The annual Glastonbury festival in Worthy Farm, Somerset attracts hundreds of thousands of people in person and millions worldwide virtually to celebrate five days of contemporary performing arts and catch global superstars performing.

2023 will see the 43rd Glastonbury Festival. However, the festival has been a national treasure since its founding in 1970. Michael Eavis was inspired to host the first festival after seeing Led Zeppelin at the 1970 Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music. The first festival cost £1 and included The Kooks and T.Rex.

It wasn’t until the 1980s that the festival became an annual event that also saw TV coverage for the first time, with ITV showing festival highlights. 1994 saw Channel 4 broadcast the festival live for the first time, concentrating on the main music stages. Viewers were treated to music and cultures previously only murmured about in the mainstream. The latter part of the ‘90s saw attendance first breach the 100,000 mark.

The turn of the millennium demanded a headliner like no other, and that came in the form of David Bowie, playing Glastonbury for the first time since 1971. In 2002, a record 150,000 tickets were sold in one day which became the first-time tickets sold out before the full line-up was announced. By 2007, over 700 acts played over 80 stages and 2008 saw the first hip-hop headliner Jay Z.

Working charity Water Aid, water kiosks were introduced in 2014, where people can refill their bottles for free. 2019 saw Emily Eavis, daughter of founder Michael Eavis, introduce a plastic bottle ban for environmental reasons, which also included bars, traders, and backstage areas.

2022 was the year Glastonbury festival came back with a bang, after a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, with headliners including Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney, and Kendrick Lamar.