place in the countryside and last for a weekend. Each area of the Festival has its own character, its own fans and its own special attractions. For example, dance lovers go to the “Dance Village”. There is also a big cinema area, “Theatre and Circus”. Children can have fun in the “Kids’ Field”. Some people spend the whole weekend in their favourite area. However, most of them prefer walking about and trying lots of different things.
Most people who stay at Glastonbury Festival live in tents. There are lots of different camping areas, each one with its own atmosphere. You can choose where to stay: in a quiet place or a lively one. There are also places for families and disabled people. Anyway, you should remember to bring a tent with you. Of course, it's possible to rent one, but it's quite expensive.
Glastonbury Festival supports Greenpeace and has a number of programmes. There are hundreds of rubbish bins on the territory. All cans, glass, paper, electrical and electronic equipment, wood and waste are separated and recycled. Visitors are asked to clean after themselves and not to leave rubbish. The Festival supports those who come by public transport or by bicycle, not by car.
If you're thinking about visiting Glastonbury, you should book tickets in advance. Today an average ticket is about £200 for three days which is quite expensive. Nevertheless the tickets are sold out in two or three hours. So be quick to catch them. There are usually more people wishing to get to the festival than tickets. Registration for the 2013 festival began in June 2011. |