Glastonbury Festival

Worthy FM looking for volunteers

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:05:06 +0000

Worthy FM is the official Glastonbury Festival radio station, coming to you from the heart of the Festival, with all the best Festival news, travel, weather, stage times, music and interviews and bringing you the best of this year's Emerging Talent Competition.

Hitting the airwaves at noon on Monday 21st June 2010 the station broadcasts 24 hours a day until 5pm on Monday 28th June on 87.7FM. You'll also be able to listen live online here on the Festival website.

The station is currently looking for volunteers for this year's Festival. If you would like to volunteer to work for Worthy FM, then copy and paste the below form into an email, fill it in and send to worthyfm@glastonburyfestivals.co.uk by midnight on Sunday 28th March. Thanks.

--- WORTHY FM 2010 VOLUNTEER APPLICATION FORM ---

1. NAME:

2. ADDRESS:

3. POSTCODE:

4. CONTACT NUMBER:

5. EMAIL:

6. DATE OF BIRTH:

7. SEX:

8. ARE YOU REGISTERED DISABLED?

8a. IF YES, DO YOU NEED ANY SUPPORT OR ACCESS REQUIREMENTS?

9. EMERGENCY CONTACT DETAILS - NAME/TEL/RELATIONSHIP:

10. IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE, LIST 3 JOB ROLES YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO ON WORTHY FM (presenter, off-air producer, software editing (adobe audition), roving reporter, pre-recorded feature making admin, other-please state)

11. HAVE YOU PREVIOUSLY APPLIED TO WORTHY FM (WITHOUT SUCCESS)?

12. HAVE YOU PREVIOUSLY ATTENDED THE GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL?

13. HAVE YOU PREVIOUSLY WORKED ON A BROADCAST FOR WORTHY FM/RADIO AVALON?

Please note all audio will remain the property of the licensee and may be used for publicity, advertising and training purposes for Worthy FM in the future. IF YOU WISH TO HAVE A COPY OF YOUR AUDIO YOU MUST BRING A USB MEMORY STICK AND DOWNLOAD YOUR AUDIO BEFORE YOU LEAVE SITE – NO AUDIO WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR YOU AFTER YOU LEAVE SITE.

You will be told by 1st April if you application has been successful.

Please write your full name below to confirm you understand and accept these details.

NAME:

If you have any questions about being a volunteer for Worthy FM, please write them below:

--- FORM ENDS ----

The return of the Leftfield

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:44:09 +0000

We're very pleased to announce the return of the Leftfield for this year's Festival. We're also extremely excited to announce that the Festival's "pop and politics" tent will be curated by Mr Billy Bragg. We gave Billy a shout to find out a bit more about his plans:

Hi Billy. Presumably you're pleased that the Leftfield is back?
Very pleased. New tent, new site, new decade.

What will your role be?
A bit of everything. Curator, MC, performer, guitar roadie, juggler.

Why is it important for Glastonbury to have an area like the Leftfield as part of the Festival?
Because Glastonbury is the original activist festival. It has always had that political edge since its rebirth in the 1980s as a gathering for dissidents and dancers. Leftfield’s mixture of red and green politics aims to reflect the way activism plays an important part in the festival as a whole.

Do you think it will be even more important in 2010?
Definitely. Not only are we facing the biggest economic meltdown since the Great Depression, but by the time we pitch the tent, we may all be living under a Conservative government committed to massive cuts in public services. Plus there is the continuing threat of global warming and the rise of the BNP to contend with. We’ll have plenty to talk about in our daily debates.

Emily Eavis has said that she thinks people are more open-minded at the Festival than they would be in every day life. Do you think that's true? If so, does that increase the opportunities for somewhere like the Leftfield
I really don’t think that you could have something like Leftfield at any of the other major UK rock festivals. The audience at V just wouldn’t be interested in attending a debate about the threat to 6 Music and other front line public services. Glastonbury audiences are more willing to engage.

So, for any Glastonbury regulars who've never been to the Leftfield, why should
they visit the area?
Because it will be a place where you can take part in political debates with leading activists and political figures and then hear some great music from people who believe in using their talent to inspire audiences to change the world.

How far have you got with booking the bill? Can you tell us any names?
I’ve started sounding people out. Can’t give you any names but I can talk about our format. We’ll be kicking off around midday with a couple of debates running until 3pm then from 4pm we’ll be inviting three or four artists to come and collaborate with one another in a hootenanny, sitting onstage together swapping songs and playing along with each other, then from 6pm we’ll have bands.

Finally, will you be bringing your guitar?
Most certainly. I came to the festival last year without it and it just didn’t feel right.

Ticket re-sale date confirmed

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:57:54 +0000

We're pleased to announce that the re-sale of cancelled tickets for this year's Festival will take place at 9am on Sunday, 11th April 2010.

Tickets will be sold online at www.seetickets.com/g2010 and via the Seetickets booking line 0844 412 4635. The numbers are limited and we expect them to sell out quite quickly.

In order to purchase tickets in the re-sale, you must be successfully registered by Wednesday, March 31st. Register online at www.glastonburyregistration.co.uk. For more information about ticket sales and registration, please visit our ticket information page.

As well as standard Festival tickets (costing £185), there will be a limited number of Combined Coach and Festival Tickets on sale. These tickets include either single or return coach tickets from a range of locations around the UK.

We really want to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions produced by Glastonbury 2010. A major way we can achieve this is by helping audience members to travel together, as audience transport actually contributes to two thirds of the Festival's total emissions. Traveling by coach reduces the number of cars on the road which means less traffic queuing to enter the site and less CO2 emissions from cars in slow traffic approaching the site.

A coach traveling to the Festival at full capacity is the most carbon efficient way to arrive:
A festival goer travels an average return journey of 273 miles so the CO2 emissions:
On a coach, one person = 6.02kg of CO2
On a train, one person = 28.40kg of CO2
In a car or campervan, one person = 37.77kg of CO2
If you do come by car, please try to make sure it is full of passengers to help reduce cars on the road and emissions.

As well as it being the greenest way to travel to Glastonbury it is also the most convenient because the coach drops you right by the main gate.

Combined Coach and Festival Ticket prices are listed below:

BRISTOL: Single (£207.50), Return (£221.50)

LONDON: Single (£216.50), Return (£239.00)

MANCHESTER: Single (£221.50), Return (£248.50)

LEEDS: Single (£223.50), Return (£253.00)

NOTTINGHAM: Single (£219.50), Return (£245.00)

TAUNTON: Single (£206.5), Return (£218.50)

WINCHESTER: Single (£215.50), Return (£236.50)

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Please note:

· For all Combined Coach and Festival Tickets, it is mandatory that you travel on the coach.

· Only the Coach travel portion of combined tickets will be sent out in advance.

· Your Festival tickets will be handed out to the lead booker only by the coach driver at a point during the journey.

· All coaches are for travel to the Festival site on WEDNESDAY 23RD JUNE with returns on Monday 28th June.

Coach Timetable

ETC vote winners announced!

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:28:26 +0000

The thousands of votes have been counted - and we're pleased to announce that the winners of this year's Emerging Talent Competition People's Choice vote are Edinburgh-based folk-poppers Mayhew (pictured, above). They join the judges' 11 choices in this month's live finals, where one act will win a main stage slot at the 40th Anniversary Glastonbury Festival. Hear some of their tunes at their MySpace.

But that's not all. Unfortunately, one of the judges' 11 picks is not able to make it to the live final. Dizraeli from Dizraeli and the Small Gods will be en route to Cairo, Egypt to perform another gig. As he's made the admirable vow never to fly again, he's making the trip by train, which means he's had to pull out of the competition (though we will be passing his demo CD to our stage bookers). You can actually follow his journey to Egypt through a daily blog at http://unplaned.com/.

That means the second-place act from the People's Choice vote - emotive Birmingham band Faded Cadence (pictured, right) - will also now go though to the live finals. Check them out at their MySpace by clicking here.

A big thanks to all of the bands that took part, and to all of you who voted. Look out for more news on the live finals soon.

ETC voting closes on Monday

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:48:28 +0000

Don't forget, you only have until Monday (Mar 8) at 10am to help choose the 12th finalist for this year's Emerging Talent Competition, via our People's Choice vote.

The 10 shortlisted bands are listed below. Head on over to Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition on Q's website to have a listen then vote for your favourite. Plus, everyone who votes will be put in a draw to win tickets to this year's Festival.

People's Choice - Shortlisted bands
- Alt Track
- Brascoe
- Dutch Uncles
- Faded Cadence
- Matthew Kilford
- Mayhew,
- The Beautiful Word
- The Electric Riot
- Up! Down! Strange!
- Volcanoes

Vote: Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition - People's Choice

Voting closes: 10am Monday, March 8, 2010.
Any votes received after this time will not be counted.

Help save BBC 6 Music

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:56:08 +0000

It was announced this morning that the BBC is to close its superb 6 Music radio station as part of a cost-cutting shake-up. The station - and its DJs - have been huge supporters of Glastonbury, so we'd certainly like to do our bit to help them out now. We're also saddened at the closure of the BBC Asian Network, which has broadcast some great stuff from the Festival over the years.

We believe that the decision to close the stations is the wrong one. If you agree, then please email trust.enquiries@bbc.co.uk to explain why you'll miss 6 and/or Asian Network or complete the Trust's BBC Strategy Review Online Survey. The BBC Trust will have to approve the closures and may yet refuse to do so if enough people show their support. A few minutes' effort could really make a difference.

Thank you.

48 hour grace period for ticket balance payments

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:03:37 +0000

The deadline for paying off the balance of Glastonbury tickets passed at 11.59pm last night. The vast majority of people who'd paid a deposit have now paid for their ticket in full, but we've decided to offer a 48 hour grace period for those yet to pay the balance.

If you haven't yet paid your balance, then you now have until 11.59pm on Tuesday (2nd March) to head to www.seetickets.com/g2010/ and pay the remainder.

We will be announcing details of the resale of cancelled tickets soon. Please keep an eye here on the website for the latest news on that.

Deadline to pay ticket balances is Sunday

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:43:30 +0000

Picture by Claire

If you've paid a deposit on a ticket for Glastonbury's 40th Anniversary Fesival, then you only have until Sunday night (Feb 28th) at 11.59pm to pay your balance. Please click here to head to Seetickets' website and ensure your place at the Festival

To pay your balance, you'll need the registration number and postcode for each ticket you're paying for (you can retrieve those details here). Once you've paid the balance on at least one ticket, you'll be able to book parking, campervan or Tipi tickets.

If you don't pay your balance, you'll forfeit your £10 deposit (and miss out on what's shaping up to be a truly amazing Festival).

Glastonbury highlights coming up on TV

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:17:20 +0000

There are a couple of Glastonbury 2009 highlights programmes coming up on BBC Three which we thought you might like to know about.

This Saturday night at 2.30am (ie early on Sunday morning), the channel is showing 55 minutes of Lady Gaga's explosive performance on the Other Stage (pictured, left).

Then, on Thursday 4th March at 3.15am (as in early Friday morning), they're showing Franz Ferdinand's belting Other Stage show.

Turn on, tune in, reminisce.

Glastonbury named Best Festival at NME Awards

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:52:56 +0000

At last night's NME Awards at the Brixton Academy, Glastonbury was, once again, named Best Festival. The Festival's co-organiser Emily Eavis was there to pick up the award. She'd like us to pass on a big thanks to all of you who voted for the Festival.

BBC to take Glastonbury to a global audience

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:12:33 +0000

The BBC has for many years brought Glastonbury to UK viewers, capturing brilliant concert footage and behind the scenes interviews with the bands. Now for the first time, BBC Worldwide has gained the TV distribution rights and will be taking the Festival to music fans worldwide.

Jon Mansfield, Head of Content Development for BBC Worldwide Music commented: “In this momentous year, as Glastonbury celebrates its 40th anniversary, BBC Worldwide is proud and privileged to be able to bring the much celebrated BBC coverage to a global stage. A Glastonbury performance is one of the most prestigious moments in many artists' careers and frequently results in truly historic performances. BBCW Music are honoured to play a part in bringing those extraordinary moments to what we believe, through our substantial TV distribution network, will potentially be the Festival’s biggest global audience ever!”

BBC Audio, part of BBCW Audio & Music have held the radio rights to broadcast the Festival since 1985 and in this time have licensed the performances across 40 territories worldwide reaching an average of 40 million listeners. This is the first time that BBCW Music has held the TV rights to the Glastonbury Festival and BBCW Music hopes to take it to its largest ever audience. This deal is a major landmark for this business and will see BBCW Music become the sole TV and radio distributor for the 40th Glastonbury Festival.

Ben Challis, Glastonbury Festival’s Executive Producer for Television said: “We have worked with the BBC in the UK since 1997 and the BBC’s award winning coverage of Glastonbury just gets better and better. A move to BBC Worldwide Music seemed a logical step forward to cement this relationship and we look forward to BBCW providing the world’s music fans with superb extensive coverage of this year’s 40th anniversary Glastonbury Festival.”

Vote for the last ETC finalist

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:43:46 +0000

Following yesterday's announcement of the 11 judges' picks who'll be competing in the Emerging Talent Competition final, we're asking for your help to choose the 12th finalist, via our People's Choice vote.

The 10 shortlisted bands are listed below. Head on over to Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition on Q's website to have a listen then vote for your favourite. Everyone who votes will be put in a draw to win tickets to this year's Festival.

People's Choice - Shortlisted bands
- Alt Track
- Brascoe
- Dutch Uncles
- Faded Cadence
- Matthew Kilford
- Mayhew,
- The Beautiful Word
- The Electric Riot
- Up! Down! Strange!
- Volcanoes

Vote: Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition - People's Choice

Voting closes: 10am Monday, March 8, 2010.
Any votes received after this time will not be counted.

ETC finalists named!

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:16:21 +0000

After listening to more than 1,600 entries, the judges have chosen the following 11 acts to go through to the live Emerging Talent Competition finals, where they'll compete for a main stage slot at this year's Festival. Click here for details of the 10 acts who'll be competing in a public vote for the 12th slot at the finals.

Bunny Come
www.myspace.com/bunnycome
Providing the soundtrack for a sleazy post-Skins party with dirty electronic rhythms, gritty lyrics and sweaty dance moves, Bunny Come, from the wilds of South London offer an infectious, swaggering groove that mixes wild party times with a more surreal early morning comedown.

Dizraeli And The Small Gods
www.dizraeli.com
Featuring a slam poet turned songsmith, Dizraeli and co layer, insistent acoustic guitar riffs, shuffling drums, the occasional beatbox and almost spiritual choruses behind some often ironic hyper-intense wordy rapping, breaking for a melodica here, a crashing bottle there.

Ellen And The Escapades
www.ellenandtheescapades.com
Dragging the folk rock and psychedelic pop of the late '60s into the present, Leeds-based Ellen And The Escapades sound like a youthful Kirsty McColl, with clever, catchy pop songs and some reeling melodies, not to mention the occasional harmonica.

Family Machine

Family Machine
www.youarethefamilymachine.com
Family Machine swerve from distinctive lo-fi melodic pop to twangy guitar-powered psychedelic musing. With dangerously hummable tunes and a knack for a chorus, the Oxford quartet play songs that you’ll swear you’ve heard before, infiltrated by strange sounds and ultra sharp hooks.

Let’s Buy Happiness
www.letsbuyhappiness.com
The far-off hinterland of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne never sounded so wonderfully floaty and ethereal. Let’s Buy Happiness deliver escapist theories and the gorgeous vocal of Sarah Hall on some vintage indie pop that’s every bit The Sundays at their very best, with reverb guitar for texture.

Montage Populaire
www.myspace.com/montagepopulaire
Sounding like the result of ingesting a huge record collection in one sitting, Southampton's Montage Populaire are ambitious songwriters whose sharp verse/chorus constructions are littered with arty twists that offer snatches of Bowie, Los Campensinos and early Blur high on Syd Barrett.

My Luminaries
www.myspace.com/myluminaries
Hailing from East London, with a penchant for melodramatic keyboards, and chunky guitars, My Luminaries already won a slot at the Queen’s Head when they were chosen from over 600 early bird entries. Their melodic guitar-laced anthems have also proved powerful enough to get them into the main ETC final.

The Phantom Light
www.myspace.com/thephantomlight
Ethereal, slow-paced dream pop from a Swansea trio whose floating syth and echoey guitars with some other worldly vocals fall between vintage ‘50s Phil Spector wall of sound, reverb-drenched shoegazing and emotive Mary Chain at their most haunting.

The Secret Cinema Band
www.myspace.com/secretcinemaband
Centred around the soulful croon of Laurent Francis John, The Secret Cinema Band have the key to melancholy and moody yearning. Using a selection of odd sounds – bass violin, electronic toys - to add flavour to their emotional tunes, they produce epic moments with undeniable hooks.

Tiger Shadow
www.tigershadow.com
There’s a trip hop groove holding this Leeds trio together with some witty conversational raps laid over evocative guitar and insistent rhythms. Their songs sound amazingly familiar and the mid-paced shuffle and warm vocal make Tiger Shadow feel like an old friend it’s good to hear again.

Tom Williams And The Boat
www.myspace.com/williamstommusic
Tom Williams’ lyrics are like the script for a nervous speed dater, itching to tell the world all about, well, everything. Set over well-groomed tunes that rattle with piano, sax and violin, like Springsteen if he was brought up in Kent wrestling with new technology and inner demons.

Last few campervan/caravan tickets on sale

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:22:21 +0000

Vintage campervan field picture by Jame Johnston

Tickets for the campervan/caravan field at this year's Festival are selling fast, so if you want to get one, you should probably be quick. Tickets cost £75 and allow you access to the special fields on the edge of the Festival site. For more information, please click here.

As with the car parks, we're planning to open the campervan/caravan fields slightly earlier this year, with access expected to be available from the Tuesday evening. However, the Festival site itself will still not open until 8am on Wednesday morning.

Glastonbury named International Festival of the Year

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:00:04 +0000

Michael collecting the award in 2008

We're very pleased to report that Glastonbury was named International Music Festival of the Year at the 21st Annual Pollstar Awards in LA last night. This is the fifth time that the Festival has won this prestigious award, and a very pleased Michael Eavis was there at the swanky ceremony to collect the prize (before embarking on a well-deserved holiday in San Francisco).

Jay-Z gives a Brits shout out to Glasto

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:52:13 +0000

Congratulations to Jay-Z who deservedly walked away with the Best International Male award at last night Brits, then proceeded to thank Glastonbury in his acceptance speech. We're glad that he remembers that amazing Saturday night Pyramid performance as fondly as we do. This still gives us tingles now...

Festival licence granted until 2016

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:27:21 +0000

We're very pleased to confirm reports that Glastonbury Festival was this week granted its new licence by Mendip District Council. The new licence covers the Festival from 2010 to 2016 (although, as previously announced, there will be no Festival in 2012, which will be a fallow year).

Following the approval of the new licence, there are a few changes at the Festival which we can reveal.

- Although the Festival capacity will remain the same, there will be significant extra camping and parking space.

- The Shangri-la and Arcadia areas will be given increased space and better access.

- Car parks will now open at 9pm on the Tuesday night before the Festival, allowing Festival-goers to arrive throughout the night. There will, however, be no entertainment or facilities in the car parks and Festival-goers will be expected to remain in their cars until the Festival gates open at 8am on Wednesday morning (an hour earlier than in previous years). Sorry, but no camping will be allowed in the car parks. As in 2009, there will be no amplified entertainment on the Wednesday, with the main music stages not kicking off until Friday.

- The volume of Pyramid Stage headline performances will be increased.

- The Kidz Field will now open on Thursday at 12noon (a day earlier than previously).

- Please note, all public transport arrangements will stay as per previous years - ie there will be no facilities at Castle Cary railway station for early arrivals. Public transport facilities will only begin on Wednesday morning.

Solar, so good at Worthy Farm

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:24:45 +0000

Picture by Olly

We're very pleased to announce that Worthy Farm, home of Glastonbury Festival, will soon also play host to the UK’s largest private solar electricity system. Festival organiser Michael Eavis is set to invest in 1,500 square metres of solar panels, which will generate the same amount of power annually as used by 40 homes.

The 1,100 solar panels will sit atop the barns which are home to the Worthy Farm herd while the Festival is on. On a clear, sunny day, the panels are expected to generate some 200kW of power. Any power which isn't used on the farm will be exported to the National Grid.

Because solar panels create clean electricity, the Worthy system will save around 100 tonnes of CO2 a year (equivalent to the total annual footprint of 10 people in the UK).

Said Michael Eavis: "It's a very exciting project for us. We first had renewable energy at the Festival in 1979 and we've been trying to increase it ever since. We want the Festival, and the farm, to be as green as they can be. The solar panels will make a huge contribution towards that."

Work will begin to install the panels on August 1, as long as planning permission is granted and surveys confirm that the barn roof is strong enough to hold the panels.

Oxfam Haiti auction is a huge hit

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:26:24 +0000

We're very pleased to report that the eBay auction organised by Glastonbury Festival's Emily Eavis for Oxfam, raised over £120,000 in just two weeks. All the money will go directly to Oxfam's rebuilding programme in Haiti, aiding the survivors of the catastrophic earthquake.

The generosity of the celebrities who donated items was matched by the general public who went on to eBay - helping push up the bidding for the wide variety of lots on offer. A big thanks to everyone who bid or helped spread the word.

Says Emily Eavis: "I'd like to thank everyone involved. Everyone's been so generous, it's fantastic to see how much people care. When we first had the idea of an auction for Haiti I never imagined we would raise so much. This should really help to rebuild some of what was lost."

The result of the flag poll...

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:31:21 +0000

As you might remember, last week we posted a poll to see what you folks thought about the subject of banning flags in front of the Pyramid stage. Well, the poll closed at 3pm today, and the final result is as follows (we have filtered out all duplicate votes).

- No, keep the flags (7269 votes) - 55%
- Yes, ban the flags (5909 votes) - 45%

So, it's a narrow win for "keeping". Big thanks to everyone for taking part. As well as the result itself, it's been really useful to get an idea of the passion this debate raises among festival-goers, by reading your comments across the web. We're also amazed by the list of countries you folks have voted from. It is as follows:

If our counting is correct, that's 71 different countries!

Pre-pitched tents in Tangerine Fields

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:37:39 +0000

We wanted to let you know about a new accommodation option for 2010. Tangerine FIelds is located in a secure private field, just 350 metres from Pedestrian Gate B, with an array of accommodation options on offer, from pre-pitched tents (starting at £210) and geo-domes to gypsy caravans and yurtels. Free car parking is included in your booking. NB: You will need to have a Festival ticket already - tickets are not included in these packages.

The Tangerine Fields campsite also offers campers the exclusive use of lovely loos, private showers and the popular pamper parlour, with its hair dryers and straighteners. Add a bit of luxury to your festival experience and visit www.tangerinefields.co.uk for more information and bookings.

Free camping within the Festival site is, of course, included within your ticket price.

Should flags be banned from Glastonbury?

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:29:42 +0000

UPDATE: This vote is now closed. Click here for the result.

The topic of whether flags should be banned from in front of the Pyramid Stage at the Festival seems to have been cropping up a bit recently. Our gut feeling here at Festival HQ is that they shouldn't be banned, as we think they add to the magic of a big Pyramid stage performance (as for Bruce Springsteen, above). But we wanted to find out what you folks think - so, if you have an opinion, please vote by clicking below. Thanks!

Oxfam Haiti auction update

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:36:32 +0000

A massive thanks to all of you who are helping make the Oxfam/Glastonbury Festival Haiti auction (organised by Emily Eavis) such a success. The auction has already raised a significant amount of money towards the charity's vital relief work and we appreciate all of your bids. More items have been added to the auction in the last couple of days - here's the full list of items still available to bid on:

Get your song remixed by Groove Armada - click to bid

Vivienne Westwood For Melissa Wax Seal Flat Shoe - click to bid

Adele European Tour Package (inc accommodation, flights and tickets) - click to bid

Marc Jacobs Dress donated by Corinne Bailey Rae - click to bid

Boots from Sophie Ellis-Bextor Video - click to bid

Elton John's Versace Suit - click to bid

Tickets to Shockwaves NME awards 2010 ceremony - click to bid

Signed, one-off Damien Hirst All You Need Is Love print - click to bid

Manic Street Preachers' signed, hand-decorated Fender - click to bid

Manic Street Preachers' signed, custom-made Amp - click to bid

Manic Street Preachers' Red Fender Tornado - click to bid

Signed photo from the Sopranos - click to bid

Signed and framed Duffy picture - click to bid

Danny from The Script's Leather jacket - click to bid

Original Screenprint of Guardian Guide Glastonbury 09 - click to print

Saint Etienne rare memoribilia - click to bid

A Single Man poster signed by the cast - click to bid

Vampire Weekend Signed Tennis Racquet from video - click to bid

A Single Man poster signed by the cast - click to bid

Signed Dave Grohl guitar courtesy of Q magazine - click to bid

Matthias Clamer Green Day print, courtesy of Q Magazine - click to bid

One week stay at Jura Lodge (inc travel) - click to bid

Whisky masterclass with Richard Paterson - click to bid

Signed Kate Bush poster 1 - click to bid

Signed Kate Bush poster 2 - click to bid

Work Experience at Glastonbury Festival 2010 - click to bid

Signed Coldplay Viva La Vida tour programme 1 - click to bid

Signed Coldplay Viva La Vida tour programme 2 - click to bid

Limited edition Tous handbag signed by Kylie Minogue - click to bid

(Thanks again for bidding and helping to spread the word)

Jack Johnson confirmed for Glastonbury 2010

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 11:58:43 +0000

We're pleased to confirm the news posted on Jack Johnson's official website today - the Hawaiian singer-songwriter will play at this year's Festival, with a slot on Sunday, 27th June.

Jack, U2 and Emerging Talent Contest early bird winners My Luminaries are the only acts officially confirmed so far. The full line-up won't be announced until nearer the Festival.

A message on behalf of Billy Bragg

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:32:19 +0000

Photo by Pete Dunwell

Billy Bragg is a long time friend of the Festival and he's asked us to let you know about a new campaign he's launched, calling on the government to stop bonus payments to RBS bankers. You can sign up to the NoBonus4RBS Facebook group by clicking here.

Or check out the campaign's own website at nobonus4rbs.co.uk (where, if you scroll to the bottom, you can download the text of the speech Billy made at Speaker's Corner today, pictured above).

Emily Eavis and Chris Martin in Haiti

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:05:25 +0000

Click here to check out all the items in the Oxfam Haiti auction.

Earn a Glasto ticket with Chameleon Trust

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:13:07 +0000

The Chameleon Trust has been involved with the Festival for many years, and now provides more than 100 volunteer stewards. And they're looking for volunteers for 2010.

In order to earn your entrance ticket into Glastonbury Festival, you will need to give them 24 hours (divided into 3 x 8 hour shifts) of your time. The work will be mainly stewarding, traffic management and crowd control. The work begins on Saturday 19th June and ends on Monday 28th June.

You will be required to pay a bond of £200 (they don’t charge an extra administration fee). This bond will be returned to you in full on satisfactory completion of your shifts.

The Trust operate a secure campsite for their volunteers, just outside of the perimeter fence but it is an easy and quick walk into the festival. They do stipulate that you camp with them at least until your 3 shifts have been completed, after which time you are free to pack up and camp elsewhere if you wish – or of course stay with them on our secure site. They also operate a staff catering unit, where you will be able to enjoy good food at discounted prices.

Interested? Then click here to head over to their website, for full details of how to apply.

More items added to Haiti auction

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 10:31:06 +0000

Leading artists Damien Hirst, Jeremy Deller, Rolf Harris and photographer Rankin have joined Damon Albarn, Coldplay, Arctic Monkeys and a host of other music stars by donating rare, exclusive and signed items to the Oxfam/Glastonbury Festival Haiti auction, organised by Emily Eavis.

All monies raised by the auction will go directly towards Oxfam's response work in Haiti after the catastrophic earthquake. The auction is open on eBay until Tuesday February 2.

Here is the latest list of items, with direct links to their eBay bidding page:

A whole load of 4AD Rare Memorabilia - click to bid

Meet Colin Firth at the premiere of A Single Man - click to bid

Vivienne Westwood For Melissa Wax Seal Flat Shoe - click to bid

Interpol signed limited edition boxed of album 'Antics' - click to bid

Vivienne Westood for Melissa Platform Shoes - click to bid

Adele European Tour Package (inc accommodation, flights and tickets) - click to bid

One week stay at Jura Lodge (inc travel) - click to bid

Whisky masterclass with Richard Paterson - click to bid

Signed Biffy Clyro Artwork - click to bid

Two signed View albums + more - click to bid

Jools Holland signed CD 'The Informer' - click to bid

Alesha Dixon's Wedding Dress - click to bid

Signed, one-off Damien Hirst All You Need Is Love print - click to bid

2 Glastonbury VIP tickets PLUS watch show from Pyramid - click to bid

2 Glastonbury VIP tickets PLUS backstage Tipi - click to bid

2 Glastonbury VIP tickets PLUS backstage pass - click to bid

Luxury shower in the Eavis farmhouse at Glastonbury 2010 - click to bid

Rolf Harris Oil Painting 'Pine on the Hill' - click to bid

DJ Shadow's Technics SL-1200MK2 Turntable - click to bid

The Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner’s Guitar - click to bid

Yes Pet Shop Boys Vinyl Ltd Ed Box Set - click to bid

Rare Roland tr-727 drum machine from Chemical Brothers - click to bid

Dido's Life For Rent dress, with hand-written letter of authenticity - click to bid

Hear Gang of Four’s new album with Andy Gill - click to bid

Chris Martin’s ‘Viva La Vida’ tour jacket signed by Coldplay - click to bid

Radiohead ‘Fleet Street Apocalypse’ linocut - click to bid

Original Roxy Music Artwork donated by Bryan Ferry - click to bid

Signed Status Quo Stage Clothes - click to bid

La Roux signed Sylvie Markovina necklaces - click to bid

Signed Basement Jaxx back catalogue - click to bid

Magic Numbers play in your garden - click to bid

Stornoway limited edition single and signed t-shirt - click to bid

A painting from Annie Lennox's private collection - click to bid

Hand-written lyrics by the Klaxons - click to bid

A guitar from The Kooks - click to bid

Florence and the Machine Limited edition signed print - click to bid

Pearl Jam signed Backspacer Artwork - click to bid

Personal song written by Damon Albarn - click to bid

Signed Basement Jaxx back catalogue - click to bid

Mika Signed Print of Album Cover - click to bid

PJ Harvey stage outfit - click to bid

Foals Guitar - click to bid

Editors signed Yamaha Snare Drum - click to bid

Chemical Brothers 'Brotherhood' album artwork - click to bid

Shlomo Beatboxing Lesson - click to bid

Mark Ronson Guitar from single 'Valerie' - click to bid

Placebo signed Battle For The Sun Box Set - click to bid

Saint Etienne rare memoribilia - click to bid

ETC deadline extended to Tuesday night

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:46:32 +0000

To cope with last-minute demand, the deadline for the 2010 Emerging Talent Competition has been extended until 11.59pm on Tuesday January 26 (ie tomorrow night). If you're still hoping to win a slot on one of the Festival's main music stages, then go to qthemusic.com/glastonburyemergingtalent before then.

With a bit of luck, you could be following in the footsteps of 2009 winners We Have Band, who are releasing their much-anticipated debut album in April.

Oxfam auction for Haiti open now!

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 09:04:16 +0000

Some of the biggest names in music, including Damon Albarn, Coldplay and Arctic Monkeys, have come together to put on a special eBay auction to raise funds for Oxfam’s emergency response in Haiti.

Amongst the exclusives items in the auction is an offer from Damon Albarn to record a specially written piece of music, the iconic blonde Fender Stratocaster played by Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner in their first video and Coldplay singer Chris Martin’s ‘Viva La Vida’ tour jacket, signed by the band.

The auction, which is open now, also includes several Glastonbury items:

- VIP tickets to Glastonbury 2010, giving the winners access to the backstage areas and watching a band from the side of the Pyramid stage. Click here to bid on this item.
- A pair of VIP tickets for Glastonbury Festival 2010 with a Tipi backstage. Click here to bid on this item.
- A pair of VIP tickets for Glastonbury Festival 2010 with backstage pass. Click here to bid on this item.
- A luxurious hot shower at the Eavis family farmhouse during the Glastonbury weekend, for one festival-goer to wash away the festival excesses in style. (This item is only open to existing ticket holders) Click here to bid on this item.

The auction runs for ten days, closing on Tuesday 2 February. All proceeds from the auction will go to Oxfam’s humanitarian response in Haiti.

Emily Eavis, who has helped organise the auction with Oxfam, said: “Just like the millions of people who have already given so generously to the DEC appeal for Haiti, we felt it was important to do whatever we could to help as quickly as possible. We hope people will dig deep for some of these amazing auction prizes and help Oxfam to save lives in Haiti at the same time."

The full auction can be seen at stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/Oxfam-Shop.

To make a donation to the DEC Haiti Earthquake Appeal visit www.dec.org.uk or call 0370 60 60 900, donate over the counter at any post office or high street bank, or send a cheque made payable to ‘DEC Haiti Earthquake Appeal’ to ‘PO Box 999, London, EC3A 3AA’.

Glastonbury recycling film

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:14:46 +0000

If you were walking in the countryside would you throw your rubbish on the floor or wait for a bin?

This short film gives you an insight into the huge operation that takes place to keep the Glastonbury site clean during the Festival. Every can or plastic bottle that goes into the recycling bins gets sorted by hand, by our dedicated recycling team in the green barn close to the farm.

Everyone needs to play their part to help the recycling process at Glastonbury Festival so please don't just throw it on the floor - wait and put it in a bin. Then, please check that the rubbish you're throwing away is going into the correct bin.

Thank you.

Lucy
Love the Farm, LEAVE NO TRACE

Film by Joe Wheatley, Rik Burnell. Logo by Joanna Broom.
Soundtracked by the Foals song Olympic Airways

Glastonbury panoramas: the Kings Meadow

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:34:01 +0000

We haven't shown you another of our 360 degree panoramas from Glastonbury 2009 for a little while. So here's this one, which shows just how chilled things are away from the hustle and bustle in the ~~Healing Field~~. Actually, we should hold our hands up and admit that this panorame was mis-labelled. It shows the bottom of the Kings Meadow (Stone Circle) field - not the Healing Field (which you can just see the back of). Apologies for any confusion caused.

Drag with your mouse to move, press "shift" to zoom in and "ctr" to zoom out.

Panorama by Tom Widd

One week left to win a 2010 Festival slot

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:54:06 +0000

Picture by Amy Walker

There are now just seven days left to enter the 2010 Emerging Talent Competition, with the prize of a slot on one of the Festival’s main music stages up for grabs. Get yourself over to qthemusic.com/glastonburyemergingtalent before January 25 to submit your entry.

You can also check out the bands which have entered so far on Q's website, by clicking here.

Glastonbury featured in new Blur film

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 11:18:53 +0000

Last night saw the premiere of No Distance Left To Run, a new film about Blur, at the Odeon West End in London. A friend of ours who went along tells us that the band's headline performance from Glastonbury 2009 provides "the emotional climax of the story". The film arrives at cinemas across Europe from next week - click here for a full list of places showing it. In the meantime, here's the trailer...

Oxfam's Haiti appeal

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:29:12 +0000

I visited Haiti with Oxfam in 2002 and it's the poorest place I've ever been, by a long way - it seems doubly unfair that it should be hit by such a devastating earthquake, especially after the hurricanes of the last two years. They do not have the resources needed to cope with a disaster of this scale, that is what makes this so much worse. I know how hard people there work to try to survive, they have an incredible spirit and face hardship head on without self pity. I can't imagine how they are coping now.

Glastonbury is supporting Oxfam's appeal for Haiti - if you go to the website Oxfam.org.uk you can make a donation. Thank you.

Emily

"We're absolutely over the moon!"

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:25:27 +0000

Following yesterday's announcement that My Luminaries were the early bird winners for this year's Emerging Talent Competition (which closes on 25th January), we caught up with the band's singer, James Ewers.

Hi James. Presumably you're quite pleased to have won a slot at Glastonbury 2010?
Of course! We're absolutely over the moon! Its the greatest festival in the world, and we realise how lucky we are to be playing. Every band in the world wants to play Glastonbury.

What made you enter the competition?
Leila (keyboards) had seen it advertised on the Glastonbury site and repeatedly reminded me to apply before Xmas so we wouldn't miss the early bird deadline. I'm embarrassed to say that I was in no real rush to apply, because I've never won anything, and My Luminaries haven't had much in the way of luck....so, thanks Leila, your persistence paid off!! There's a lesson to be learnt there.

Have you been to Glastonbury before?
I actually played on the main stage in 2002, as part of an act to raise awareness for AIDS in Africa. I was playing guitar for Cameron Saul, a songwriter who was running the Mulberry 'bottletop' campaign at the time. I fluffed up on the first few chords and was about to stop in shame, when Michael Eavis walked on to show his endorsement for Cameron, and the crowd went crazy! So luckily I had the chance to start the song again and it was OK. There were 50,000 people watching us, as they were there to see Rolf Harris who was on afterwards. I'll never forget the hand-written sign in the crowd "ROLF...THE BABY'S YOURS!!"

Other Glastonbury highlights include skanking to The Specials and Madness, seeing Neil Young, Springsteen, and I have to mention an all time lowlight - and something I'm really not proud of - taking an excessive amount of herbal highs and paying the price for the next 2 days. Though the medical team were extremely friendly and professional, I feel bad for wasting their precious time and towels.

Also unlike any other festival I've been to, Glastonbury really has a certain communal family spirit, which in these times is easy to assume doesn't exist. You see mothers and fathers carrying their babies, groups of friends in full fancy dress, and on such a scale its totally unique and magical.

Your prize is a slot at the Queen's Head on Thursday. Excited?
Very. Sam (drummer) and I went to Glastonbury last year, and Sam as always turned to me and said "We'll be playing here next year mate". I think we were watching Status Quo at the time. They seem to install that sort of hope in people! The Queen's Head stage always has a great combination of new and more revered artists, and of the newer ones, a lot seem to go on to bigger things. So we're excited to be a part of that.

We've been on the circuit for nearly 6 years now, and we'd gone into the new decade having just parted from our third manager, and realised that we couldn't afford to put out our album and single the way we'd planned and felt it deserved. The initial reaction to our album had been disappointing to say the least. When I got the call saying that we had been selected to play from several hundred bands, I literally said to the man on the end of the phone, "Do you realise what you've done for us?! You're like an angel from above!!" I think he found that a little weird!

What can folks expect if they come and see you?
We're gonna be having the time of our lives, I can guarantee that. It may be the only festival we play this year and may be the only time we ever play Glastonbury, so we'll make sure we relax, just do what we do best and make it worthwhile. We're definitely better suited to big occasions, and we always rise to them. If you look carefully, you might see me turn to Sam and mouth "We're here mate"!

Of course, you're also still in the main Emerging Talent Competition, with a chance of winning a main stage slot at the Festival. How do you rate your chances now?
I presume our chances must be fair, and we're open to every possible opportunity, but we realise how fortunate we are to have won this slot already. There are thousands of other great bands out there who deserve a shot, and we won't grumble if we don't get selected. We'll be there anyway.

Finally, what else have My Luminaries got planned for 2010?
We're touring end of Jan/early February, releasing 'Parasol', the first single from our album 'Order From The Chaos' in March. And the album will be available to buy online from early February. Its actually available now from our myspace, free, but not for much longer, so hurry. Hopefully more festivals, more tours, more people at the front singing our songs back to us. You can't ask for more than that. See you there!!

For more information on My Luminaries, head over to www.myspace.com/myluminaries

For more information on entering the 2010 Emerging Talent Competition, click here

ETC early bird winners announced

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 11:24:44 +0000

We're pleased to be able to announce the early bird winners of this year's Emerging Talent Competition. As you might remember, any act entering the competition before December 31st had the chance to win a slot on the Queen's Head Stage at Glastonbury 2010, as well as remaining in the overall competition.

Having listened to more than 600 entries which came in before the end of the year, the judges have selected East Londoners My Luminaries as the first ever ETC early bird winner. The five-piece have a penchant for melodramatic keyboards, chunky guitars and driving rhythms and have been hailed by Radio 1’s Edith Bowman, Huw Stephens and 6 Music’s Tom Robinson in recent times. Check out some of their sparkling tunes at www.myspace.com/myluminaries.

Said Dave Henderson, early bird judge and Producer of the Queen's Head Stage: "With their heady mix of great melody lines and infectious hooks, it sounds like My Luminaries have the coolest record collection ever. We're really looking forward to seeing them at the Festival."

There are just two weeks left for acts to enter the Emerging Talent Competition, with the main prize of a chance to perform on one of the Festival’s main music stages still up for grabs.

To enter, bands and performers must not be signed to a major label and should be based in the UK or Ireland. Acts should upload two of their tracks to qthemusic.com/glastonburyemergingtalent, which is open until 25th January 2010. Each entry costs £11.95, which covers the running costs of the competition and the event finals. Twelve acts will be selected for the live finals which will be held at the end of March 2010.

Live Glastonbury snow on the BBC webcam

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 12:19:35 +0000

If you'd like to see how the snow is looking on the farm RIGHT NOW, then you're in luck - as the BBC webcam is still up and running. Check out the latest images below:

Click here if you'd like to see the Beeb's pictures a bit bigger.

More Worthy Farm snow pics

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 14:33:56 +0000

Jason Bryant has very kindly just sent us some more pictures of a very snowy Worthy Farm. As with yesterday's shots, we've made the Pyramid field picture below clickable, in case you'd like to see a bigger version:

(Thanks Jason!)

A snowy day on the farm

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:00:02 +0000

Emily has just sent us over these ace snaps of how Worthy Farm is looking today. In case you want the Pyramid one as your desktop wallpaper, we've uploaded a bigger version which you can get to by clicking the pic below. The second shot shows Emily and Michael outside the farmhouse, with a stuck milk lorry behind them!

Time running out for trader applications

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:53:03 +0000

Picture by Dick Litton Holt

Happy new year everyone!

Applications to trade at Glastonbury's 40th anniversary Festival officially closed on January 3rd, but the deadline has been extended until Friday, January 8th. Our Markets HQ are particularly on the look out for unique and quirky stalls - whether they be mouth-watering munchies, inspired imports or captivating crafts. If you feel you have something special to offer, don’t delay.

Michael's beard named decade's best!

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:52:35 +0000

We're very pleased to report that Michael Eavis's beard has been voted Beard of the Noughties by 200 members of the beard campaign group, the Beard Liberation Front.

"Michael Eavis is a true hirsute icon of the Noughties and he beat [Fidel] Castro to the accolade by the merest whisker," organiser Keith Flett told the Telegraph.

Amazing.

BBC Glasto coverage on NYE

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 09:11:13 +0000

On New Year's Eve, BBC TV is offering two chances to relive Glastonbury 2009. At 6.30pm on BBC1 there will be some Glastonbury highlights included in the Top of the Pops review of the year in pop. Then, at 1.15am in the very early hours of New Year's Day, BBC2 will be showing a two hour Glastonbury 2009 Highlights programme. What better way to kick off the new decade...?

An end-of-year chat with Emily

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 09:23:07 +0000

Hello Emily, how are things at the farm?
Great, thanks. We're all geared up for Christmas!

Were you pleased with the reaction to the U2 headline announcement?
Yeah, it was a brilliant reaction. We normally let Christmas come and go before entering into the whole Who's Playing Glastonbury? thing. But the early announcement of U2 was great, because it gave us a real reminder that everyone is really excited about next year. The feedback we had was fantastic. And we had a record amount of people paying the balance on their deposits immediately after it was announced. That really proved that people want to see them. But then obviously they do - they're U2! When you think of those anthems in the context of Glastonbury - you know it's going to be special.

They are, of course, a band who polarise opinions.
Yes. I think if you're a band with a serious level of success over a long period of time, then you're always going to have that, particularly in Britain. But U2's songs are phenomenal. To see them singing With Or Without You or Where The Streets Have No Name will just be amazing. And I think U2 and Glastonbury have actually got real similarities, in terms of campaigning, positivity, and being very un-cynical. That's why it's really exciting. People get quite scared to be positive, because it's such a cynical world. I think it'll be a great coming together.

Was booking them a smooth process?
It was, actually. It was a really direct, very simple conversation. The deal was done very quickly and without any hoo-ha from their whole team. It's amazing for a band that size to want to deal with us directly and keep it really simple. I really admire them for that. You get much smaller bands with a far more difficult system around them.

How are the other two headliners coming together?
Well, Saturday night is confirmed. And for Sunday night, we're looking at three main options right now. That's all being sorted out at the moment.

When do you think they'll be announced?
I can't give you a date yet, but probably early next year. We'd like to let people know. The great thing about next year is that there's a lot of bands who've been a big part of the Festival who really want to get involved and not necessarily in the slot that they would normally have. A lot of them are much bigger than where they're going to be playing. But there are some real Glastonbury heritage bands that mean a lot to us and mean a lot to the audience. I think people will be really, really excited about the line-up.

Sounds like it's going to be hard to match it in 2011?
Well, you say that, but that's actually coming along nicely too!

So, it's looking like England will be playing a couple of World Cup games during the 2010 Festival. Will you be showing the matches?
Yes. The game on the Wednesday night will definitely be showing on the Pyramid Stage screens. The other game, which it looks like they'll be playing on the Saturday or Sunday, obviously won't be on the Pyramid. But it will be shown on site somewhere, we're just not quite sure where yet. There was an England game on the Friday night at the Festival in 1998, and we showed that in the cinema field. It was during the Foo Fighters, and it was still absolutely packed at the Pyramid.

What else are you busy with?
This week, we've been working on the Shangri-la area. We're opening that out a bit. It's going to be expanded into a field called Clapps Ground which is behind it. The plan is that it's going to be much easier to get into in 2010. There will be multiple entry points, but it will also be more spread out, so that more people can get down there and enjoy it.

So, do you look at problems from the previous Festival and try to address them?
Absolutely. The stuff that's going on down there is really incredible and most people want to get over there, particularly after hours. I was caught in one of those jams on the railway line this year and it's not great. It's pretty uncomfortable and it's not very nice having someone shouting, "Stick to the left!" So we're hoping to avoid all of that by opening it out. And Shangri-la's plans for the area itself are, once again, looking pretty incredible.

They're already in full-swing with planning?
Yeah, we've been looking at plans and new ideas. And the Arcadia lot were down yesterday discussing all kinds of crazy plans. We're going through a lot of that planning at this point. We're also talking about doing something to mark the 40 years. There are lots of ideas flying around, but we want it to be something which everyone can access. So possibly something in the air.

Looking back on 2009, it's been a pretty good year?
It was a brilliant year. 2008 was a really important year for us and, I think, enabled us to have such a good year in 2009. It was a really successful year with some amazing acts. Blur obviously had a phenomenal gig. That's gone down as a little part of folk history. And Bruce and Neil were pretty phenomenal too. We really did have a great year.

And now you're looking forward to 2010?
Exactly. Really looking forward to it. It's incredibly exciting. The fact that the Festival's been going for 40 years, with a lot of the original people still working on it, is fantastic. And I think the Glastonbury crowd is without doubt the best in the world, too. They're a really generous, un-cynical crowd. People come here to enjoy themselves, whatever the weather or the conditions. The Festival just wouldn't work without that commitment from the people who buy the tickets. So, yeah, I think the anniversary is giving everyone a chance to take stock. There's a real feeling of pride and excitement and love for the Festival. It looks like 2010 is going to be a pretty special year for us.

Michael Eavis visits Copenhagen climate event

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:41:28 +0000

Festival organiser Michael Eavis visited the Copenhagen climate change gathering last week as an ambassador for the UK’s music scene. His visit, organised by the Europe-wide campaign “Play to Stop: Europe for Climate”, included a tour of green initiatives called Hopenhagen and a concert by the Backstreet Boys.

“Climate change threatens us all,” said Michael. “There are huge consequences, and we’re as desperate as anyone else to help solve the problem.

“The message I took to Copenhagen was that we all need to make a contribution in our personal lives to reduce our carbon footprint. We’ve already done quite a lot at the festival but we’d like to do some more, especially introducing more renewable energy.”

You can watch a video interview with Michael at Play to Stop's website by clicking here.

Glastonbury most-watched on BBC Red Button

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:19:35 +0000

The BBC has published a list of its Top 2009 Music content on the Red Button interactive service, in terms of audience. The Top 5 is as follows:

1. Glastonbury 2009 - 6.06 million
2. Electric Proms - 2.56 million
3. T In The Park - 2.05 million
4. Reading and Leeds Music Festival - 1.85 million
5. Robbie Williams on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross - 1.19 million

Pretty amazing!

Stornoway's Copenhagen blog

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:42:21 +0000

Picture: John Bullock

You might remember that eclectic folk-popsters Stornoway were one of the finalists for the 2009 Emerging Talent Contest (click for info on this year's ETC). Well, Brian Briggs from the band is currently in Copenhagen for the UN Climate Summit and he's written this blog on behalf of one of the Festival's good causes, Oxfam.

I don't like to think about climate change and I'm sure most people are the same. When I was 10 years old I first learnt about it at school and I had terrible nightmares about drowning in the rising seas. I still get properly scared when I think about the implications of climate change for people around the world. We are crammed onto a planet which quite simply cannot support our current lifestyles - people have calculated that we would need 3 Planet Earth's to support our current rate of consumption. The effects of climate change are going to result in even less resources to go round, and more fighting over who gets what. People need to accept that we've had it too easy, and that we need to start making significant lifestyle changes.

The good news is that reducing our carbon emissions needn't result in any loss of quality of life or happiness. In fact many studies show that a less polluting lifestyle, for example through eating less meat and cycling to work, can actually make us feel happier, as well as saving money. It might even help to save the rapidly fading concept of 'community'. I personally believe that a sense of community will be vital to the process of cutting back, since at all levels (from the White House to your house) it requires EVERYONE to do their bit - it only takes one selfish thinker to drag everyone else down.

And while I'm on that point, there is nothing that riles me more than climate change deniers. What an uncaring, greedy standpoint to take. The facts are clear. If we don't act now this world is going to become a very ugly place within a short space of time, and our children will never forgive us. And the other frustrating thing is that most people don't even realise people in developing countries are ALREADY hugely affected. But at least organisations like Oxfam are pushing for something positive to come out of Copenhagen on this front. I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that the future quality of billions of lives is at stake.

Brian

Sign up to demand change at Copenhagen at www.tcktcktck.org

Story of the Noughties on Radio 1 tonight

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:02:48 +0000

Tonight on BBC Radio 1, their Story of the Noughties reaches 2008 and the show is set to feature a look at the controversy around Jay-Z's (awesome) appearance on the Pyramid Stage. Click here to listen live at 9pm, or use the Listen Again option to hear it until 28th December.

Picture from bbc.co.uk

Greenpeace updates from Copenhagen

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:06:16 +0000

This week, world leaders are in Copenhagen for the UN Climate Summit which will decide what shape the global fight against climate change will take. One of the Festival's worthy causes, Greenpeace, is over in Denmark for the whole summit - click here to check out reports and updates on their website.

West Pennard Primary School's Festival Report

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 08:55:26 +0000

We thought you might like to see this video report, which was put together by the children from West Pennard Primary School, the Festival's local school. "It's the perfect little trailer for the Festival," says Michael.

Michael Eavis: "farmer of the decade"

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:22:16 +0000

Picture from the Observer's piece

There was a great interview with Michael in the Observer Music Monthly's review of the noughties yesterday, headlined "Michael Eavis: farmer of the decade". Click here to read it.

A little video of the site...

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:04:37 +0000

We were down at the farm recently, so we made a little video showing how the site is looking (filmed from up near the Engine Shed). And here it is:

(It's soundtracked by Coldplay's Don't Panic)

U2 confirmed for Glastonbury 2010!

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:30:33 +0000

We're very pleased to confirm that U2 will headline the Pyramid Stage on Friday night at Glastonbury 2010.

Said Michael Eavis: "The 26-year-old rumour has finally come true. At last, the biggest band in the world are going to play the best festival in the world! Nothing could be better for our 40th anniversary party. And there are even more surprises in the pipeline..."

Glastonbury wins at UK Festival Awards

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:03:52 +0000

We're very pleased to announce that Glastonbury won two awards at last night's UK Festival Awards ceremony in London. The Festival was named Best Major Festival, while Blur's magical Sunday night headline set was voted Best Headline Performance.

"It's amazing," Emily Eavis just told us. "We're really pleased. Big thanks to everyone who voted for us."

Glastonbury panoramas: the Pyramid Stage

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:03:10 +0000

If you've never been to Glastonbury and wonder what it's like to stand in a big Pyramid Stage on a sunny day, this gives you a good idea...

Drag with your mouse to move, press "shift" to zoom in and "ctr" to zoom out.

Panorama by Tom Widd

2010 Emerging Talent Competition launches!

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:49:16 +0000

Glastonbury Festival, in association with Q Magazine, is pleased to announce the return of the Emerging Talent Competition for the 40th Anniversary Festival in 2010.

The Festival runs the annual competition to unearth the UK's top unsigned acts - then gives them a chance to perform on one of the Festival’s main music stages. In the last five years, the ETC has helped bring bands including The Subways, Golden Silvers, Scouting For Girls, Stornoway and We Have Band to prominence.

Emily Eavis says: "New music is an integral part of Glastonbury and we want to give the best new bands a chance to play on the Pyramid Stage. Last year, as well as the winners performing on the John Peel Stage, all the finalists got gigs on smaller stages, too. We look forward to hearing from all those unsigned bands who want a chance to play next year, which is looking set to be very special as it's our 40th anniversary."

This year there will be a double chance for acts to win. In addition to the 12 entrants selected for the live finals of the main competition, one early bird entrant (any act entering before Dec 31st) will be selected to play the Queen's Head Stage at Glastonbury 2010. The early bird winner will also remain in the competition, retaining their chance to be selected for the live finals and, ultimately, win a slot on the Pyramid or Other Stage.

As usual, the competition will be judged by a team of music experts, representing the Festival (Michael and Emily Eavis), BBC Radio One (Huw Stephens) and Q Magazine (editor Paul Rees). The judges will be responsible for picking 11 of the finalists, with 10 runners-up put to a public vote to secure the 12th spot.

To enter, bands and performers must not be signed to a major label and should be based in the UK or Ireland. Acts should upload two of their tracks to qthemusic.com/glastonburyemergingtalent, which is open until 25th January 2010. Each entry costs £11.95, which covers the running costs of the competition and the event finals. The live finals will be held at the end of March 2010.

Glastonbury Festival 2010 runs from Wednesday 23rd – Sunday 27th June. Tickets for the festival are sold out. For more information please see www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

Glastonbury panoramas: the Circus Field

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:15:08 +0000

It's been a little while since we showed you another of our 360 degree panoramas from this year's Festival. So, here's a nice one showing the Circus Field.

Drag with your mouse to move, press "shift" to zoom in and "ctr" to zoom out.

Panorama by Tom Widd

Classic 80s pictures in the Gallery

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:49:10 +0000

You might remember a little while ago that we asked you to upload more of your pictures from previous Festivals to the Gallery. Happily, loads of you did - so we thought we'd post some of our favourites...

1981

Uploaded by Adam Weatherhead (that's him on the donkey!)

1982

Another from Adam Weatherhead

1983
Picture by Mo Grainger

1984

Uploaded by Simon: "Sadly I no longer have the car. Or the jeans. Or the hair."

Picture by Tim Patrick-Smith

1986

Picture by Kim

1987

Picture by Keith Strange

1989

Picture by Southend Sites (still looking very quiet in the fields behind the Pyramid...)

Big thanks to the thousands of you who've uploaded pictures to the Gallery so far - keep 'em coming!

Best of Arcadia film - new edit

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:11:21 +0000

You might remember that we showed you Arcadia's Glasto 2009 highlights film a few months back. Well, Pip Rush has sent through a great new edit of the film, which we thought you might also like to see...

Seetickets coach tickets on sale

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:19:46 +0000

Tickets for Seetickets' coaches to next year's 40th anniversary Festival are now on sale from seetickets.com/g2010coaches.

As an official Glastonbury travel supplier, they will drop you off at the coach park in the actual site, meaning a much shorter walk carrying all your gear. Also by choosing to travel by coach you will be helping the Festival to not only reduce congestion but carbon emissions, ensuring an environmentally friendly method of travel. Seetickets also strive to use carbon neutral coaches. You will need your Festival ticket booking reference number (not your registration number) to book coach tickets.

Departure points/prices are as follows:

Departure point	Price
BIRMINGHAM	£45.50
BRIGHTON	£45.50
CAMBRIDGE	£57.00
CARDIFF	£35.50
CHELTENHAM	£40.00
HULL	£63.50
LEEDS	£63.00
LIVERPOOL	£56.50
LONDON	£49.00
MAIDSTONE	£57.00
MANCHESTER	£58.50
NEWCASTLE	£76.50
NORWICH	£64.50
NOTTINGHAM	£55.00
OXFORD	£40.50
PLYMOUTH	£36.50
SHEFFIELD	£59.50
SOUTHAMPTON	£46.50

All tickets are subject to £1.50 postage, but there are no booking fees.

Glastonbury panoramas: The Park in the dark

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:15:52 +0000

Hey folks. Here's another of our 360 degree panoramas from this year's Festival. This one shows the entrance to The Park, in the dark.

Drag with your mouse to move, press "shift" to zoom in and "ctr" to zoom out.

Panorama by Tom Widd

Glastonbury panoramas: The Bandstand

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:53:59 +0000

Check out another of our 360 degree panoramas taken at Glastonbury 2009. This one shows the Bandstand. (We particularly like the double appearance of the topless chap with the green bag.)

Drag with your mouse to move, press "shift" to zoom in and "ctr" to zoom out.

Panorama by Tom Widd

Bookings open for 2010 myhabs

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:36:54 +0000

Although camping is included in the price of a Festival ticket, there are some other options available. In 2010, you'll be able to sleep in a myhab - a solid, sturdy unit made mostly from ultra-tough recycled plastic and water-proof cardboard. The company are also offering pre-erected two-person tents.

The myhab village will be located at Pennard Hill Farm, five minutes from the Festival site, with its own pedestrian entrance to the Festival close to the King's Meadow field (aka the Stone Circle field). Accommodation will consist of the myhab with its king size foam bedding and built in locker or the two-person pre-erected tents. The camping village comes complete with parking, toilets and showers just for myhab guests.

The myhabs sleep two people and cost £395 for the Festival, with the two-person tents (which you get to keep) costing £225. (Please note that Festival tickets are not included in the price.) For more information, please visit myhab.com.

Glastonbury panoramas: Dance Village

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:06:14 +0000

Here's another of our 360 degree panoramas taken at Glastonbury 2009. This one shows the Dance Village, at night.

Drag with your mouse to move, press "shift" to zoom in and "ctr" to zoom out.

Panorama by Tom Widd

Pics from The Park

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:52:51 +0000

We were up at the farm the other day, so we thought we'd take some pictures - especially when we saw that the sheep were grazing in The Park:

(You should be able to spot the Pyramid in that last one)

Tipis and campervan update (and a Tipi Field panorama)

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:35:30 +0000

A few of you have been in touch to ask how you can pay for campervan/caravan tickets, a tipi and/or parking tickets. If you've only paid a deposit so far, then you need to pay off the balance of at least one ticket at seetickets.com/g2010 - where you'll be offered the chance to purchase at the same time. If you have already paid in full for a Festival ticket, you'll need to call 0844 412 4626 and book over the phone.

Campervan/caravan tickets cost £75 (and are selling fast), parking is £15 and tipis cost £820 (housing six people for five nights).

While we're on the subject of tipis, check out another new panorama shot, taken at Glastonbury 2009. Drag with your mouse to move the panorama, press "shift" to zoom in and "ctr" to zoom out. And click the full screen button to have it take up your whole monitor.

Panorama by Tom Widd

Glastonbury shortlisted for UK Festival Awards

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:42:02 +0000

We're pleased to report that, following a first round of public voting, Glastonbury has been shortlisted in four categories at this year's UK Festival Awards. We're up for:

- Best Major Festival
- Best Dance Event
- Best Headline Performance (Blur, Pyramid Stage, Sunday)
- Critics' Choice Award (The Prodigy, Other Stage, Sunday)

Please click here if you'd like to vote for Glastonbury to win. Voting closes on November 4th, with the winners to be announced at a live event held on November 19th at the Indig02 in London.

Thanks folks.

Glastonbury panoramas: Field of Avalon

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:18:55 +0000

At Glastonbury 2009, photographer Tom Widd came along to make 360 degree panoramas of several of the Festival's areas. We're really pleased with them - and we're going to be uploading them to the website over the next couple of weeks, beginning with the panorama from the Field of Avalon.

Check it out below. Drag with your mouse to move the panorama, press "shift" to zoom in and "ctr" to zoom out. And click the full screen button to have it take up your whole monitor.

Panorama by Tom Widd

Ticket registration re-opens

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:51:24 +0000

Picture by Hollie, from the Gallery

Registration for those wishing to buy tickets to next year's 40th Anniversary Festival has just re-opened at www.glastonburyregistration.co.uk. Although there will be no further ticket sales in 2009, there will be a re-sale of cancelled tickets in spring 2010. If you register today, you can also choose for your registration to cover the 2011 Festival too.

If you'd like to check or retrieve your existing ticket registration details, then head to seetickets.com/see/getglas.

2010 trader applications now open

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:27:18 +0000

Picture by Craig

Applications for anyone wishing to trade at Glastonbury 2010 are now open. If you would like to bring your stall to the Festival, click here for the application form. Applications must be submitted before the end of December 2009.

For more info on trading at the Festival, click here.

It's a sell out!

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:35:51 +0000

Following yesterday's ticket sale, Glastonbury 2010 is now officially sold out (with all tickets snapped up by just after 9pm last night). A big thanks to everyone who bought tickets - and sorry to any of you who missed out.

Confirmation emails are still being delivered. If you're concerned that your purchase did not go through, please follow these steps:

1. Check your email spam/junk folder
2. Check your available bank balance to see if the transaction has been/is due to be debited
3. Use the card with which you booked to retrieve your booking reference from Seetickets.com
4. Email your details to glastonbury@seetickets.com or phone 0844 412 4626 to check if Seetickets have an order placed for you.

Registration for tickets will re-open on Oct 12th at www.glastonburyregistration.co.uk and there will be another chance to buy tickets from cancelled orders in 2010.

Emily: "I think it's going to be a really fruitful, exciting year"

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:34:42 +0000

Hello Emily. Tickets go on sale in two days' time, are you excited?
Yes! It's really good to get the ball rolling. I think going on sale in October worked well for us last year and people seem to really appreciate the deposit scheme. And, actually, it's perfect timing because we're just cementing our headliners for next year. So it's nice that it's all happening at once.

How have registration numbers been this year?
They've been really good. People have been registering thick and fast. I think there's lots of interest in the 40th anniversary next year. And we're excited about it too - there are lots of great ideas flying around for the anniversary. I think it's really looking set to be an interesting year. And it is amazing for it to be reaching 40. You look back and there's been so many moments and so many phases; popular times and really unpopular times and difficult struggles. It's been a very interesting journey. So there is a lot to celebrate.

It does feel like Glastonbury almost has an imaginary share price, in terms of how people feel about it. Early in 2008 its price was quite low. Now it's quite high again.
Yes, it does ebb and flow. A couple of years of sunshine and a few great acts have helped. It does feel like people go through stages of being pissed off with us, then coming round to liking it again. But that's fine. I think the people who are coming are essentially the same, it's more the media that go through that process. But there's definitely a sense of excitement around things right now. We had a brilliant Festival this year - I mean, really quite phenomenal. So, we do seem to be on a good run at the moment.

Is there any chance of bands who played in 1970 playing in 2010?
There are a few potentials, yeah. We've got a lot of really interesting offers coming in - like one who's an organic potato farmer now, who played in 1970 but wants to reform his band for next year. Which is great. I think it's really important to have a bit of that, plus lots of the new stuff as well. There's so much exciting music around at the moment. I think it's going to be a really fruitful, exciting year.

Have you had any heated conversations with your dad about who you should book?
We haven't had any arguments yet, actually. I think we're all in agreement at the moment. There are a few obvious contenders and then are a few more out there options too. We're just going through them all at the moment.

What will you be doing on Sunday morning?
I'll be at the farm. Fingers crossed the whole ticketing thing works really smoothly. And hopefully it'll be a healthy pace, sales-wise. We don't want a bun fight. We want the people who want to come to be able to come.

You gave away free Worthy Farm milk at the first Festival. Any plans for that next year?
That could be a bit tricky, as there will be about 170,000 more people there. I think the cows would struggle. But I'm sure there will be other rewards!

For the full lowdown on buying tickets for Glastonbury 2010, please click here

Register by Friday night to buy tickets on Sunday

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:31:06 +0000

Tickets for Glastonbury 2010 (the Festival's 40th anniversary) go on sale at 9am on Sunday morning. Click here for all the info on that.

If you'd like to buy some tickets, then you will need to be registered. And time is running out to get it sorted by Sunday - you need to submit your details to www.glastonburyregistration.co.uk by 23:59 BST on Friday (Oct 2nd) at the very latest.

How now moo cow?

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:33:16 +0000

We thought you might like to see some pictures of the Worthy Farm Friesians, back in the Pyramid field (or "home", as they like to call it).

(Thanks to Kitty O'Shea for the ace pics)

Help us look back in time!

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:02:23 +0000

Iit's been three weeks since we launched the Glastonbury Gallery, where you folks can upload your pictures of previous Festivals. We've been bowled over by the response - more than 1,200 pictures have been uploaded - but we wanted to make a bit of a plea for your pictures from the '70s, '80s and '90s. Obviously uploading those will almost certainly involve scanning them in, but we'd be ever so grateful if you would.

To give you a flavour of how great it is to see the older pictures, check out some of our favourites which have been uploaded so far...

1982

Picture by Ian Parkinson

1986

Picture by tr1cky

1993

Picture by John

1997

Picture by Ally

1998

Picture by Charlotte Ryan

Great aren't they?! Head over to the Gallery to see more - and to add your own.

Tickets on sale from 4th October

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:45:00 +0000

We're pleased to reveal that tickets for Glastonbury Festival 2010 will go on sale at 9am on Sunday 4th October, via www.seetickets.com and through the dedicated phone line, 0844 412 4635. Full weekend tickets cost £185 + £5 booking fee (plus £4.95 postage). As in previous years, anyone aged 13 or over who wishes to buy a ticket MUST be registered. If you want to check what your registration number is, or when your registration is valid until, click here. If you need to register, head over to www.glastonburyregistration.co.uk - allowing at least 48 hours before you intend to buy a ticket.

Following its successful introduction last year, our deposit scheme will once again be in place, giving customers the option of paying a deposit of £50 to reserve a ticket, with the full balance due by the
closing date of February 28 2010. Or, you can buy the full ticket outright from 4th October.

Please note, you may be asked for additional Visa or Mastercard security information when you buy your tickets online, so it's best to make sure you're signed up to your card's security service before you buy. Please click here if you use Visa, or here for Mastercard/Maestro.

For the full lowdown on all things tickets and registration, please go to our new 2010 Ticket Info page.

Click here for our exclusive interview with Michael Eavis about his 2010 Festival plans...

Michael Eavis: "Expectations are really high"

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:45:00 +0000

Hello Michael, how are things going?
Well, we're obviously heading for the 40th anniversary of Festival next year. People are very interested in this 40 year thing. Everywhere I go, people are asking about. The expectations are really high. So we have to deliver on that. We're trying to get the best headliners in the world.

Presumably you always try to get the best headliners you can.
Yeah, we do, but I think some of the artists out there are particularly interested in the fact that it's 40 years. Last year was 40 years after Woodstock, so we're following that pattern in a way. But we've been doing it loads of times, whereas Woodstock was only done about five times. We've done it almost 30 times now, I think.

Does it feel like 40 years since the first one?
For me, it's most of my life, I suppose. And it does seem like my whole life has been consumed by it. Which is great, because it's been such a fantastic exercise. The whole thing is so satisfying, and it's just worked, hasn't it? With all the hazards of the '80s, I knew there was a fight on our hands then. There was the legal stuff with the council and the problems with the rather inaptly named "peace convoy"! So we had about 10 or 12 years of that to contend with. It all came good in the end, though. And the history of all that is actually quite important to us, I think.

It wouldn't be what it is now without it.
No, it wouldn't be the same. It all contributed to what it is now. It really is a sum of its history.

Presumably you were pleased with the 2009 Festival?
Oh, yeah. This year's was absolutely brilliant. It really was the best. I know I've said that before, but everywhere I go people tell me how much they loved it. With Springsteen and Neil Young and Blur, as well as all the other things that were going on, like Trash City, Arcadia, Shangri-la and The Park. Those things on their own kind of create another headliner now.

Do you get to wander around those places?
Well, I was walking through Trash City at four in the morning this year. Ha ha! I couldn't get out, cos it was so crowded! One of the stalls gave me a veggie burger and it just kept me going. It was really nice, actually. I'd never had a veggie burger before, but I really enjoyed it. And I went and saw the Arcadia fire show, which just made me laugh so much. It felt like something out of Alice in Wonderland. It was so extraordinary and so out of context down there, really. You're in the middle of the Somerset countryside and suddenly you see all this craziness going on!

So you do actually get to enjoy the Festival then?
Oh yeah, definitely.

It's not stressful?
No, no. Year before last I was stressed, trying to sell all the tickets, with the Jay-Z situation, or whatever it was. I think it was the previous three years' mud really. But in the end it all turned around at the last minute. It was such a huge thing, with Jay-Z and his wife standing there in the wings. It was amazing. She said she'd never seen anything like it in her whole life. So we got through that one, but it was a bit scary, because the costs are so high now. It costs so much to put this show on. It's very difficult to make a profit.

Do you need to sell all the tickets?
Bearing in mind we're taking out £2 million for the charities, we've got to sell all of them, yes. And, of course, the costs are always rising. Like the diesel costs went up by about 40% that year, which we hadn't priced for.

The ticket price has gone up slightly this year.
A little bit, I'm afraid. I do try and hold it down, but the girls doing the budgeting are so thorough and so clever, and they said, "Look, the minimum rise we can get away with is ten quid more". It is a shame, because I really wanted to hold the price.

It's never a question of you trying to line your pockets, then? You're not just after a Ferrari or something?
Ha ha! No! Do you know what, I asked the bank for a loan for £100,000 to tart up the farm because of the new farming regulations about not spreading slurry in the winter. That's driven by the European farmers, which is a good move, really. So we had to get a new shed to cover the farmyard, which cost a hundred grand. I phoned up the bank and asked if they'd lend me the money to keep the rain out of the slurry. He phoned back two days later and said, "We'll let you have £70,000". I said, "Don't be so stingy!" So, no, there's no fortune lying around here! But we're employing so many people and giving away so much to charity. We don't really need a fortune as well!

The car park tickets have also gone up, to £15.
That's right. We're trying really hard to get more people to come on public transport. And the car parking costs are actually quite high. We have to rent extra land from surrounding farmers and it's quite disruptive to their farm life, so they're charging me more. So we had to stick another fiver on that, I'm afraid.

It seemed like a lot of people came for the full five days this year, to really get the full value.
Yes. There's a hell of a lot to see for that money, really. If you see one band at Wembley it can cost about £80. So when you've got five days, it compares pretty well. And the bands are probably better than Wembley anyway!

You've also kept the deposit scheme for 2010.
Yeah, we like that. It gives everyone a chance. And if they don't pay the balance, we give them £40 out of the £50 back. We just keep a tenner for costs.

Did many people get their deposits back last time?
No, not many at all. A very high proportion paid the balance. People are just so committed to the Festival.

And this year they've got an extra month to pay the balance - up to the end of February 2010.
That's right. That gives them a bit longer to pay and it helps with the VAT for us, as it comes into a different quarter. So it makes it a bit easier for us as well, to be truthful.

Can you give us any clues about next year's headliners?
Not really at this stage. But I see they're moving the Michael Jackson tribute concert to Wembley Stadium in June next year, so there'll be a lot of artists around for that, hopefully.

At this stage, are you just thinking of names and speaking to their agents?
I'm speaking to agents, and so are Emily, Nick Dewey and Martin Elbourne. We've all got our own contacts within the industry, you see. So, the four of us are at it all the time.

Do you and Emily tend to agree on things?
I think we've got a slight difference of opinion about headliners. But then it's a question of whether they're available. All the others shows - the Readings and Vs - pay a lot more for their headliners than we do. So she and I have to agree on who we're going to stick our necks out for.

Emily seems to have blossomed from your apprentice to a proper partner in the Festival.
Yes, she's very good on the bands front. I remember when she was about 12 we went to see an Oasis gig somewhere and Noel invited her to go to Paris with the band. Ha ha ha! She said, "Can I go to Paris with Oasis?" I said, "What?! You must be joking!" But I suppose the Festival has been her entire life. And she's very, very good at it.

There was some talk of you retiring recently.
Yeah, I don't know where that came from. There's no thought of me retiring whatsoever. I've got no interest in retirement. One day I'll have no choice, presumably, but while I can choose I've got no interest in retirement. It's a labour of love. We did some land drains for some wet spots recently and we were picking up springs that we'd never seen before. It was fantastic. I so enjoy that work! So that's my life. That's what I do.

And how is the farm going?
Oh it's lovely. The milk price is creeping up a bit too. The cows are out grazing across the fields now, of course. It's looking fantastic out there. We've just done a second cut of the silage, which we've hardly ever done after the Festival. We've had a huge crop. And the tent peg situation is getting better. There's less metal coming up in the silage machinery. They've got alarms on them you see; when they pick up metal they just stop. Two or three years ago, the alarms were going all the time. But now, there's hardly any. That situation has improved dramatically. I'm really pleased about that.

Do you have any other new plans for next year?
We've increased the size of the camper van field. I think they're a good idea. They offer shelter, comfort and warmth. And they're all off site, so it doesn't spoil the ambience of the site itself. There is a huge demand for the spaces, so we've increased it by a thousand.

Anything else?
Well, we really want to push the non-music things and show how diverse this festival is. It's not all about the headlining bands, there's so much else going on, with everything from Trash City to the Theatre & Circus fields. And people love it. I'm trying to increase the budget for that stuff. The area organisers are all so keen. We've really got a brilliant crew. They're as dedicated as I am, really. That's what makes it work.

So, will the 40th anniversary push apply across the whole Festival?
We're just making the whole thing better, yeah. I know it's pretty good at the moment, but we're gonna keep at it!

Do you think it can keep going for another 40 years?
Oh my God, I dunno about 40! As far as I'm concerned, I'm gonna say another 10. And then let's see where it goes from there!

Click here for 2010 ticket info

Pick of your pics

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:10:41 +0000

Our new Gallery has now been up for just over a week and you folks have already uploaded more than 750 of your images. Thanks to everyone who has posted their pictures. Here are a few of our favourites so far:

Picture by Mark Wyatt

Picture by Ivan

Picture by Lorraine

Picture by Jimbo

Picture by Tim Barden

Picture by Rose Garden

Picture by Michael

Picture by Andrew Allcock

Picture by Rory

Picture by Andrew Allcock

Picture by James H

Picture by Andrew Allcock

Picture by Adam

Picture by Carina

Picture by George

Picture by Pip

Picture by Rennie

Please keep 'em coming!

Michael Eavis given Honorary Doctorate

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:04:00 +0000

We're pleased to report that, earlier this week, Glastonbury organiser Michael Eavis was given an an Honorary Doctorate at Buckinghamshire New University for his services to music, the enviroment and enterprise.

Michael told us, "I was very honoured to be given this award - I never knew that Buckinghamshire was so beautiful."

Pilton Party pics

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:34:24 +0000

Last Friday night, the annual Pilton Party was held in the village. The event is put on by the Glastonbury organisers to thank local residents for their help with the Festival. Funds raised from the Party are ploughed into local community projects. Much of this year's revenue will go towards the running costs of the Pilton Parish Hall, the Pilton Working Men's Club and Pilton Playing Fields Association.

This year's Party was a stormer, with headline performances from Dizzee Rascal and Florence and the Machine, plus sets from the three finalists of the Rockstar 09 competition, Daybreakers, The John E Vistic Experience and Strange Fruit (the winners, The John E Vistic Experience, won a slot at next year's Festival).

Our resident snapper, Jason Bryant, was on hand to take some pics...

The Glastonbury Gallery is go!

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:45:47 +0000

We've just launched a brand new feature here on the official site. With your help, the Glastonbury Gallery will allow us to create a pictorial record of the Festival from its earliest days right up until this year's event.

To be a part of it, head over to the Glastonbury Gallery page and upload your favourite Festival picture(s), adding the appropriate year, location and tags, plus a short caption. Please note, the pictures have to be yours (rather than pics you've found elsewhere).

You can then browse all the pictures in the gallery by year, tag or where they were taken etc. If you want pictures of "wellies" or "1997" or "dancing", you'll only be a click away.

Of course, the gallery will only be as good as the pictures (and info) which you folks upload to it. So, get over there and start uploading your pics...

Thanks!

How the site is looking now

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:46:39 +0000

We were down at Worthy Farm at the weekend, so we thought we'd make a little film showing you how the Festival site is looking at the moment. It follows the (rather bumpy) route from the King's Meadow to the farmhouse. It also proves that the weather isn't always better in late August...

The film is soundtracked by Asleep In The Back by Elbow (from their 2001 album of the same name)

Green Glastonbury film

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:52:36 +0000

The last in our series of films made by Solent University students at this year's Festival focuses on Glastonbury's green campaigning.

A huge thanks to the Solent students for all their hard work with these terrific films.

The Healing Field in focus

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 18:55:10 +0000

Hey folks. Here's another of the films by the Solent University students at this year's Festival - this time focusing on the Healing Field.

A film made at The Park

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:58:10 +0000

Here's another of the short films made by Solent University students at this year's Festival. This one focuses on The Park:

John Peel Stage Solent film

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:27:13 +0000

We continue our series of short films made by the 30 students from Southampton Solent University who came to the Festival, with a film about the John Peel Stage:

A Dance Village film

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:48:42 +0000

As promised, we're back with another of the short films made by the 30 students from Southampton Solent University who came to the Festival. This one focuses on the Dance Village:

2009 Field of Avalon film

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:21:29 +0000

You might remember back in May we told you that 30 students from Southampton Solent University would be coming to the Festival to make some films as part of their studies in Broadcast Journalism, TV Production, Media Technology, Film and TV.

We're now pleased to be able to show you six of their mini-documentaries, beginning with a film about the Field of Avalon.

Look out for another tomorrow...

Abbey Extravaganza: day two in pictures

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 09:46:04 +0000

Here are some pictures from the terrific second day of the Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza, which featured the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Aled Jones, Jo Appleby, Andrew Rees and the Corelli Quartet (plus a crowd including Emily Eavis and Nicholas Cage). Thanks to Jason Bryant for the photos.

See you next year!

Abbey Extravaganza: day one in pictures

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 10:36:09 +0000

Here are Jason Bryant's pictures from a terrific first day at the Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza, featuring Bjorn Again and Status Quo.

Don't forget, tickets are still available for today's classical show, featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Aled Jones, Jo Appleby, Andrew Rees and the Corelli Quartet - plus a full-on fireworks finale. Advance tickets cost £30 for adults and £15 for children aged 6-15, with no charge for 5 and unders. You can still get them by calling 01458 834596. Otherwise you can pay on the door for an extra fiver.

Check back for Sunday's pictures on Monday

Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza this weekend - Sunday tickets still available!

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:23:13 +0000

This year's Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza kicks off tomorrow, with sunny weather currently forecast for both days (hurrah!). Tickets are sold out for Saturday's Status Quo gig, but there are still some available for Sunday's classical show, featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Aled Jones, Jo Appleby, Andrew Rees and the Corelli Quartet - plus a full-on fireworks finale. You can bring your own picnics and drinks and it really is a lovely day out.

Advance tickets cost £30 for adults and £15 for children aged 6-15, with no charge for 5 and unders. You can buy them by visiting the nice folks at Festival Office at 28 Northload Street, Glastonbury, or by calling them on 01458 834596. There's no booking fee if you pay by cash or debit card (or £1.50 if you pay by credit card).

Here's a picture of how the Abbey was looking about an hour ago...

A lesson in Festival crowd control

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:19:32 +0000

We just stumbled upon an interesting interview at a "security management" website with AP Security's Andy Stevens. In it, he talks in detail about how his company helped to manage the enormous crowds at this year's Festival. Click here to read it and get a different kind of insight into how Glastonbury works.

2009 Q Review and official programme still available

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:46:33 +0000

As you might know, Q published a full review of this year's Festival immediately after it finished. If you didn't manage to get hold of one, you can still buy a copy (including aerial poster) from the Festival office for £4, including post and packaging. We also have some of the official 2009 programmes available to sell at £5 (inc p+p).

To buy either (or both!), please send a cheque (made out to Glastonbury Festival 2009 Ltd) to:

Glastonbury Festival Office,
28 Northload Street
Glastonbury
Somerset BA6 9JJ

Or you can buy by card by telephoning 01458 834596.

Watch KidzField videos

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:43:50 +0000

Over at KidzField.com, you can check out a bunch of videos and pictures showing highlights from their terrific child-centric happenings at this year's Festival. Videos like this one...

Poet in Residence recordings

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:47:52 +0000

You might remember that, throughout this year's Festival, the website had its own official Poet in Residence, Adam Horovitz. You can still click here to read his poems, but you can also now listen to five of them below:

Welcoming Song

Wonderland

Ciderman

Stone Circle

Apology Song

(Thanks to Adam and DB Studios, Stroud for the recordings)

2009 Green Traders Awards announced

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:46:20 +0000

This year's Festival saw six new Glastonbury Green Traders Awards presented by Greenpeace, the Soil Association and the Fairtrade Foundation, with the following happy winners:

Hurly Burly - Gold Award for food
Honeybuns - Silver Award for food going
Two Skies - Gold Award for non food
Juicy Lucy - Silver Award for non food
Tat for Tibet - The Fairtrade Award
Helsett Farm - The Organic Soil Association Award

A team of volunteers trekked all over the site interviewing over 400 traders during the Festival. They asked questions about everything from how traders and their staff got to the Festival, to what their stall was made of, how much of their stock was Fairtrade, organic or recycled and any other ethical criteria they used to reduce their impact on the environment. The judging process involved much debate and a little mystery shopping, before the winners and runners up were chosen.

Hurly Burly won a Gold Award for their commitment to serving up healthy Fairtrade and organic food to hungry Festival-goers from their solar-powered van. And Two Skies was also a Gold Award winner thanks to stall owner’s Adam McIntosh’s enthusiastic engagement with his customers around the ethical sourcing of his jewellery and his commitment to working closely with suppliers.

Glastonbury Festival, Greenpeace, The Soil Association and The Fairtrade Foundation have been running the Green Traders Awards since 2006. Their aim is to acknowledge and recognise festival traders who have done the most to give their businesses a low environmental impact.

The winning award banner is fast becoming a "must have" amongst the festival trader circuit. Juicy Lucy’s Lucy Burnham said of her new award banner, "That’s brilliant! I will carry it around to all the festivals or wear it as a dress!" Sarah Talbot-Ponsonby of Helsett Farm added "Thank you very much, that’s so exciting – would you all like a smoothie now?"

An impressive pedal-powered feat

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:45:25 +0000

Of all the emails we've received since the Festival, this one is definitely among the most impressive:

Hi. Here's a picture of me and my mate Simon after we had cycled back from Glastonbury to Sheffield in a day. We had an amazing festival. Over 5 days we cycled 400 miles and saw 25 bands. Highlights were Franz Ferdinand, the Prodigy, dancing Saturday night away in the Magic Bubble and getting home on Monday after 200 miles in the saddle over 14 hours! Thanks to all the great people we met and to George and her mates for taking our kit down with them.
Steve

If you fancy following in Steve's tyre tracks next year, click here for more info on arriving at the Festival by bike. And if you cycled to this year's Festival from further away than Sheffield, do let us know...

Glastonbury wins Greener Festival Award

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:07:14 +0000

We're very pleased to announce that Glastonbury is among the festivals which have been awarded the 2009 Greener Festival Award. Six English festivals, one Scottish, one Italian, two American and five Australian events are the first recipients of the coveted 2009 Greener Festival Award, acknowledging the events' efforts to reduce their environmental impact.

The Greener Award is based on a 56 point checklist which covers green office policies, energy use and carbon reduction, travel and transport, support for green initiatives, waste management, recycling, water use and environmental protection and noise pollution and the Awards organisers have a team of environmental auditors who visit festivals to assess environmental good practice and effective green policies.

All the award winners in 2009 will receive a special trophy designed by sixth form student Sade Goddard from Keswick School in Cumbria whose competition winning design is constructed from recycled plastics made from crushed CDs, remoulded plastic water bottles and unwanted wellington boots. The recycled plastic boards made by Smile Plastics “combine a strong environmental message with an evocative and distinctive appeal linked to the processing of plastic waste”.

For more information see www.agreenerfestival.com.

Coming Together for Greenpeace

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:04:32 +0000

This year's Greenpeace Field was themed around their Airplot campaign against the proposed third runway at Heathrow airport and the "Big If" campaign against granting new licenses for Coal-Fired Power Stations.

While they were on site, they made this marvellous re-working of The Beatles' Come Together, featuring cameos from Alex Kapranos, Laura Marling, Tony Benn, Billy Bragg, Baaba Maal and more...

Arcadia highlights film

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:03:18 +0000

If you made it along to the new Arcadia field at this year's Festival, their short highlights film should bring back some happy memories. If you didn't, it should inspire you to be part of the merry mayhem next year...

Credit to the students from the University for the Creative Arts for their work making the film.

Help us uncover Glasto 2009's secrets

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:05:52 +0000

Every year after the Festival we hear about lots of amazing, impromptu things which happened - but which we didn't manage to see. So, this year, we thought we'd ask you folks to send us your photos, videos (YouTube/Vimeo links only, please) and/or descriptions of the unexpected happenings which you were lucky enough to stumble across.

If you were party to any of the things below (or something similar which we haven't even heard about yet!), please drop us a line with your memories and/or images to webteam@glastonburyfestivals.co.uk, with the subject "Secret Glastonbury". We'll update this page as things come in...

Noah and the Whale balloon release

"During Noah and the Whale's set on The Park stage on Friday night, a man came round handing out big balloons to everyone. He instructed us to blow them up and hold on to them until he gave the signal. Just as they started playing 5 Years Time, the band were greeted by about 50 balloons flying above the crowd, and the atmosphere really lifted up a notch." Sam from the Cotswolds

Carl Barat's Stone Circle acoustic show

"We headed to the Stone Circle after The Boss on Saturday night. After watching the sun come up, Carl Barat strolled up the field right past us about 6am. He decided to join us and proceeded to play a mini acoustic gig. Very surreal and very nice." Tim from Wakefield

"We thought you'd like to see our pictures of the "intrepid microlite" intruder!!! For sheer balls we thought he should be allowed to stay in but security came and ooofed him out. Message to man: Next year buy a ticket!!!" Jan and Simon

Kele Le Roc in Shangri-la
"Kele Le Roc turned up and sang at one of the tiniest venues in that covered street area in Shangri-la late on Sunday. She sang Basement Jaxx’s Romeo which she did originally did the vocal for and when her backing track crackled to a halt she toughed it out a capella with the crowd clapping the beat and supporting with the oh-we-ohs it was genuinely brilliant. Best a capella I’ve ever heard and the first time I’ve heard a crowd keep time so well. Sorry no pics." Lee H

A procession of discarded wellies

Spotted near the John Peel stage by David Jaremko

"The procession of wellies was the creation of 2 bored lock up crew members in the wee hours of the morning, my boyfriend swears he's a genius now! he was so proud of himself after he put it together, can't believe it's on your site, that's bloody brilliant!" leahX CND lockup crew

The Blockheads surprise set in the Rabbit Hole

Picture by Darren Dixon

"On a barmy Saturday night my wife (Wilma) and I ambled up To The Park stage to get a cup full of Bon Iver. Having arrived a little early for the show, we decided to explore the venues on site. Having climbed the Bedecked tower and consumed the magical view (Including watching Franz Ferdinand on the Other Stage, through a dodgy telescope); we strolled into the Wonderland, That is, 'The Rabbit Hole'. A Magical place indeed, we sampled the ambience for a while before taking our places at Font of Iver. As we watched and enjoyed, our attention was caught by a Mr Keith Allen! Mr Allen was clearly on a mission and despite the lack of a pocket watch, or elongated ears; he vanished White Rabbit like into the aforementioned Burrow. The look of intent on Mr Allens face was not lost on Wilma and I and we knew something special was going on under ground. Having Chilled to, 'A Good Winter', we gathered up our other troops and headed to The Rabbit Hole. As we got within earshot of The Burrow, we could hear familiar chords and lyrics drifting on the night air. Sex and Drugs and rock 'n roll.............Well Blow me down, If it wasn't the Mighty Blockheads, playing like there was no tomorrow. With an eclectic retinue in tow, A wonderment in a wonderland. Glasto moments dont come much better than that!" Rich

Banksy art around the site

Thanks to Felix for the picture

Another from Felix - "Located by the entrance to the VIP area, ha!"

Thanks to Natalie Dodd for the picture

Thanks to John for the pic

"There was some speculation within the safety team about whether the graffiti was Banksy's - and also on the value of certain pieces of steel shield, garden sheds etc. The panel next to "plain clothes drugs dealers in operation" may be a signature, or a critical comment, we may never know. The other panel just saying 'Banksy' was way out in the car parks and unlikely to be genuine - so next time some tries to sell you an over-priced panel of steel shield remember, caveat emptor."
PJ
GFL Site Safety Team 2009

Lady Gaga playing Shangri-la
"Walking thru Shangri-la we wandered into Club Dada where 20 or 30 people were gathered listening to the compere (sic!) announce "something special". Expecting some sort of drag act we stayed out of curiosity only to be completly stunned by an incredible full-on set by Lady Gaga. As expected Dada soon filled for Gaga and she didn't dissapoint. I'm not a fan but was bowled over by her energy and her complete performance. She knows how to work a crowd." Simon Parks

Bruce joins Gaslight Anthem on stage

Picture by Stephen Willoughby

"I'm the compere and stage manager on the John Peel Stage. I received a message from Artist Liaison at the Pyramid saying that the Boss was coming up to watch Gaslight Anthem from the monitor desk but it was to be kept low-key and only those who needed to know were to be told. When he arrived with his entourage of security and minders he took time for photographs to be taken by crew members who spotted him.
When I introduced Gaslight Anthem on stage I said that we were in for something special, not knowing but hoping Mr S would join them on stage. The roar that greeted his arrival on stage was amazing. As people began to recognise the man picking up a guitar, those who were sitting on the grass rose to their feet and bodies seemed to come rushing into the tent from all directions as word quickly spread. Bruce played guitar and sang along with Gaslight Anthem's "59 sound" and the crowd went wild.
After the performance Bruce took time for more photographs back stage and chatted with me about the band and the stage before returning to the monitor desk to catch a few songs from Passion Pit."
Jim Fox

"I was sorting my gear out in the camping/old cinema field near the John Peel stage. I was enjoying the sounds coming from the John Peel stage and then there was a sudden huge roar!! As the next song kicked in I thought to myself 'that singer doesn't half sound like Bruce Springsteen'! I even remarked this to my mate when he came back....the rest is history."
Ben Glass

Random performance artists/dressing up

"I came across this group of bowlers near the Blazing Saddle stage on Sunday. Despite the noise and mayhem they were bowling a ball through the muddy grass as if on the finest green." Nick P

"The tall dude with the huge pissing dog !!" from Steve Bent

"Basically, this guy wrapped two ropes around his arms which were attached to the winch cable of a crane. Then the crane lifted him up about 30-40 feet into the air and did a full 360 while he pirouetted about. Absolutely insane." From Robert Hurley

"I was quite impressed to see a group of colonial officers in full safari gear strolling through the market area, but was slightly concerned when they came face to face with a group of aristocratic nudes in white collar and tie but little else. No need to panic though. Apart from some rather alarming braying of greetings the two groups bonded beautifully. A real quality moment. Makes you proud to be British." Gill Baker

"These guys were legends, dancing through the crowd during Blur - in single file and in character. They came running past me during Coffee and TV, made it the perfect random glasto moment for me and everyone nearby. Super friendly too and having lots of photos taken, they definitely deserve a mention on the site." Kat

"Just three of a dedicated party of Rolfs coming to see Rolf. Real Rolf looked genuinely amazed." Richard Want

"Having arrived for our first Glastonbury two sights caught our eyes. Firstly my 5 year old daughter was delighted by the sight of two mounted police officers with fairy wings. However the sight of this group of dinner suited horses was slightly more sinister in the eyes of our 5 and 7 year olds - suffice to say no harm was done!" Peter F

"There was a great piece of street theatre which sprang up for a while (like they do!) in the Theatre Field on Saturday afternoon which I called “Grass works”: the foreman told us they’d had reports that the grass wasn’t laying in the right direction and so his men were investigating..." Terry

Taken in the Pyramid Stage field on Saturday afternoon by Elliot

Kazoo marching band, spotted by Shell

Dryland swimmers, spotted by Tim

Three great spots by Dove...

"The Posh Nudists and the Lollipop Ladies are from Bath's Natural Theatre Company, who have performed at Glastonbury every year except one since the beginning!" Ralph Oswick, Natural Theatre Company

Punky policeman, spotted by Sam

Prawns in The Park, spotted by Rosie

Santa, spotted by Lucy

"Alarming birth from a clay oven" by Russell

"We met these two police officers between the Other Stage and the Pyramid on Saturday evening. They were unbelievably friendly, gave us (free) hugs and let everyone pat there horses whilst wearing a tutu and fairy wings and a sheriff's hat. Now that's the Glastonbury spirit!" Cerri

"We spotted this guy who was managing to sing, play the piano, pedal like billio, and somehow steer himself in a (vaguely) straight line. Very impressive feat, and very funny to watch..." Matt

"A group of mates from The Trafalgar Hotel in Nelson Lancashire, planned these Rolf tribute outfits prior to the festival. We managed to get close to the front at The Jazz World Stage for Rolf Harris' performance and the steward on the stage steps spotted us. After absolutely creasing himself laughing, he told just about every one of the crew and the musicians as they came up the steps. Rolf was bowled over and gave us a big wave and a smile. Mission accomplished." Steve Burke

"A crowd of Oompa Loompas I met on the Sunday - they were walking down off the railway track towards the Other stage" John

"Stumbled upon a troupe of Brownies helping people through the mud on Friday. Note the bemused beaver looking somewhat lost in the background!" James

Spotted by Erin

"One of our group decided to make some Michael Eavis masks, they went down a storm" Julie

Spotted in the Avalon field by Annette

"A group of friends and I decided to be cheerleaders, complete with coach and mascots. We caused a bit of a stir around the Jazz World stage on the Thursday evening, people were trying to work out what the letters on our Tshirts meant, until Coach finally managed to arrange us all in order." Mandy W

"Ladies asking if anyone had seen their bath on Sunday afternoon." spotted by Joanna M

"Big Rolf heads at Rolf Harris!" spotted by Dan

"Ministry of Meaningless measurements in theatre area" spotted by Ann-Marie B

"This is 'Cidersaurus'. Poor chap fell asleep on Wednesday night at the Jazz World and mirth ensued," Doidge

Dead Weather at The Park

"Waiting for the "Special Guest" on Friday evening at the Park rumours were flying about Muse, Arctics and others. When the act did walk out most people (me included) looked around hoping that someone knew who was on stage. The sound that resonated from the stage was enormous and I should really have guessed but it wasn't until a flag moved from my view in front of the stage that Jack White's head popped up from the drum kit and all was clear. This barrage of sound was stunning and a real surprise." Simon Parks

Mick Jones doing Clash songs in Shangri-la
"We were wandering through Shangri-la on Saturday night (as one does!!!) when we notice a band playing in one of the tents. "That looks like Mick Jones from the Clash" I said to my mates Steve and Mick. "Well it would be - it said the Mick Jones Band on the chalkboard in front of the tent" said Steve. Yeah but we didn't realise it was THE Mick Jones did we!!!!! It was very hot and steamy in the tent and Mick and the band sent us on our way with Should I Stay Or Should I Go. It was a typical impromto moment that Glastonbury is renowned for." David Cant

"It was so rocking that it went on half an hour after the noise curfew. When the sound police showed up to turn it off they couldn't believe the PA was off, it was just the drummer, Mick and a tent full of people singing and bringing the house down. They just had to shrug their shoulders and walk out. Nice." Debs, Shangri-la

Jarvis with Shlomo on The Park

Picture sent by Simon

"The Shlomo gig was incredible. To be honest Jarvis was a great guest but the Vocal Orchestra themselves stole the show especially the sound clash with DJ Yoda. The beat-off with Marcus Brigstock was pure genius but it was their version of Teardrop that made it even more worthwhile being there." SImon Parks

Hot Rats (aka Supergrass) in The Park

Picture by Joe Webb

The Village Disco, a mobile disco on a trolley, playing 45s

Picture by Agnieszka

Picture by Kellie

Adam and Joe in the Cabaret tent
"I saw Adam and Joe in the Cabaret Tent and was doubly surprised when they read out a joke sent in by one of my friends ‘Liam Tucker’s Dad’.

What do you call a Scottish cow sitting down?
A Kneelin' Ox.

I saved my groans until the end as requested!"
Neil

Blur's Graham Coxon revealed as Status Quo fan
"I literally stood right next to him in the crowd. He stayed for their whole set " Simon Bull

Lou Brown goes from tipi to national radio

"I manage an unsigned singer-songwriter called Lou Brown. Lou was at the Festival to do a set on the Friday at the Avalon Cafe Stage. On Friday evening we had a text from BBC Radio 2 Johnnie Walker's wife saying that Johnnie was a fan and hadn't been able to make the gig, but would Lou be up for playing a set for him and some friends. So on Sat morning we headed up to the tipi fields, met up with everyone and Lou did a short set. What we hadn't expected was for JW to record it. Come early Monday morning, as we're starting to pack up, we start getting texts to say the JW is about to play one of Lou's songs on 'Wake Up to Wogan', the most-listened to radio show in the UK! Things have been a bit crazy since..." Dom Kippin

Silly signage

Spotted by Megan

Spotted by Andy

Spoted by Tania

"The bar by the Other Stage ran out of cider on Saturday night! Gutted." Andy (Bristol)

Spotted by Laura H

Spotted by Kit and Patricia

"Pure rebellion" spotted by Timothy

Photo by Anna D

"Written on the inside of one of the toilets - a great message and lightened my spirits during one lengthy toileting session with my kids!" Dave

Laura Marling's secret set in the Greenpeace Departure Lounge

Another pic by Felix ("with Pete Roe on keys and members of Mumford and Sons on drums and double-bass")

Will Young in the Guardian Lounge
"Although I knew Will Young was playing the Avalon tent at 6pm (saw him same place same time last year and he was most fun and fabulous).. it was double the pleasure to also catch him earlier in the day doing a most fabulous acoustic set in the Guardian Lounge! It's one of my most favourite places to chill at Glastonbury anyway, but I was most happy when John McClure announced after his set "And the next guest is - Will Young". Crikey I think some of the young girls almost screamed with excitement and it was a bit hot for that:-) Anyway he did a very different but great performance in the Guardian tent than he did in the Avalon, but boy can that boy hold a tune." Julie

Lily Allen and Jaime Winstone pop into the Vanity Van
"Was sat minding my own business on our reception desk at our stall in John Peel area when I looked up to see Lily Allen and Jamie Winstone stood in front of me with their entourage! They were very sweet and had some gorgeous eyelashes fitted, bought some glitters and fairy wings and Lily bought a Batman costume to go out in disguise in later on that night lol. We then proceded to play spot the Batman that night in Shangri-la and Trash city :-)" Alix

Jamie Cullum's impromptu trumpeter
"On that glorious Saturday I thankfully managed to squeeze in most of Jamie Cullum's set. After singing along to a few from the first album and a couple of others, it came to the end of his stint and he announced he would close with his cover of Radiohead's High and Dry, which the crowd seemed pretty pleased with! So off he went, tinkling his ivories, doing some sing-a-long crowd participation, and just as he was winding down with a piano solo, a trumpet player in the crowd started playing along. It was just one of those moments that sent everybody crazy. The whole band on stage were applauding and Jamie got up and got the trumpet man in a pink shirt to play while he free-styled, and you could just see the respect on everyone's faces. It was a truely special Glastonbury moment, I won't be forgetting it in a hurry thanks to the trupmet player in a pink shirt." Sarah Ellis

Picture by James Warren

"Jamie Cullum's impromptu trumpeter is called Robbie Fraser. He could be found every night between midnight and sunrise in Shangri-la, entertaining people in The Peoples Front Room"
Lozza

BIlly Bragg at Strummerville

"Billy Bragg then Emmy the Great at Strummerville on the Saturday night. Given the 'heads up' by the lovely woman selling Joe Strummer t-shirts earlier in the day, it was definitely worth missing the last half of Springsteen for..." Nat from Somerset

"Around 1am on Saturday. There was not a dry eye round the camp fire." J

Rooftop YMCA
"Can't remember if it was Friday or Saturday morning but we were treated to a rendition of YMCA by some 'workmen' (and one lady) up on the roof of a marquee." Maria Batson

Futureheads play Circus Field

"On Saturday 1700-1800ish The Futureheads played the Blazing Saddles stage in the circus field, we were watching 'Get Up Stand Up' (a comedy group) and they came on unannounced in between comedians and played for about 30 mins. There was only about there 100 people there who caught the set which made it quite special, it was one of my highlights of the weekend!" Sean Barron

The mysterious Mudwig
"You have lots of Banksy graffiti, but what about 'Müdwig'? We saw numerous references this elusive figure painted all around the site, from Jazzworld, to the Acoustic field and the Caberet area. But who exactly is Müdwig? Not even the good folk at the Info-Points could tell us..." Neale Hitchiner

Dans Le Sac and Scroobius Pip in the Igloo
"My and my mates were walking round Shangri-la on saturday afternoon as there was nothing else really on...we stumbled into the 'igloo' bar, only to find Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip playing to about 15 other people. The atmosphere in there was amazing, really electric (and also really sweaty as it was super super tiny). Definitely our one amazing find of the weekend." Dave

Proposal during Magic Numbers' set
"I loved it when a guy got up on stage with the Magic Numbers at The Queens Head, looked for his girlfriend in the audience and said "Tamsin,I love you,I want to spend my life with you,will you marry me??!!!!!!!!!! " Everyone in the tent including the Magic Numbers was cheering and clapping, Big old romantic softie!!!!!!" Sue

Site snaps #14

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:15:16 +0000

Here are some more of Jason Bryant's shots of the Festival site - this time showing how quickly Worthy Farm gets back to normal. Amazing, considering most of you only packed up and left 11 days ago. We'll begin with a slightly mind-blowing before/after shot (you can click on the two pics to see them bigger)

Before

After

And here are some more shots from the site today...

Million Mums Campaign a big Festival success

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:08:08 +0000

We're very pleased to report that the Million Mums Campaign of the White Ribbon Alliance proved to be a big success at this year's Festival, with more than 10,000 Festival goers adding their names to the campaign at the Tattoo Parlour in The Park (before getting their all-important "mum" tattoo - and sending a postcard home to mum!).

Sarah Brown even dropped in on the Festival on the Friday morning to support the campaign. The Prime Minister's wife is Patron of the charity, a global movement in 140 countries to stop the needless deaths of half a million women a year in pregnancy and childbirth. She was joined by supermodel Naomi Campbell, who is the charity's Ambassador.

Naomi also sent a "mum" Glastonbury 09 postcard to Sr Berlusconi at the G8 urging him as host of this week's meeting to make sure that funds are put towards saving the lives of women in developing countries - where half still give birth alone or with only a neighbour or relative to help.

Together, they also went up the spectacular Park Tower with Michael and Emily Eavis to get a panoramic view of the Festival. After Naomi's departure, Sarah stayed to have tea in the Treehouse café with Michael, before enjoying a brief "Glastonbury moment" in front of the Park Stage - and departing discreetly for No 10.

For more information on this most worthy of causes, please see the links below:

www.whiteribbonalliance.org

www.millionmums.org

Here's some of White Ribbon Alliance's pics from the weekend:

More highlights shows on BBC4

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:24:30 +0000

We thought you'd like to know that BBC4 has two more Glastonbury highlights programmes coming up. Details are as follows:

Friday July 10, 9pm Status Quo / Spinal Tap

Friday July 17, 9pm Bruce Springsteen

We'll let you know about any more as we get them.

Live Festival updates!!

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:04:30 +0000

Welcome to our live coverage of Glastonbury 2009. Thanks to Twitter, our intrepid team of writers (including Festival organiser Emily Eavis) were able to update this page with the latest news, info and pictures wherever they were on the site.

Just home and charging phone. Quite possibly the best glastonbury in living memory. Thanks followers and Twitter RTers, you're all fantastic! JA - Mon June 29th
http://twitpic.com/8rsm5 - The dancing Coffee & TV milk cartons in the Blur crowd last night. Amazing effort. KS - Mon June 29th
NEWS: Lost property forms just added to the official site - http://bit.ly/1tjCX - Mon June 29th
http://twitpic.com/8rim6 - Look, there are fields under there. AH - Mon June 29th
http://twitpic.com/8rfe1 - Post-Prodigy, the Other Stage begins the slow settle back into farmland. AH - Mon June 29th
Did we mention that Blur were incredible last night? KS - Mon June 29th
NEWS Check out our pictures from yesterday's big shows and from around the site - http://bit.ly/l0DbQ - Mon June 29th
NEWS If you're on the site, PLEASE don't leave anything behind when you pack up. Big thanks - Mon June 29th
http://twitpic.com/8qpqx - Let the exodus trudge begin! At least the sun's peaking out now. KS - Mon June 29th
http://twitpic.com/8qnjb - Back to work at the Worthy Farm dairy... KS - Mon June 29th
Posted that last tweet and the rain stopped. Re-sult! KS - Mon June 29th
Alarm set for 6am to pack up tent. Rain starts at 5.52. Poop! KS - Mon June 29th
Found a place with acoustic music to avoid the rain. Lovely way to wind down. AH - Sun June 28th
One of the greatest and most emotional sets we have ever seen. Folk history! Emily - Sun June 28th
As a friend of mine said, 'I was so happy all the way!' JA - Sun June 28th
I think it really really has happened. What a great great gig! AH - Sun June 28th
It ends with the Universal and tens of thousands of arms held aloft. So good. KS - Sun June 28th
For those that compare, no need. Apples and oranges have all been fantastic. Thanks all. JA - Sun June 28th
The guy who's been shouting 'Oasis are better' behind me has left in a huff. WOO HOO! AH - Sun June 28th
Song 2 and the field is actually bouncing. KS - Sun June 28th
There are people in the crowd dressed as milk cartons (a la Coffee and Tv vid). Superb. KS - Sun June 28th
How can we get any higher than This is a Low? AH - Sun June 28th
This Is A Low is sending a huge swell of emotion thru the crowd. This really is an awesome set. KS - Sun June 28th
Bless you Mr Daniels. JA - Sun June 28th
Blur are blowing people's minds. Emily - Sun June 28th
I'm sober and Chemical World was still awesome! AH - Sun June 28th
Only a Pyramid would fail to be moved by this. Thank you Blur! JA - Sun June 28th
Add Chemical World to your list of hugely under-rated Blur songs. And that's not the cider talking. Well, not entirely. KS - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8p98c - Blur are playing Tender. And we've just realised this phone lets you write on pictures. KS - Sun June 28th
This is both vintage Blur and somehow new having been missed for so long. Generations singing along together! JA - Sun June 28th
'Can you see the moon?' asks Damon. 'No,' replies the crowd. Pesky clouds. KS - Sun June 28th
NEWS Guy Garvey just played with Jessca Hoop in the Park's Rabbit Hole. - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8p553 - Yes, it's a Blur, but they're here and it's packed and feels good! JA - Sun June 28th
And so we begin. Massive roar from a bumper crowd as Blur start with a proper oldie, She's So High. Ace. - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8p4lb - The new Stigs of the dump have found there perfect Pyramid viewing platform, a skip. Enjoy guys. JA - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8p3y9 - Blur on in 5 mins. Haven't been this excited for a Pyramid Sunday set since Muse. KS - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8p1u0 - Oof, would have been nice to get out before the Blur rush began. Toes bruised. AH - Sun June 28th
The Bad Seeds appear to have Rasputin on fiddle. Stagger Lee staggering. AH - Sun June 28th
The Mercy seat is waiting and my head is definitely burning! AH - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8oxoa - One of those chaps with an engine-powered parachute is causing quite a stir. KS - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8oxnz - A cheeky paraglider descends on Glastonbury. Nick Cave instantly reasserts control of crowd. AH - Sun June 28th
Walking between John Peel and the Pyramid with Nick Cave and The noisettes reaching a bizare yet beautiful equilibrium. JA - Sun June 28th
An incandescent Deanna. Nick Cave at his spider limbed messianic best. AH - Sun June 28th
Roots Manuva sounding great on Jazz World. 'Remember it's a school night,' he grins after his last tune. Let's not think about that. KS - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8ov56 - Loving the detail of the pretend village in the Greenpeace field. KS - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8ov01 - Loving the detail of the pretend village in the Greenpeace field. KS - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8ous3 - The Bad Seeds growl, roar and rumble into life. AH - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8ot82 - Just incase the sun forgets to return, here's something pretty i forgot to post earlier. JA - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8ot6t - The Permaculture Garden's cafe is one of the Festival's best-kept secrets. Lovely food, great value. KS - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8osvc - Waiting for the Bad Seeds... AH - Sun June 28th
The bass at the Nick Cave soundcheck just made my knees shiver. Hurray for getting to the front! AH - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8or28 - As ever they're having it large in The Glade. KS - Sun June 28th
Mass onstage dancing to Night Boat to Cairo. AH - Sun June 28th
Madness, they call it Madness. I call it the joy Glastonbury. AH - Sun June 28th
But classic Madness makes for a truly delicious party music - Baggy Trousers has whole field bouncing and screaming when the sax flies. AH - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8onv6 - Alela Diane sings 'The Pirate Gospel' to one particularly attentive punter. JA - Sun June 28th
NEWS Mick Jones was doing Clash songs in Shangri-la last night. 'Rock the Shan-la, rock the Shan-la'. KS - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8on3t - Soothing Sunday afternoon lullabies from Bat For Lashes on the Other. KS - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8omuh - Alela, you've got me on my knees... Sparing us from madness - although, they're fantastic too. JA - Sun June 28th
And the Clerkenwell Polka sounds like classic Madness already. AH - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8om6e - Oh, it's GOOD to see - or rather hear - Madness live at last. And it seems half the festival agrees. AH - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8okwk - It's a giant wicker turtle on wheels, of course. KS - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8ojmg - Anyone for litter bin Jenga? KS - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8oj7d - Enjoying the high life! Trapeasy when you know how. JA - Sun June 28th
Oh! Tom's covering EMF's Unbelievable. Amazing - even if he bottled out of the rap bit. KS - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8ogdm - As you'll gather from the pic, an awful lot of people are currently watching Tom Jones belt out It's Not Unus ... - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8odty - Ooh i say! Fairly Famous enjoy some creative comedy on court. JA - Sun June 28th
Imelda May storms through the Beatles' Oh Darling like Janis Joplin then shifts into full on Doris Day! AH - Sun June 28th
Tom Jones is leading the Pyramid stage in a mass, giddy singalong. 'Why, why, why Delilah!' He's still got it! KS - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8ocvl - Imelda May storms the Acoustic with her sexy, trashy take on rockabilly. Awesome! AH - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8ocni - Oh no! Rumbled by The Ministry of Meaningless Measurements! KS - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8oa93 - There's no hope me getting to see Penguin Cafe Orchestra but they still sound glorious and summery. AH - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8oa3c - Sir cliff's tour bus pulls in. JA - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8o97f - Some pleasantly cooling drizzle falls past the increasingly squeaky Leftfield tower (oil anyone?) KS - Sun June 28th
A great crowd for Amadou et Mariam at Pyramid - all braving the slight, refreshing drizzle. The music's sunny enough for everyone though. AH - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8o7xz - Madame butterfly. JA - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8o78l - It's only early, you can't go home yet! AH - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8o6nt - An amazing all singing, all dancing Destroyers gig at Avalon. Wonderful! JA - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8o65m - Neeeeee-owwww! KS - Sun June 28th
NEWS great new US band Chief signed with Domino Records in the Stone Circle on Fri b4 playing the Park today. Cool! - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8o4x5 - Want to know how to sign 'Glastonbury Festival'? These lovely people from Deaf Zone showed us how. JA - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8o4gk - Reclining outside Poetry and Words. AH - Sun June 28th
NEWS if you're on site PLEASE take home all your things - including your tent. The cows will thank you for it, big style. - Sun June 28th
Recovering slowly from poetry gig powered only by the marvellous audience. AH - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8o3sl - Thursday's chocolate Angel Delight-style mud is but a distant memory now. Hurrah! KS - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8o2zr - Bit of nostalgia for extractor fans. JA - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8o280 - The future's so bright... KS - Sun June 28th
The Quo just absolutely rocked the Pyramid. Hit after hit after hit. Quality. KS - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8o1p8 - This year's bard, AdamHorovitz. JA - Sun June 28th
"To all the bands I could have seen/know only this of me/I'll love you from a distance still/on vinyl and CD" http://bit.ly/PZx7v - Sun June 28th
Power's just gone at Poetry and Words increasing the Glastonbury website poet in residence's already nervous disposition. Gulp! AH - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8o0te - Ooh, check out this ticket from the first Glastonbury Festival (the Kinks cancelled and Marc Bolan played) KS - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8o0mw - Ooh, check out this original 1970 Festival ticket, which is framed at Worthy Farn. KS - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8nzo9 - Gone midday so out with the whisky for this circus performer. JA - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8nzg3 - Well, if leather shoes are made of leather then surely these are made of...? JA - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8nz5l - Give bees a chance! AH - Sun June 28th
Official Glastonbury website poet, Adam Horovitz, is reading today in the Poetry and Words tent at 12.55. JA - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8nyr3 - Michael hails this year's festival and promisis something 'special' for the next. JA - Sun June 28th
Not sure how far last night's Dance Village to Shangri-la wander was, but it was definitely A Long Way. Top fun, though. KS - Sun June 28th
PICTURES: Check out loads of great shots from the stages and the site yesterday http://bit.ly/19HuHz - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8nvk2 - The sun got a bit much for someone yesterday, it seems. AH - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8nsd3 - Life from a window. It's another beautiful Pilton morning. JA - Sun June 28th
Fell asleep in the cinema tent and was woken by the kind soul who'd put a blanket over me. Cheers! AH - Sun June 28th
http://twitpic.com/8mywv - Shhh! It's the William's Green silent disco. KS - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8mwn2 - It's properly going off in Arcadia too. However much you've been, this Festival still amazes. KS - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8mv90 - Lost in Shangri-la's astonishing world of corridors. Amazing. KS - Sat June 27th
The whole crowd is cheering Star Trek in the cinema tent like it's Rocky Horror. AH - Sat June 27th
Wow. It does not get any better than that. Thanks Bruce for giving us an all-time top Glastonbury performance. Emily - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8mrwz - There's a big ol' crowd for the potty-mouthed cabaret act in Trash City. KS - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8mppa - It's hot rum punch o'clock! KS - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8mo6z - Folk dub with dada lyrics late in the theatre field. Ace! - Sat June 27th
Dark field, late beer, chatting away the day. Legs to bent for dancing. JA - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8mmdh - Up on the old railway line there's a whole lotta wandering going on... KS - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8mji0 - The night is but young in the Dance Lounge. Pace yourselves folks... KS - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8mhx9 - Are you dancing? (We're asking) KS - Sat June 27th
Down the disco Rabbit hole with Alice and her friends... AH - Sat June 27th
He's just warning up. Cancel breakfast 'cause Bruce will still be on stage. JA - Sat June 27th
It's hit after hit now from Bruce. 'You can't start a fire without a spark'. Sure enough the crowd is dancing in the dark. Ace. KS - Sat June 27th
It's Glory Days for Mr S now. Definitely a Brucie bonus (huzzah!). KS - Sat June 27th
Yeah! That's the one. Thanks Bruce. Born runnin' JA - Sat June 27th
'Baby I was born to runnnn!' :-) KS - Sat June 27th
Sat on a Park bench being bewitched by Bon Iver and the trance-inducing Babies. AH - Sat June 27th
Fantastic set by Brucie, but still hoping for born to run! JA - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8m772 - Ooh, this phone can do b&w - arty! That's Bruce in the distance, rocking it. KS - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8m62j - Jo Whiley chatting to the world between Other and Pyramid. KS - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8m4z8 - I want you to Take Me Out! (Woot!) KS - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8m4v5 - Glastonbury you are so vast and lovely. AH - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8m1ri - Franz Ferdinand are off to a belting start on the Other. 'What a beautiful place to be' says Mr K. KS - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8m1ce - The intimidatingly high Ribbon Tower. I can climb this AND listen to Bon Iver! AH - Sat June 27th
Even the tech guy is being cheered by an excited crowd waiting for Bon Iver! 1 two YAAAAY! Splendid! AH - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8lyg1 - The Rabbit Hole has me in its thrall! Help! I want to see Bon Iver at the Park stage. AH - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8lwnp - Getting closer. JA - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8lwb1 - At the back and rushing forward to the mighty Bruce! 'mazin already. JA - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8lvze - At the back and rushing forward to the mighty Bruce! 'mazin already. JA - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8luoz - Ok, so it rained a bit yesterday but the water never got THIS high! AH - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8ltp1 - Even this far away from Pendulum on the Other you can feel the bass shaking your feet. Crowd loves it. KS - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8ltmc - Arms aloft forw the controlled mayhem that is Pendulum, debuting a new track. AH - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8lp21 - The lovely Fluffy Rock cafe is the place to let go! JA - Sat June 27th
Or perhaps Kasabian? What a crowd. Emily - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8lnkn - Have YOU confessed your Glastonbury sins? AH - Sat June 27th
One of the best performances of the weekend? Dizzee? Emily - Sat June 27th
Still reeling from the after effects of Florence and the Machine. Now I get all the hype! AH - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8lm2w - Only Sensation Seekers need apply! JA - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8ljn2 - The sun's setting in The Park. Hard to think of anywhere in the world I'd rather be. Viva Glasto. KS - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8lic7 - The real Ojaru. JA - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8lfxi - Or should that be giant seaguls. Ojaru to follow. JA - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8lgim - Surprise! It's the Klaxons at The Park. KS - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8lfxi - Ojaru dancing in the Circus fields. JA - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8ldu9 - And this is how it looks on the other side of The Other, where Maximo Park are playing. KS - Sat June 27th
A huge roar of approval welcomes Florence and the Machine to the Peel stage. And they deserve it on the strength of the first track. AH - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8lcdc - Backstage, the Other Stage (again, quite literally). KS - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8la0i - Always a pleasure to see the Badly Drawn Boy and extra special at the intimate Avalon stage. JA - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8l9ig - Backstage, the Pyramid Stage (quite literally). KS - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8l7ah - The dreaded queue for cashpoints turned out to be one person long. Clearly a good time to get cash. KS - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8l40f - Big up the Worthy Farm herd. KS - Sat June 27th
A blissful, summery jangle emanating from the Pyramid Stage as I walk past. Ah, Crosby Stills and Nash! AH - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8kzpe - Random jazz in the circus field. Nice! JA - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8kxzx - Marcus gets political at Blazing saddles. JA - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8kwm7 - Frankly i would replace the word please with ye. AH - Sat June 27th
Word has it Mr Springsteen just guested with Gaslight Anthem. Add that to the list of things to regret missing... KS - Sat June 27th
Some Glasto milk, some Glasto grass. KS http://twitpic.com/8ksxf - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8kpc5 - Busy for Dizzee. KS - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8ko1m - If you've lost one of your Thomas wellies it's over between Jazz World and Green. Not sure you'll need it now ... - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8kmqe - A greener way to charge your phone (although solar power might be quicker today - it's scorching!) KS - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8kmo4 - The Acoustic field - a fine place to chill out, for many reasons. AH - Sat June 27th
Lucky punters at Hope and Social's Acoustic gig got a free kazoo and joined the band in mass musical finale. JA - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8kkqt - Trolls on a hug rampage. AH - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8kkff - Battle for the planet of the japes? AH - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8kjzb - Make yourself a pencil in the Green Crafts Field - just one pound and a bit of muscle. LL - Sat June 27tho
http://twitpic.com/8khs8 - Jarvis cocker joins spinal tap on bass for big bottoms. JA - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8kh0a - The huge stone dragon near the stone circle is one of the Festival's best kept secrets. KS - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8kfsl - The homemade lemonade from this place in the Tipi Field is heartily recommended. - Sat June 27th
Jamie Cullum joins Spinal Tap onstage. JA - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8kdn0 - Who needs Wimbledon when you have Cash and Macenroe at Glastonbury. AH - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8kdhy - Starting to think that the hats are outnumbering people at this year's Festival. JA - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8kcn0 - Jamie Cullum causes a mini pap frenzy in the backstage area. JA - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8kc0t - Plentiful eating at ShangriLa. AH - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8kbak - It's never too early for a bit of a rave in the Glade. KS - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8kay3 - Bonding by the water feature. AH - Sat June 27th
NEWS Manu Dibango forced to pull out of tomorrow night's Jazz World slot - Amadou et Mariam step in to fill the slot. Pass it on... - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8kaq2 - Making a three legged stool at Green Crafts. AH - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8kags - Today's line-up on the Bandstand. JA - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8k9rt - Somewhere in there is the diminutive Marina - a pure diamond. JA - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8k8wv - There's a big crowd gathering in the blazing sun to watch the Lions rugby in william's green. KS - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8k7vj - Decided to take some time out in the hammocks while listening to rapping Rolf. Real swinging fun. JA - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8k7sd - Feet in need of a recharge head to the healing fields. This is pure bliss! AH - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8k7h3 - Mud? What mud? LL - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8k6zd - Even Mr Eavis knows the Kidz Field is where it's at. KS - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8k66x - If you're a kid, this is your Pyramid Stage... KS - Sat June 27th
Latest poems from our 2009 poet in residence, Adam Horovitz, just added - http://bit.ly/PZx7v - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8k51j - Can you tell who it is yet? Rolf rams the jazzworld. And it's a sing-along of all those family favs. JA - Sat June 27th
NEWS: Check out http://www.kidzfield.com for lots of cracking coverage from the Kidz Field over the weekend - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8k3c5 - Hats, mushrooms or something stranger? It's becoming hard to tell... AH - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8k39p - Warsaw Village Band start off a busy day on the Jazzworld stage. And next up it's Rolf! JA - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8k32b - It's a pretty walk from the campsite to the pyramid field. KS - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8k2s4 - Whatever you want, you'll find it in the Festival market. JA - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8k2au - It's only Saturday morning but the sales have already started in parts of the makets. Grab yourself a bargain. JA - Sat June 27th
http://twitpic.com/8k20x - You carry the music with you at Glastonbury, always. AH - Sat June 27th
Looking forward to the Memory Band and guests performing the Wicker Man soundtrack 2pm at The Park today. Bawdy folk ahoy! KS - Sat June 27th
NEWS: Check out pictures from yesterday (including Lily Allen, Lady Gaga and a man brushing his tongue) - http://bit.ly/6nDTB - Sat June 27th
NEWS: You can watch lots of highlights from Friday's performances over on the BBC's site - http://www.bbc.co.uk/glastonbury/ - Sat June 27th
Does anyone out there have a spare pair of legs they would lend me? Mine need a good service! AH - Sat June 27th
Wet wipes, breakfast and then music. Hope i'm not developing a routine. JA - Sat June 27th
There's a very pleasing lack of pitter patter on the tent roof this morning. Here's to a dry weekend... KS - Sat June 27th
Slightly perturbed by the 80s mix I can hear in the distance as I settle for sleep - I don't want to dream of school at Glastonbury! AH - Fri June 26th
Where I'm sitting you can hear at least 5 performers/DJs drifting over. It's a glorious Glasto noise (but not one you'd want on CD). KS - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8ifqi - The Worthy fm sign at the station's hq - one of the few things you can see from all corners of the site. KS - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8idnc - A nice sit down by the Leftfield tower... KS - Fri June 26th
Days is possibly the best song for summing up Glastonbury - thank you Ray Davies! Days you remember all your life indeed! AH - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8i8y5 - The hot rum punch at Pennard Organic Wine's stall near Avalon Field is a true Festival essential. KS - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8i704 - A fruity lady in a very busy Trash City... KS - Fri June 26th
Feeling wistful listening to Ray Davies. Long, long day. AH - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8i1z4 - Look carefully and you'll see a rather lovely crescent moon amidst the flags. Is nice. KS - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8hy8j - British Sea Power's fans in fine foilage-waving form at the Avalon Stage. KS - Fri June 26th
Almost took a twitpic of a guy who'd fallen in the mud, but decided to help him up instead. So no photo, but good karma:) - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8hty4 - The Streets kickstart Friday night at the Jazz World. 'I'm so excited' says Mr Skinner. Crowd concurs. KS - Fri June 26th
Ray Davies, Bloc Party or a trip to the healing fields for a foot massage? Or a nice, comfy cafe and a cup of tea? Oh the decisions... AH - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8hmcj - Glad to see Terry Hall hasn't given in to the smilers of the world. Cool as ever. JA - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8hlpj - Does the cameraman up a very high crane for the night have a good job or bad job? Discuss. KS - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8hll7 - Does the cameraman up a very high crane for the night have a good job or bad job? Discuss. KS - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8hlj2 - Rat Race remains as pertinent as ever... AH - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8hk7e - A pretty site sight. KS - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8hj42 - This town ain't NOTHING like a ghost town - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8hh6a - Roll up, roll up for the biggest buzz in showbiz open to all in Bella's field. AH - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8he6w - A flag, waving in the general direction of Lily Allen (who's been great). KS - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8h9t2 - 'Sun is in the sky, oh why, oh why would I wanna be anywhere else?' Wise words Lil. KS - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8h8bi - Woman in need of sheep. Apply within. JA - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8h5u7 - Whole poetry tent just arred loudly at these pirates, led by Phil Jupitus. AH - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8h40p - At the back of the Pyramid field for Fleet Foxes there's a whole lot of chilling going on. KS - Fri June 26th
Porky the Poet doing his second and last poetry gig of the year at Poetry and Words. More please Mr Jupitus! AH - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8h2qo - Fleet Foxes, harmonies and sunshine. What happened to the rain? JA - Fri June 26th
Mike McGee phenomenal and funny at Poetry and Words - catch him again tomorrow at 12.50! AH - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8gxms - Getting down to the Biggles Wartime Band in the markets. Sun does that. JA - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8gxdg - For anyone needing some nuptial bliss (and i'm not offering!). AH - Fri June 26th
NEWS: 2009 Festival T-shirts and hoodies just added to the website's online store - http://bit.ly/wd1nC - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8gua8 - Answer the White Rabbit's riddle and enter the Rabbit Hole from 10pm. AH - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8gtwy - Flowers are coming out at the Park to welcome the sun back. AH - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8gtdg - No longer a strangler, but Hugh Cornwell still plays some murderous tracks. JA - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8gryj - One of the merry men hiding out in the Glade. He better watchout, keith Allen's about. JA - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8gqsm - The Maccabees have certainly made it tricky to cross the other stage field. AH - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8gphd - Come on Mr Sun, you can do it... KS - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8gnhr - You've got to love a brass band with a day glo tuba. KS - Fri June 26th
Special guests NERD up next at Pyramid. AH - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8gmmp - If only i could play the chair as well as Regina Spektor. JA - Fri June 26th
There is no rain, says Regina Spektor. It's certainly less noticeable since she started singing! AH - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8gmde - Acrobat action in the packed Circus Tent. KS - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8glhw - The Green Police remain stylish, whatever the weather. AH - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8gjzw - If in doubt, put on a pink tutu and dance... KS - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8gju6 - Ah ah, Regina. Storming the Pyramid. JA - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8gj8e - Jan Bell lights up the Bandstand on Friday lunchtime. JA - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8gj3v - You can't go far wrong with a Square Pie. KS - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8ghs2 - Optimism is a wonderful thing. No firestarters headlining here, I think. AH - Fri June 26th
Latest poems from the website's 2009 Poet In Residence just uploaded - http://bit.ly/PZx7v (now with correct link!) - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8ghfb - Johnny Mars and friends baptise the Glade. Yeah yeah! JA - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8ggmq - A moment of peace in the Healing field's water garden, ironically. JA - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8gfqp - Jazzworld kicks off in style with the collective sound of The Perceptions. JA - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8gf0p - The Kidz Field main stage is up and running too... KS - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8gdix - Bjorn Again are kicking things off on the Pyramid with some Abba-flavoured cheer. KS - Fri June 26th
Shhh! Jack "White Stripes" White's new band Dead Weather are playing a surprise set in The Park today at 6.45pm. KS - Fri June 26th
On with the strange smelling plastic mac and out into the fray. Breakfast, what continent will you be from today? AH - Fri June 26th
Thanks for the unrain dance suggestions, we're trying them out right now... And working so far! JA - Fri June 26th
Now the meticulous planning of who to see where and when begins. The only certainty is that there will be music... AH - Fri June 26th
Andrew Marr and a fork of lightning star in our pictures from yesterday at the Festival - http://bit.ly/PlJlY KS - Fri June 26th
Anyone know how to do an unrain dance? - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8g5w0 - Festival or not, there's still milk to be collected from Worthy Farm... KS - Fri June 26th
http://twitpic.com/8g45p - The rain can't last forever and on the plus side i feel quite cozy in my tent. JA - Fri June 26th
Mornin'. It's either raining quite hard or someone's throwing an awful lot of rice at our tent. KS - Fri June 26th
So sad to hear the news about MJ. There will be tributes all over the site all weekend. A truly great artist. Emily - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8f6f8 - Night sights at Croissant Neuf. AH - Thur June 25th
A muggy night of wandering ska, superspiced noodles and flares glinting in the shrinking puddles. AH - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8evu9 - Acoustic stage lights? Ready for action! AH - Thur June 25th
The night air is sharp with the smell of music/ bass-boom steaming from a slope of tents./ Rain shivers deep into welcoming soil. AH - Thur June 25th
Rain gone, all good. Discussing weather (sic) thunder amen lightening is art? JA - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8eiu4 - It's Baggy Mondays at the Stonebridge in The Park at 10. Rave on! KS - Thur June 25th
Time to find some music - thundering breakbeats from DJ Adsorb at Pussy Parlure should stare down the weather nicely, I think! AH - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8e9e6 - The Worthy Farm cows at dusk, wishing they were off to the silent disco tonight... KS - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8e4bw - Mad Cows follow michael at the fest launch in the greenpeace earth stage. JA - Thur June 25th
Dramatic thunder, lightning and rain for about ten mins, then a nice evening again. The weather's having fun too. KS - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8e3sv - No retirement for mr eavis as he launches the festival in big style. JA - Thur June 25th
Thunder curls through the sky in soggy stereo/ They are herding up sunhats in Babylon,/ letting the kagouls out to graze. AH - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8e0it - How the other half live... KS - Thur June 25th
Eavis-shaped sand people! KS http://twitpic.com/8dvuc - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8du35 - How to eat burgers at Queen Delilahs. AH - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8dsmg - Who could ask for anything more? JA - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8dre4 - NEWFLASH: Another bit of Banksy spotted... - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8dr47 - Fragile songs at Croissant Neuf. AH - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8dn2l - Looking bad for the southern hemisphere as large parts of the pacific dissappear. JA - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8dlpq - Totally hammocked! JA - Thur June 25th
It's official, i really am hot! JA - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8dkpx - It's a smoothie kind of afternoon in The Park. KS - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8dk36 - A face emerging from the stone. AH - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8djvo - High energy sculpting in Green Crafts. AH - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8dhnr - Face painting in the Healing Fields. AH - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8dhme - NEWSFLASH: Banksy bits have begun to appear around the site... - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8dhdb - Healing in progress. AH - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8dh0a - From miniscule to infinite with many stops on the way. AH - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8dg78 - Baked-earth mother, Tiny Tea Tent. AH - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8dft7 - With the sun scorching down, it's time for a lark in The Park... KS - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8dfsw - Driuids-R-Us. The one-stop shop for all your new age knick-knacks JA - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8dfru - Plate-jugglings at the Village Fete. AH - Thur June 25th
Just saw a couple of chaps in mankinis. No sign of any waxing action. We'll spare you the picture. KS - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8ddw2 - Wild horses to drag you to Trash City! AH - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8dcmd - Smokin'. Glasto's hot headed oven. JA - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8day7 - Rainbow transport from Avalon. AH - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8d8wu - Glastonbury poet in motion JA - Thur June 25th
Sun burst through cloud/ An aria over ShangriLa/ sung by a sharp-suited horse. AH - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8d86t - The Green Police out on patrol... KS - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8d7lt - Blue skies and sunshine are back on the farm. JA - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8d6vv - The sun has got its hat firmly back on... KS - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8d6vl - The Love Shack is little lonely stage were we can get together. JA - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8d5si - Tag along. JA - Thur June 25th
More ace photos added to Day One In Pictures - http://bit.ly/X0Gdv KS - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8d5gr - Random protesters call for an end to just about everything. JA - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8d50a - ShangriLa, citizen, ShangriLa! AH - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8d4j4 - Podracing in arcadia. AH - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8d47p - The trees have eyes! AH - Thur June 25th
Check out the first batch of poems from our 2009 Poet In Residence (and tweeter), Mr Adam Horovitz - http://bit.ly/PZx7v - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8d3al - Only at glastonbury, a pretend elephant in a metaphorical room. AH - Thur June 25th
The wet comes, the wet goes - but Glastonbury remains the same, exciting place... AH - Thur June 25th
Oh dear. A spot of rain. But it'll take more than this to dampen our spirits. Oh yes. KS - Thur June 25th
We're told that west of the Park is still a good place to find camping space. KS - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8czdv - Saving the planet is no game, unless it's Earth Arcade's Waste Binvaders. Shootemup! JA - Thur June 25th
As of 9am 90,396 people had arrived. This time last year it was 69,464. Wowser. KS - Thur June 25th
http://twitpic.com/8cxma - NEWS: The Other Stage's Sunday timings have changed a little. Please pass them on! - Thur June 25th
Weather update: it's quite cloudy today, but no sign of any rain. Come on Mr Sun... KS - Thur June 25th
Generator hum and birdsong/ the snap of leg on unseen guyrope/ children laughing at the sun AH - Thur June 25th
Even the birds are twittering this morning. Beautiful! JA - Thur June 25th
Sleep is calling, but Glasto continues, unabashed, into the night! AH - Wed June 24th
dancers shimmer down into the city of lights/ trailing a stream of bubbles/ a shiver of liquid music. AH - Wed June 24th
Just discovered Waggledance is a drink and has nothing to do with footballer's wives. JA - Wed June 24th
Chinese lanterns float in sea blue skies/ night messages for the cool hours/ rising from a necklace of lights on the hills. AH - Wed June 24th
A bar, a beer, friends and smiling faces.. .Nice! JA - Wed June 24th
It's been a lovely, wandering sort of day. You forget how nice it is to potter about without the pressure of catching any bands. KS - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8ba5u - Red sky at night, Glasto delight. KS - Wed June 24th
Beautiful evening with a Mexican cheer echoing through the valley. Emily - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8b3zq - Mudwig update... That man/woman gets everywhere! JA - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8b2ua - Taking the 'G Train'. AH - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8b1x1 - Your throne awaits you. They're quite fragrant at the moment too. KS - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8b1wi - Sunset over Jazzworld. AH - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8azu6 - A fair cop? Just another beat for glasto bobbies JA - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8azlm - A wicker devil, but the best music is still to come. AH - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8axth - It's a festival of food too you know... KS - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8awxy - Poetry and Words lineup AH - Wed June 24th
The Rusticles just finished what was apparently the first live set of the Festival at the Bandstand. Folks danced. KS - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8au3s - The Steampunk Roundabout - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8at1h - Celeb spot! Welsh National Opera arrive in style. JA - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8ar5s - View from the Tiny Tea Tent AH - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8aqne - Nice evening for a spot of Bandstand action. KS - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8ap4c - Brought the wrong clothes to the Festival? You can always shop at the markets JA - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8aoo5 - Hammocked and happy! AH - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8ao5o - As the sun starts to fall, it's all getting very pretty. KS - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8ao4q - No music yet, but jazzworld's still busy. AH - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8al7j - The perils of too much sun and cider! AH - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8ajl8 - Growing sunbathers in the pyramid field AH - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8aiix - An oasis of shade near pyramid AH - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8aicp - The Worthy Farm cows are enjoying the sunshine too - KS - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8ah5t - Go mudwig! But what we wanna know is, who is Mudwig? Anyone? JA - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8adva - ecopolicing at glasto AH - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8ad1y - 'you are here!' but how to get there? JA - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8acwc - A lorra, lorra tents - KS - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8ac9i - The cider bus wednesday massive AH - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8ab09 - The only mud on site ! AH - Wed June 24th
Emerging Talent Comp winners We Have Band chat about their four upcoming performances at the Festival - http://bit.ly/wCdts KS - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8a71x - Wish you were here. Punters send home postcards JA - Wed June 24th
http://twitpic.com/8a3u8 - The magical wishing bog...just don't flush away your dreams JA - <

Day five in pictures

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 11:55:34 +0000

Jason Bryant's pictures from the final day of Glasto 2009:

Blur, owning the Pyramid

Fergie from Black Eyed Peas on the Jazz World

Madness on the Pyramid

Nick Cave on the Pyramid

The Prodigy's Keith Flint, on a wander

The Quo, on the Pyramid

Tom Jones on the Pyramid

The last batch of photos from Darren Cornwell....

Grooving in pink, you can't miss them.

Shangra La at about 3am.

Shangra La at a non descript time, absolutely packed.

10am Sunday Morning, people are already heading off.

Rubbish, get your rubbish here!

Catching up with the outside world.

Need. To. Wake. Up.

Is that my old school teacher?

Pyramid 11am Sunday Morning.

Doing the sunshine dance!

Sitting on top of the world.

Wot you looking at guv?

Somebody else is looking a bit peckish.

Day four in pictures

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 11:54:27 +0000

More of Jason Bryant's pictures from Saturday on the site...

Springsteen rocks the Pyramid Stage

Crosby, Stills & Nash on the Pyramid

Mr Albarn and Mr Enfield

Dizzee Rascal on the Pyramid

Kasabian on the Pyramid

"Come onnnnn!"

Keith Flint

Paolo Nutini on the Other Stage

Pendulum got the Other Stage jumping

Peter Doherty on the Other Stage

The Pyramid crowd

The Pyramid crowd, again

Rolf Harris on the Jazz World

Rolf's whopping crowd

Spinal Tap turning it up to 11 on the Pyramid

Some afternoon pics from around the Festival Site...

Look at the clouds, marvelous!

when you have to sleep, it doesn't matter where you fall.

A Minature city that springs up for all of 5 days.

8, 9, 10 - Here I come, ready or not.

We see you.

Doing the 'cool' walk across the Other Stage field.

'Pity the Fool' - Who knew, Mr T needs time out to.

The answer my friend.....

It's hot and I'm loving it.

Even Imperial troops need time out to party.

There was an almighty crash... further down the road.

Some pictures from Darren Cornwell, taken from very early morning on Friday onwards...

At the G-Stage, Dance Field

Seen wandering through the Pyramid backstage area.

Ah, sweet love in the dance field early Saturday morning.

Here's a bunch of happy campers.

Just chilling in the grass - Dance West

Even the Fire Stewards are getting in the mood.

Danger, Danger!! Don't touch.

Always time for some eloquent words here.

A giant B, it's huge!

That is if you can find it!

It's a giant cat / dog - found down in Trash City.

Try fitting your potatoes in the back of that....

Just what you were expecting, a huge hanging skull.

Look out! Scorpion.

We have everything here, even your dirty undies.

A lone stranger, wandering planks of wood...

A huge wall of Graffiti covers Shangra-La.

The sun is out, but the mud hasn't all dried up... just yet.

Day three in Pictures

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:23:52 +0000

Here are Jason Bryant's Friday pictures

Lily Allen on the Pyramid Stage

Neil Young on the Pyramid Stage

Lady Gaga on the Other Stage

N*E*R*D on the Pyramid Stage

Gabriella Cilmi on the Pyramid Stage

The BBC's Jo Whiley

Emily Eavis, Naomi Campbell, Sarah Brown and Michael Eavis promote the White Ribbon Alliance - a campaign to make births in developing countries safer.

Some more pictures from Darren Cornwell....

Looking for your friends? There're over here!!

Grabbing the morning coffee..

May have been some slight rainfall over night.

Breakfast tastes good no matter the weather - smiles all around.

Where did all the people go?

'And the hotdog was This Big!' remarked one policeman to the other.

Working at the wood shop.

Drab(ish) day, colourful scenery.

Know your way around.

Near the Greenpeace Airport.

Signage sillyness, but with a profound meaning.

Day two in pictures

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:45:55 +0000

Here's some of Jason Bryant's Thursday pictures...

Some pictures from Jon Andriessen

More of Darren Cornwell''s pics, taken on the second day of the Festival...

Giving it large just off from the Pyramid

Legs, o plenty of legs.... the facilites :)

It's the Green Police, no littering here please.

Rocking out near the Circus / Theatre.

The wizards are in town.

Juggling, pah! Try this on for size.

Who knew, Glastonbury has an Airport!

Got too much energy? Hit the climbing wall.

For the totally athletic, down in the Greenpeace field.

Painting, collecting, having a good time.

We're changing our world all right, a bit at a time.

Day one in pictures

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:41:17 +0000

Here are some of Darren Cornwell''s pics, taken on the first day of the Festival...

Here are some of Jason Bryant's pics, taken on the first day of the Festival...

Poems from our Poet in Residence

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:27:48 +0000

For the duration of the Festival, our 2009 Poet in Residence, Adam Horovitz, will be writing poems for the official website.

SUNDAY POEM

For Tomorrow...
written after watching Blur headline Glastonbury 2009

Ten unsteady Chinese lanterns sailed
across the sky like lovers,
lovers who had wounded us
whom we had not seen for years,

and the clouds were curtains opening
on a moon of swollen memory
and the sky was singing harmonies
that held the rain at bay.

And the rhythm of our dancing
broke like waves upon the shoreline
of giddy, glad rememberings
as songs swelled in our throats,

became a wall of happiness
invisible and everywhere
that we tagged with bright graffiti,
with a sweat-spray of euphoria.

And the band played on astonished
by the waterfalls of longing,
the swaying, stunned devotion,
how our hearts beat to their time.

We were blurring into one voice
-the crowd, the band, the music-
and the songs became the singers
in an alchemy of joy.

And in part it was nostalgia
for a world that seemed forgotten
in the wake of war and terrorists.
But it was also hope and hunger

for better times to come.
And time seemed not to function
as if the land had paused to watch us
as we sang out for tomorrow,

pounded mud into a mattress
and forgot the coming journey
back from skins that we'd been wearing
to work and home and heartache,

the minutiae of living
which will seem a little easier
now the music is within us
                        once again.

SATURDAY POEMS

Wonderland

Down the Rabbit Hole
goes a giggling Alice
chasing the clock-carrying coney
who's scratching his beard, snickering
and planning to plant a disco
in her head.

I follow, bustling past
the curious and the curiouser
carrying a piglet
I found at Pussy Parlure
which used to be a girl.
She's still wearing flowers in her hair
but bristles are growing on her chin
at an alarming rate
and she's been snorting all night.
I'm late, I'm late
but I can't remember now for what.

The world is wrong and spinning
The tunnel sways like flesh.
I am inside out and pulsing
as I crawl through a no man's land
of music, counting the broken bodies,
the dead minims and semi quavers.

And then there is a dancefloor
where the Queen of Hearts
tarts himself up
and pulls off moves that would make
John Travolta squirm with envy
as Rock the Casbah
is gobbled up by lasers
and girls with flamingo pink hair
smile like steel angels
and chant: "Off their, off their,
off their, off their
OFF WITH THEIR HEADS"

Acoustic Acrostic

After a slow trudge, feet
Consumed by mud, I spring
Out of the main drag, the markets
Up to a land of Ukuleles ,
Semi-acoustic sibyls and time,
Time to stand and stare
Into the heart of music, the brief
Chill of dusk carried away by a violin.

Apology Song

To all the bands I could have seen,
know only this of me.
I'll love you from a distance still
on vinyl and CD.

I might have come to Glastonbury
but it was not for music first;
it was for Shangri-la and cabaret
for sun, for mud, for verse

I came to coat myself with stone dust
chipping limestone in Green Crafts
to let the Insect Circus
guide me somewhere daft.

I want the View over Atlantis.
I want to climb the ribbon tower.
I want to go large down the Rabbit Hole.
I want to open like a flower.

I want free hugs from lairy trolls
and spicy cups of chai
I want the music of the moment
that a pretty girl goes by

with a seraphic little smile
planted on her face.
I want to interact in harmony
with the human race.

FRIDAY POEMS

Stone Circle
2 a.m. Friday Morning

Only the bone-crunch of drums,
a circle of wild faces,
cries of tribal longing.
Only the blare of brass,
the smoke stench
of 2000 flares on the hill.

Only the wolf whistles,
the gurgled laughter
of Rory, Richard, Adam
and Young Oliver
rocking out on the damp grass
to music only they can hear.

Only the tiger-faced
bank clerks gone feral.
Only the baby-faced beauties.
Only the fire stacks
the steward huddles,
the whisper of rain.

Only the tattooed man
calling "Dave!" to hill and mobile
and waving his arms
like an amorous baboon.
Only the dragon-sigh
of deflating balloons.

Only the lovers
lying still as spoons
on the candle-dream hillside.
Only the fairy lights
draped over shoulders
powered by hope.

This circle is as sacred
as they make it.
Only the laughter
erupting like lava.
Only truth, euphoria, hunger.
Only the stones.
Only the stones.

Untitled Fragments

Home is where the mud lies easy
under the canvas, deep in the grass
home is where the footsore walker
comes to dissolve in sleep at last.

Home is where the music ceases
where the world is zipped away
Home smells of sweat and wet wipes
Home is not somewhere that you stay.

Home is a memory that fuels the music.
Home is a refuge that keeps you free.
Home is a tent peg big as an anchor.
Home is the place that lets you be.

--

When the crowds cease grinding
and the last band stops
when traders shut up all their shops
when monkey-faced children are fast asleep
then I go looking for the bass that's deep
the bass that's dark, that rattles your bones,
explodes your livers and your mobile phones.
It's the only way to heal my legs.
I have to dance 'til the sun sits up and begs.

THURSDAY POEMS

Ciderman, Ciderman, Does Whatever a Cider Can

My cider sense is tingling.
The cider bus is calling.
I'm eager to get mingling
The atmosphere's enthralling.
And though the rain is tumbling
I'm eager to be drinking
and cheery-stagger mumbling
through the cider that I'm sinking.

My cider sense is singing.
My mobile I'm ignoring
though the insistence of its ringing
is getting rather boring.
I want the drunken loving.
I want that comrade cider feeling.
My cider sense is tingling.
My willpower is reeling.

You Are Ours
A Shangri-la found poem

Follow your leader down
with combovers
to Shangri-la, citizen,
Shangri-la.

This is yours, luvbuds
from the astral knicker parlour
to the no-exit-sale hostage rental

the cheap and nasty;
buy-it-now vacancies;
the stimulation bar welcome.

A perfect world.

It's a dead end luvbuds
everything you want is here.

Dancing in the moonlight,
sleeping in the sun.
It's Shangri-la, citizen,
Shangri-la.

Follow your leader down
with loud women and open hearts
to a dead end perfect world
of astral knicker hostage.

Follow your leader, citizen.
Follow your leader down.

Shangri-la is yours, luvbuds.
And you?
You are ours!

Thursday Haiku

Thunder curls through the sky in soggy stereo.
They are herding up sunhats in Babylon,
letting the kagouls out to graze.

--

Sun bursts through clouds;
an aria over Shangri-la
sung by a sharp-suited horse.

The Sculptor
at Rock Worx in Green Crafts

He leans in, blows dust
from the eye of a face
he saw buried in limestone,
slakes off accumulated sea silt,
the ghost-husks
of the long extinct

This is a tender chisel-dance
of waking. His hands are white
with the stone flour of millennia
as he teases out features;
a river of beard,
eyes bulbous as oysters.

He is building a man
on the bones of the past.

WEDNESDAY POEMS

Welcoming Song

They're painting on sunshine in Bellaís field
pouring water on dusty old roads.
The sky is alive with daub-smear flags
and lanterns like firefly globes.

Tractors are buzzing like bee-swarms
pennants patter wind-blown applause.
Tent-weary travellers tumble like tides,
splash beer on Glastonbury's shores.

A girl in glitter and bikini
spreads her wings to the sun like a moth
as a cityscape seethes into being,
a mosaic of canvas and cloth.

Beer-boys, brick red from sunburn
dance like lobsters just drawn from the pot.
Young girls draped in fashionable sneers
search for cool scowling spots.

Shamans with hairstyles like Moses
float in an aura of calm
two feet over the healing fields
so the plants will come to no harm.

Samaritans, beatniks, paparazzi
dance to a wicker devilís tune.
They all love the sun but theyíre waiting
for the rise, the rise of the moon

when stars shuffle out of the heavens
to lie on the throat of the hill
which roars with the song of the thousands
being welcomed to Glastonbury still.

Wednesday Haiku

Chinese lanterns float
in sea-blue skies;
night messages for the cool hours.

--

The fields are a map of shadows.
Bunting shivers on pressed-down grass
like dragons teeth.

--

The last tear of sun
burns into nothing.
Now the night is electric,
a blister of temporary palaces,
the conjugal rights of song.

--

Dancers shimmer down to the city of light
trailing a stream of bubbles,
a shiver of liquid music.

We Have Band interview

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:25:51 +0000

We caught up with Darren from this year's Emerging Talent Competition winners, We Have Band, ahead of their four Festival performances.

Hello Darren, how are you?
Very good, thanks. We just got back from Paris actually. We squeezed ourselves onto a London bus with the suitcase, the guitars. It was quite crazy. But there's no point wasting money on taxis!

So, how did you come to enter the Emerging Talent Competition?
Actually, our manager did it for us. I think he just thought it would be nice. And then we found out we were in the final, and we were really, really excited.

Have you been to the Festival before?
Yeah, we've all been quite a lot over the last ten years.

So, then you went down to Pilton for the night of the ETC finals.
Yeah. It was quite strange to drive the same way you'd drive to the Festival. We went to the Working Men's Club. It was crazy: you had a strict 20 minutes to do your thing, with a really quick turnaround. It was quite intense. And. of course, Michael and Emily Eavis were there, plus all the bookers from the stages. The whole thing felt quite surreal really.

Did you think you did a good set?
Yeah, we were pretty pleased. What we do is quite upbeat and we were playing quite early on, but we thought we should do it as we would at the Festival, so we totally chucked ourselves into it.

Did people respond?
They did, yeah, which is always a good sign. But the finals were done over two days, so there were six other bands we didn't see, the night before us. And also you don't really know what they're looking for - it was all very varied. I guess they were just looking for something they believe in, regardless of genre.

When did you find out you'd won?
On the night. That was quite terrifying. Michael went up and thanked everybody and then said, "Everyone here is a winner, but the actual winner is We Have Band". We were sat there and we were all like "That's us!"

Did you find yourself really wanting to win?
I think so, yeah. We didn't really talk to each other about wanting to win, which is a surefire sign that we probably did! But it's Glastonbury, you're in the room with the Eavis family, you can't help but get really excited. We were ecstatic to win.

Has it helped the band?
Yeah, absolutely. We're playing four times at the Festival, which is pretty amazing. And Glastonbury is one of the most respected festivals in the whole world. So everywhere we go now, people ask us about winning the competition. Everybody knows Glastonbury.

And the judges were industry bigwigs.
Absolutely. I think that's why it felt like such an honour - you really felt like these people know their stuff.

Golden Silvers were joint-winners last year and they've gone on to get a record deal and lots of attention.
Yeah, they have. They've done really well. Hopefully we'll follow in their footsteps!

So, you're playing four performances at this year's Festival. That's quite busy!
It is! That's another thing that we're now currently not talking about to each other. We're excited, though. We're on straight after Maximo Park open the Festival in the Queen's Head on Thursday. So we're the second band of the Festival!

Where else are you playing?
We've got the Dance Tent on Saturday, and then John Peel and Guardian Lounge on Sunday.

Do you have hardcore fans you think will come to all four?
Some people have said they will, yeah. It's a proper mission!

Perhaps you should reward those who get to all of them.
That's quite a good idea! If you get four stamps you win a CD! We should have a think about that.

Are you nervous about the weekend?
Yes, a little bit. We're playing some big stages. But, at the same time, I can't wait.

Where are you staying?
In a B&B just off site. If you play for half an hour you get quite sweaty, so, with four shows, we're definitely going to need to have somewhere to shower!

As long as it's not one of those B&Bs with a 10pm curfew.
Ooh, good point. We haven't checked that. Actually, though, it's the same B&B we stayed in for the competition, so it's like our lucky place to stay.

Who are you looking forward to seeing play?
Very excited about Blur, Animal Collective and Passion Pit. Loads of people really. And the Boss, of course.

What is your top moment from previous Festivals?
Let me just ask the others. [Confers for a while.] OK, we're saying Radiohead on the Pyramid Stage, the second time. That was amazing. And I had a bit of a religious experience watching Bjork on the Other Stage a couple of years ago. Oh, and the Gossip in the John Peel tent were phenomenal a few years ago.

Do you have any top tips for Glasto virgins?
Well, bring your wellies. That's an obvious one, but people still come without them. Regardless of the weather, bring them. You're on a farm afterall. I like wellies. Then just wander. And come and see We Have Band as many times as possible.

Can you push to five performances?
Well, maybe if you see us around, you can stop us and ask us for a quick a capella.

What's coming up for the band in the rest of the year?
We're doing quite a few more festivals during the summer, across Europe, then we're going into the studio to record our album.

Have you signed a record deal?
No. We're going to do the album first. We want to take the reigns for now. There is interest, but we want to wait until we get the right label. You can do a lot on your own these days.

And then next year you'll be back at Glastonbury?
That's right. Pyramid Stage, Saturday night, 2010! If you happen to see Michael or Emily, please could you let them know.

Click here to check out We Have Band's MySpace

Site snaps #13

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:58:02 +0000

Here are Jason Bryant's shots from Tuesday, as the site readied itself for gates opening in the morning...

Click for more site snaps

Trash city line-up / human pinball

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:53:58 +0000

We haven't yet had a chance to tell you about a couple of terrific things happening at the wonderful Trash City this year. First up, they're creating the Biggest Pinball Game on Earth. The table will be a fully functioning pinball game, but one so large that the public will be able to walk around freely on the stage, through the dance floor and by the bar, all housed within the walls of the table.

They've also just announced a very impressive line-up for the Dragstrip venue, which looks a little like this:

Fri - Rockin'
4.30-6am Nik Diezel
3-4.30am Steve Bedlam
2.15-3am Eagles of Death Metal
1.15-1.45am Hooligan Night
12.00-12.45am Toy Toy
10.45-11.30pm Warlords of Pex
9-10.30pm Mark & Copper Dollar

Sat - Bangin'
4.30-6am Miss Pink
3-4.30am Eddie Temple-Morris
2.15-3am Ebony Bones
1.15-1.45am Selfish C*nt
12-12.45am Hooligan Night
10.45-11.30pm Bishi
9-10.30pm OAP

Sun - SPoOKY
3.45-5am Gaz Mayall
2.25-3.45am Mark & Copperdollar
1.40-2.25am Chrome Hoof
12.30-1.15am Urban Voodoo Machine
11.20-12.05pm Soho Dolls
10.10-10.55pm My Toys Like Me
9-9.45pm Last Man Standing
8-9pm Lucifer Box

Make sure you head over there at some point. You'll be missing out if you don't.

Emily's top ten green tips

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:35:19 +0000

Hello! Here are a few tips on making your visit to the Festival as green as possible. Think zero waste. Don't leave your tent - pack it up and take it home. Please remember this is a farm and we need to get the cows back grazing in the field as soon as we can! The less clean up there is for the litter pickers, the quicker normal life can resume for the cows.

Top Ten Green Tips
1. If you're going to bring wipes, please bring bio-degegradable ones.
2. Pack realistically-don't bring anything you're not going to be able to take home.
3. Use the bin bags that you are given when you come through the gate - the green one for recyclable materials and the black bag for non-recyclables.
4. Don't leave your tent behind.
5. In fact, don't leave anything behind!
6. Recycle your waste on site.
7. Re-use your water bottle/cup.
8. Take all your tent pegs home with you.
9. Butt it and bin it- use the cigarette butt bins
10. Vsit the Green Fields, eat in the wholesome cafés and learn some green living skills.

And, above all, have a great time!

Emilyx

Want to know secrets? Follow us on Twitter

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:02:16 +0000

If you're coming along to this year's Festival, you can keep bang up to date with all the official news, reviews, pictures and info by pointing your mobile phone's web browser in the direction of our official Twitter page - www.twitter.com/glastofest. Our team of tweeters will include Ms Emily Eavis and the website's official 2009 Poet In Residence, Adam Horovitz, sending tweet-sized verses. We'll also be letting you know about secret happenings and performances shortly before they take place...

Be the band with Oxfam DIY

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:50:06 +0000

After revamping Oxfam’s Camden shop, designer Mrs. Jones is now giving Oxfam’s two stalls at Glastonbury a high fashion makeover and will be offering the same service to Festival-goers themselves. From high fashion to high glam Mrs. Jones will use Oxfam clothes to create unique looks for Glastonbury goers, and they can learn her tricks themselves at one of her Oxfam DIY workshops.

The Oxfam DIY Be The Band Marquee (in The Park area) will give festival-goers the opportunity to become the band / artist of their choice. After a makeover, participants will have a quick photoshoot, and, to top it all off they get to keep their outfits, so by Sunday, the Glastonbury site will be awash with Pretend Prodigys, Spurious Springsteens and Mock-Up Madnesses.

The Be The Band Marquee will also feature acoustic performances (7pm daily) while in the Shop / DIY Marquee (in the Main Market Area) there will be Daily DIY workshops hosted by Mrs Jones; on Thursday festival-goers can benefit from the ‘Prepare For The Festival’ theme while on Saturday, once those inhibitions have been left in a muddy ditch near the Pyramid Stage, the theme is High Glam: ‘The Big Look’!

So head to the Oxfam marquees for lots of fancy dress fun!

Oxfam DIY Schedule

Thursday 12.00 – 2.00 pm – Mrs Jones ‘Get Ready’ workshop at the DIY shop, in the Market Place

Friday 12.00 – 2.00 pm   – Dress for the Catwalk workshop at the DIY shop, in the Market Place

Saturday 12.00 – 2.00 pm – Mrs Jones ‘High Glam – The Big Look’ workshop at the DIY shop, in the Market Place

Oxfam marquee opening hours:

Shop / DIY Marquee: from Wednesday to Sunday 10am-late

Be the Band Marquee: from Wednesday to Sunday 10am-6.30pm

N*E*R*D confirmed as Special Guests on the Pyramid Stage

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:24:39 +0000

We're pleased to reveal that N*E*R*D are the Special Guests playing the Pyramid Stage from 3.10-4.10pm on Friday afternoon, between Fleet Foxes and Regina Spektor. This is the group's debut Glastonbury performance and they join a host of great hip hop artists playing this year (also including Dizzee Rascal, Q-Tip, Roots Manuva, Black Eyed Peas, Tinchy Stryder, Shlomo, Speech Dabelle etc).

Site snaps #12

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:13:12 +0000

Here's some more of Jason Bryant's pictures from the site (these ones are mainly from Trash City).

Click for more site snaps

Worthy FM is go!

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:21:58 +0000

Worthy FM, the Festival's own radio station, is now broadcasting live from the site, with all the best Festival news, travel, weather, stage times, music and live performances from the biggest stars and best up-and-comers playing at this year’s Festival. If you're within a few miles of the site, tune in to 87.7FM. Or click the button to listen live online.

Click here for the station's full 2009 schedule

Poetry&Words goes international

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:11:50 +0000

Poetry&Words is part of what makes Glastonbury Festival different - a vibrant festival of contemporary performing arts, rather than just another music festival. The stage was set up more than fifteen years ago by the late, great Pat V T West. It was handed over to Bristol-based poet, Helen Gregory in 2008, who has seized the challenge of taking Poetry&Words to the next evolutionary phase in the heart of the Theatre and Circus area of the Festival.

2009 sees a line up which is bigger, better and even more bloomin’ marvellous than ever before, with a top international line up, headlined by John Hegley and Porky the Poet (AKA Phill Jupitus). Other stars of the stage include: U.S. National Poetry Slam Individual Grand Champion (2003) and Individual World Poetry Slam Champion (2006), Mike McGee; Montreal English Critics’ Circle Award winner, Catherine Kidd; internationally renowned Botswana-based wordsmith, Andreattah Chuma; professional punk poet, Attila the Stockbroker; award-winning novelist; spoken-word artist, Joolz Denby; and ‘million pound poet’, Murray Lachlan Young. This will all be compered by multi-slam winning poet, Kat Francois, and high energy bard Gary Death who has been described by North East News as being ‘somewhere between Henry Rollins and John Cleese’.

As if that wasn't enough, the long-running Sunday afternoon slam (one of the first ever slams to run in the country) will be hosted by Dreadlockalien and Andy Craven Griffiths in the form of Dreadlockalien Middleman productions. (Both are highly talented poets in their own right and will also be performing elsewhere on the bill.) The slam is a chance for up and coming poets to strut their stuff, entertain the crowd and win a spot on next year’s Poetry&Words bill. For the less competitive, there’s the Saturday afternoon open mic, hosted by dynamic diva Sophia Blackwell.

Whether slamming, open mic-ing, or watching on site or from afar, this is one that’s definitely not to be missed!

Poetry&Words 2009: Schedule

11.00 – 18.00 every day, with your hosts Kat Francois and Gary Death

Friday

11.00 Helen Gregory

11.10 A Poem in Between People

11.35 Hollie McNish

12.00 Cat Kidd

12.25 Derrick Brown

12.50 Rosy Carrick

13.15 Nathan Filer

13.40 Anita Govan

14.05 Andy Craven-Griffiths

14.35 The Poetry Chicks

15.00 Dreadlockalien

15.30 Rosemary Harris

16.00 Joolz

16.45 Mike McGee

17.10 Porky the Poet (AKA Phill Jupitus)

Saturday

11.00 The Poetry Chicks

11.30 Nathan Filer

11.50 Open mic (hosted by Sophia Blackwell)

12.50 Mike McGee

13.15 Jude Simpson

13.40 Cat Kidd

14.05 Mark Mace Smith (2008 Slam Winner)

14.30 Rosy Carrick

15.15 A Poem in Between People

15.40 Attila the Stockbroker

16.25 Andreattah Chuma

16.50 Murray Lachlan Young

17.15 Aisle 16

Sunday

11.00 Jude Simpson

11.35 Murray Lachlan Young

12.00 Steve Tasane

12.30 Andreattah Chuma

12.55 Adam Horovitz (Website poet in residence)

13.25 Anita Govan

13.50 Pete Hunter

14.20 John Hegley

15.05 Hollie McNish

15.30 Derrick Brown

15.50 Helen Gregory

16.00 Slam (hosted by Dreadlockalien Middleman Productions)

Site snaps #11

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 18:11:14 +0000

Here's some more of Jason Bryant's pics from the Festival site. These ones were taken yesterday evening, of the summer solstice sunset.

Amazing.

Click for more site snaps

Glastonbury Festival: the perfect honeymoon spot

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 08:58:52 +0000

Later today, Festival-goers Steven and Beverley will be getting married in Glastonbury town. They'll then be spending their honeymoon at the Festival, in full wedding attire. We'd like to wish them all the best for a lovely day, a great life together and, of course, a top Festival!

Emily's Top Ten (non-headliner) Musical Tips

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 11:44:17 +0000

We asked Festival organiser Emily Eavis to give us her Top Ten musical tips for this year's Festival. And here they are...

There is such a wealth of amazing talent and great acts here, this isn't so much my ten "best', more likely the ten bands that I will try hardest not to miss (excluding headliners)!

1) First is the amazing Emiliana Torrini, if you haven't seen her live it really is worth venturing up to The Park for this one. She has such a beautiful voice and when she opens her mouth, it will move the field sideways..
Park Stage, Friday

2) Dizzee Rascal has been here a couple of times before, but never on the Pyramid and never since 'Bonkers'. Say no more.
Pyramid Stage, Saturday

3) Lily Allen - her homecoming!
Pyramid Stage, Friday

4) Eagles Of Death Metal - doesn't get better than this sleazy rock 'n roll and expect some late night surprises from this lot too..
Pyramid Stage, Saturday

5) Spinal Tap, this is their only festival appearance and will be one hell of a way to kick off Saturday afternoon, turn it up to 11!
Pyramid Stage, Saturday

6) Chrome Hoof at Trash City - spectacular live show in the most incredible setting, not to be missed.
Drag Strip, Trash City, Sunday

7) Babba Maal - one of our very favourites, he is such a wonder and if you haven't seen him before, go along and be inspired... If you have, then you'll no doubt be going anyway!
Jazz World Stage, Saturday

8) Jamie T - one of our great British songwriters..always expect a top live show from this man.
John Peel Stage, Friday

9) Easy Star Allstars - Radiodread, Dub side Of The Moon and Sgnt Peppers Lonely Hearts Dub Band - expect a different set from these guys, each stage they play!
East Dance, Friday
Park Stage, Saturday
Pyramid Stage, Sunday

10) The Low Anthem are making their debut appearance here and if their records are anything to go by, it should be something truly special.
Queen's Head Stage, Friday
The Park, Saturday

Theatrical tea and cake in Bella's Field

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:17:41 +0000

Chol Theatre’s interactive Edwardian tea party Not for All the Tea in China is heading to the Festival this year. The outdoor production will be performed in Bella's Field in the Theatre & Circus area from Friday 26th until Sunday 28th June, with three shows per day.

This elegant Edwardian tea party is set in the year 1908, on the stately home of the Ogilvy-Smythe family to celebrate the recent successes of the 1908 British Olympic team.

The audience are seated around a table and served tea by a cast of anxious young servants, under the watchful eye of butler Mr. Perseverance Webb, and provided with a selection of cakes from the loud and boisterous house maid, Nuala. A rather unusual and rowdy guest is also there who insists on banging loudly on his bongo, slurping his tea and challenging Mr. Webb at every opportunity.

Conversation topics arise ranging from etiquette and Edwardian culture to worker’s rights and the power of ‘The Empire’.

Director Andrew Loretto says, “It really is a production with a difference because the audience become part of the show and, if they wish, can interact with the characters as the cast serve them tea and cake. It’s certainly much more than you’d expect to get from your ordinary cuppa! I can’t wait to see our tea party in the middle of a field in Glastonbury: big dresses, white linen and wellies; great!”

Site snaps #10

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 08:49:40 +0000

Here are Jason Bryant's latest shots from the Festival site (and the Worthy Farm milking shed). The chap in the aeroplane in Shangri-La is Kryten from Red Dwarf - aka actor Rob Llewellyn.

Click for more site snaps

ETC blogs: Sub-Universe

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:06:02 +0000

Each of the finalists from our 2009 Emerging Talent Competition will be performing at this year's Festival. Ahead of their trip down to Somerset, we've asked them to write a blog telling us about their experience of the competition and their plans for the Festival. Our sixth blog is from rave-rappers Sub-Universe.

It was Dreams who entered us, the rest of us didn't really remember him even doing it, so when we were told we were in the final we were pretty chuffed. To be picked from thousands of bands is definitely an achievement, especially as we were the only MC/rap group in the running. The night went really well, and we enjoyed the other bands there, especially the winners We Have Band, they were on top form!

We're well excited about playing at the Festival. Us 4 have never been before but we can't wait! Actually, though, we saw Jay-Z and Amy Winehouse at Glasto on TV last year, does that count? As for camping.. Sub-U aren't hippies!!...(joking!). Camping looks like fun but we'll be driving in from Bristol most days. Let's hope the Glasto family will have a good time and enjoy our set, how ever it goes we are just gonna go nuts on stage and enjoy ourselves! Maybe we should have be practicing our crowd surfing/stage diving technique?

As for the future, we hope that more and more people will hear our music and eventually we'll be able to make music for a living. That's the goal. Our latest release, the Computer Game EP is now on iTunes, which we're very happy with. We've had lots of people saying how much they love the song 'Computer Game' so we're quite proud at the mo. Radio 1's Huw Stephens also played one of our tracks on his show!! (Big grin!) We've always believed in our songs and our unique sound, so we're pleased to see the amount of exposure and progress we've made without any management deals and stuff like that. We would love to be signed and well promoted though!!! We'll always write catchy songs. It would be cool to tour the world too. We've heard that Brazillian girls are quite nice ;)....

Since entering the Emerging Talent Comp, we're millionnaires now. We even cancelled our X Factor auditions, which Juva wasn't happy about. Lol, on a real though, many thanks to Q Magazine and the Glastonbury team - see you lot down there!

Click here to check out Sub-Universe's MySpace

Click here to read more ETC finalist blogs

Site snaps #9

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:56:21 +0000

Jason Bryant has just sent us another batch of pictures from the Festival site, with most of these taken up at The Park...

Click for more site snaps

Fancy some Salsa action?

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:07:54 +0000

Once again the El Rhythmo Salsa Club is bringing the Festival world-class bands in an intimate club atmosphere, together with beginner-level dance lessons so you can learn to get your body moving the Latin way! This year they are taking over the Pussy Parlure – the wonderful 1930s wood and glass “Spiegel tent” with built-in dance floor in the Dance Village – from midnight every night, for their bands. Classes will be held in the daytime both there and at various locations around the site, so you should never be too far away from a Salsa experience!

Click here for the full lowdown on their acts and classes.

Main stage set times now available

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:14:58 +0000

If you head over to the Compare Stages section of the website's line-up pages, you can now check out what time all the acts on the 10 main music stages will be playing from and 'til. Click here to check it out.

BBC Introducing line-up announced

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:12:51 +0000

Once again, the BBC Introducing Stage is providing new, unsigned artists the opportunity to perform at the Festival, with their stage in The Park. Their 2009 line-up has just been announced:

Friday
Engine-Earz
KOF
Colorama
Louise Golbey
Two Door Cinema Club
Sparrow and the Workshop
Cashier No.9
The Heroes

Saturday
Vienna Ditto
Speech Debelle
King Charles
Goldheart Assembly
The Alfonz
Rogues
Kidbass
10k Runner

Sunday
Life In Film
States Of Emotion
Kobi Onyame
Essay Like Nephew
Fists
Dimbleby & Capper
Andreya Triana
The 1,2,3,4s

Head over to bbc.co.uk/introducing for more information about Introducing and their line-up.

ETC blogs: Charlene Soraia

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:20:45 +0000

Each of the finalists from our 2009 Emerging Talent Competition will be performing at this year's Festival. Ahead of their trip down to Somerset, we've asked them to write a blog telling us about their experience of the competition and their plans for the Festival. Our fifth blog is from jazzy songstress Charlene Soraia.

Wow... well.. erm...Things are going really well, which is nice! I've been on three back-to-back tours this year as well as the Glastonbury competition, so things have been pretty full on! After Glastonbury I'm going straight into recording my album - after one of those "post-Glastonbury baths" of course! You know the type... Where you have to refill it a few times... and that's after you've showered off the top layer that you thought was a tan... but was really some of the finest mud England has to offer! (and only offers it up on the weekend Glastonbury Festival falls on- like some kinda ritual)

I entered the competition last year and re-entered this year. Apparently noone has got through twice, but I wasn't expecting to win... As long as I got to the Festival - that's all I wanted!! When I turned up to Glastonbury town on the night of the finals... checked into the George and Pilgrim hotel... got given the key to my room... BUT IT WAS THE WRONG ROOM!! I walked in on two people... doing fuzzy tingle time things! I didn't see... too much... but erm... yeah... *ouch? you couldn't do that easily in a tent!*

Anyho... I can't wait for the Festival this year.. last year I played a hell of a lot of shows and this year I'm only doing a handful of small stage things... After touring for most of the year, Glastonbury is looking more like a holiday to me then anything else! I'm praying for the sunshine!

A good Glastonbury would be a nice "close" to the 6 months of intense gigging and hopefully I'll chill out my core to start recording the album in July! Though let's face it... We'll probably all be worn out by the end... I don't think it's possible not to be exhausted after doing a Glastonbury!

Sleep Goodly x x x . . .

Click here to check out Charlens Soraia's website

Click here to read more ETC finalist blogs

Site snaps #8

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:04:47 +0000

Here's another batch of Jason Bryant's pictures from the site, as the Festival takes shape. These ones show, amongst other things, the jet engine in the Arcadia area and the Field of Avalon tent.

Click for more site snaps

Worthy FM schedule announced

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:04:03 +0000

Worthy FM is the official Glastonbury Festival radio station, coming to you from the heart of the Festival, with all the best Festival news, travel, weather, stage times, music and live performances from the biggest stars and best up-and-comers playing at this year’s Festival.

Hitting the airwaves air at Noon on Monday 22nd June 2009, the station is broadcasting from its compound at the top of the Pyramid stage field right the way through until Monday 29th June, 24 hours a day on 87.7FM. You'll also be able to listen live online right here on the Glastonbury Festival website.

Click here for the station's full 2009 schedule

Compare main stages in Line-up pages

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:39:06 +0000

Head over to the site's Line-up pages and you can now compare the line-ups on all the main music stages, and browse an A-Z list of all the artists playing them. Plus, of course, you can still see a full text list of all the stages. Hopefully it'll come in handy as you plan your musical journey through this year's Festival. Oh, and we'll be adding stage times to the main stages list on Friday...

Sustrans Sounds helping to Change Your World

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:06:44 +0000

One of the many great venues in the markets is Sustrans Sounds, based in the walkway between the Pyramid and Other Stage, near the Orange Chill n Charge tent. Roadhouse Productions have pulled together an eclectic and explosive collection of DJs from across the country with the emphasis very firmly on fun and partying.

Sustrans is the charity behind the award-winning National Cycle Network and other great initiatives helping people to walk, cycle or take public transport more. The Festival has had may links with the charity over the years with Michael Eavis, a keen cyclist, being the first to cycle part of the National Cycle Network near Glastonbury as part of the opening ceremony.

Change Your World is their campaign to inspire and motivate everyone to think differently about the way we travel. They are asking Festivalgoers to join with thousands of others and swap just one car trip between 29 June and 4 July 2009. Walk, cycle, use public transport or car-share instead. Amazingly, if we all take this one easy action, together we'll reduce car traffic by 10% – healthier journeys, cleaner air and quieter streets. Sounds like good car-ma.

For more information check out www.changeyourworld.org.uk.

DeafZone tent returns

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 22:36:03 +0000

We're pleased to announce the return of the DeafZone tent. It will be situated next to the Information Tent by William's Green. DeafZone will co-ordinate an interpreting service and have a daily board showing which performances are being interpreted. The DeafZone Tent will also feature Deaf/Sign Language-related films, and information from the Centre for Deaf Studies from the University of Bristol.

All are welcome to drop in for a chat, ask questions, and find out about Sign Language and other related courses. The interpreting service will start from Friday morning.

Phoenix project promotes peace in The Park

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:21:58 +0000

The Phoenix project, situated in the Park, is creating an installation at this year's Festival dedicated to the resolution of all global conflicts, though they have chosen to focus their attention on the situation in Israel/Palestine. Click here for the full lowdown.

New for 2009: Arcadia area

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:24:19 +0000

Last year, within the walls of the Trash City, Glastonbury saw the launch of a new machine. Built from blast remnants and recovered materials, the machine was said to be capable of producing a heightened state of euphoria through sonic and audiovisual stimuli.

That machine was the Arcadia Spectacular and it proved so popular, that this year they've been given their own Arcadia field, next door to Trash City. They'll be taking things to a whole new level with a rocket-powered Afterburner Mk2, mind-blowing installations, live music and DJs through the night, bars and many other treats. Click here for more info. And check out their line-up of live music and DJs below.

Line-up
6pm to 3am
(the last band on is at the top of each day's line-up)

FRIDAY
DISCO OF DOOM     LIVE
HYBRID     DJ
SUBSOURCE     LIVE
CIRCUS SHOW     SHOW
LEE MORTIMER     DJ
FREEFALL COLLECTIVE LIVE
CIRCUS SHOW     SHOW
TRISTAN     DJ
BLACKOUT     LIVE
DREADZONE     DJ
BABY HEAD     LIVE
DUB FX         LIVE

SATURDAY
EVIL NINE     LIVE
FAR TOO LOUD     DJ
ADAM FREELAND     LIVE
CIRCUS SHOW     SHOW
ALEX METRIC     DJ
SICKNOTE     LIVE
CIRCUS SHOW     SHOW
KID BLUE     DJ
SMERINS ANTI SOCIAL CLUB LIVE
DUB FX     LIVE

SUNDAY
FREQ NASTY     DJ
ZION TRAIN     DJ
CIRCUS SHOW     SHOW
JAZZSTEPPA     LIVE
BAOBINGA B2B RESO     DJ
CIRCUS SHOW     SHOW
THE EGG     LIVE
POWERSTEPPERS     DJ
PRONGHORN     LIVE
DUB FX         LIVE
KING PORTER STOMPER     LIVE

ETC blogs: Stornoway

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:41:44 +0000

Each of the finalists from our 2009 Emerging Talent Competition will be performing at this year's Festival. Ahead of their trip down to Somerset, we've asked them to write a blog telling us about their experience of the competition and their plans for the Festival. Our fourth blog is from Oxford's eclectic folk-popsters Stornoway.

We're good friend with previous GETC runners-up and fellow Oxford band The Epstein, who encouraged us to get involved in the competition. While Brian was away in Ecuador buying Alpaca-wool hats for the rest of the band (with no internet), we received the email saying we'd made the finals. We were all astounded. To get through all those thousand of acts who'd entered, with our simple songs and humble Oxford following, was a huge surprise and pretty daunting. It turned out a friend had a bus driver's license, so we hired a proper 15 seater tour bus and, feeling like schoolboys about to embark on a field trip, set off for Glastonbury. The passengers included:

-five postdoctoral researchers in Zoology,
-three organic farmers,
-two third year chemists,
-two A level geographers,
-one wildlife documentary ghost writer,
-one plumber,
-one BBC radio DJ.

After taking a pre-gig walk out to the scaffolds of the Pyramid stage to set our nerves straight, and getting our cameras out to photograph the Tor in the sunset, we went back to the green room for a quick drink. Possibly the strangest and most nervous moment of the whole night was while the announcer talked us up to a crowd who were suddenly totally silent in anticipation of the music. The four songs went well, although the adrenalin meant all the music seemed much slower than usual, as we forced ourselves to concentrate fully for every moment of the set. After the final cheers and a handshake with Mr Eavis, it was time for a quick game of hacki-sack. Before leaving I think every one of our 15-strong tour team had drunkenly hugged Huw Stephens, and told the Eavis family how much we were looking forward to the Festival in June. Eventually we all crammed into the bus and spent the three hour journey being interviewed by the hilariously drunk Tim Bearder from BBC Oxford.

Since the competition we've strengthened relationships with a lot of BBC Radio One personalities, including Huw Stephens and Colin Murray, and been played on Rob da Bank, Steve Lamacq and Zane Lowe's shows. Steve actually turned up to a gig in London recently which was a massive surprise! Tom Robinson from BBC 6Music also likes us, and introduced our slot at Radio One's Big Weekend in May. We'll be playing on his stage at Wychwood festival at end of the month.

We've also been reviewed in the Independent, Guardian, and online at several blog sites, so the Glastonbury experience so far has really been very enjoyable and helpful to us. We can't wait to see it through with the festival next month. It happens to be on the day after we all finish exams and jobs, and will mark the start of our biggest summer yet.

Amazingly, we now have five slots at the Festival!

- Queen's Head Stage, thanks to the Emerging Talent Competition. Apparently we're on second. We're really looking forward to this as it'll be like the competition itself, with all those great bands performing together, but with longer sets from each so we will get to hear alot more of everyone.
- Acoustic stage, probably our biggest slot and what we're most looking forward to. It won't actually be "acoustic" as in unplugged, so we'll have our full band sound and there'll be lots of other "acoustic" sounding acts similar to us.
- Avalon stage
- Avalon cafe stage
- Worthy FM session

It's going to be a busy few days! None of us have been to Glastonbury before, and coming from South Africa, Rob and I had never actually heard about it before, until a few summers ago our neighbour appeared walking mudshod up the street, carrying his wellies and grinning wildly, saying he'd "just come back from seeing James Brown" and spent five days unwashed to do so.

It's a really exciting time for the band. We don't have any idea at the moment what's in store for us - anything could happen! Being unsigned we aren't yet at a touring stage - but this is great as we're getting a lot of exposure through smaller festivals and getting more rehearsed every time we play.

My personal hopes would be for some European touring later this year (we've already recieved offers of gigs in Norway and Germany), a small tour up North before Christmas, SXSW in Texas next April, and then another summer of festivals as these are definitely our favourite gigs. We've always had this vague idea of setting up our amps on a boat and sailing up to Scotland, to visit the real Stornoway town - perhaps this is something for late summer 2009 to promote our second single!

But our real hope is to take Stornoway as far as possible, which means a good few albums and many years working together. We have diverse musical tastes and ideas, so it's great being part of this - it's unpredictable and endless fun.

Click here to check out Stornoway's MySpace

Click here to read more ETC finalist blogs

Banksy exhibition is a worthwhile detour

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:02:04 +0000

We thoroughly recommend a diversion to the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery on your way to/from the Festival this year, to see the new Banksy versus Bristol Museum exhibition, which includes several pieces from Glastonbury through the years.

Site snaps #7

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:43:34 +0000

Here are some more great pics from Jason Bryant, taken down on the farm yesterday afternoon.

If those don't get you in the mood for the Festival, nothing will!

Relaxed grooves for Chai Wallahs

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:20:57 +0000

Chai Wallahs is one of the market venues, less than 50 metres from the Queen's Head in William's Green. They offer mellow sounds and healthy snacks. Here is their 2009 line-up...

The Snug line-up revealed

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:11:53 +0000

thecocknbullkid

Situated next to the Queen's Head in William's Green, The Snug is an acoustic venue from 4-6pm, then a multi-coloured dancefloor with glitter balls and effects from 6pm till 3am. DJ sets are iunterspersed with SingStar sessions covering a different theme each night with free props to exxagerate the Abba, Eighties, Guilty Pleasures and Queen themes. Set in a triple tipi construction its interior is like the maddest disco in town, a million light years from the outside world.

Here's the full line-up (as ever, the band on last is at the top of each day's line-up, with the band on first at the bottom).

THURSDAY

THE DISCO PARTY

Streetlife DJs
Electronica, shuffling rhythms and crazed synthesiser interplay to the wee small hours.

The Moshi Moshi Party Set
Featuring electro, cutting-edge indie and random pop classics from the ‘80s and ‘90s.

thecocknbullkid
The acclaimed singer hits the decks for some electro, ‘80s synth pop and a bit of cool hip-hop.

The Sounds Familiar Music Quiz
Three hours of questions and tunes, spot prizes and boogying.

THE Q ACOUSTIC SESSIONS

The Ralfe Band
Former Emerging Talent winners with a stripped down strum.

Pete Greenwood
Emotive strumming and some powerful choruses.

FRIDAY

THE DANCEFLOOR FRENZY

Tom Middleton
Eclectic DJ rounds off the night with some floor shaking discs.

Chris Coco
The chill out king spins some party sounds.

The Bring and Share Musical Bingo
A three hour lottery of tunes where every number counts.

The Voguettes
Where rockabilly meets electroclash and laptops get mangled.

THE Q ACOUSTIC SESSIONS

Loose Salute
Breathy Americana with rolling acoustics and neat harmonies.

The Slow Club
Back porch strumming, boy girl interface and some neat tunes.

SATURDAY

THE FUNKIFIED FORTRESS

Heavenly Jukebox
The crate digging excess of the Jukebox that knows no boundaries.

It’s Bigger Than / Get Involved
Maracas and tambourines, party tunes and very good vibes.

Miles Cleret’s Soundway Sound System
Tropical Funk and Afrobeat from the Caribbean, South America and Africa.

The Shortwave Set Victorian Funk Opus
Top band bring record bag.

THE Q ACOUSTIC SESSIONS

Michael Weston King
Aching Americana, dobro guitars and mucho melancholy.

Peter Bruntnell
Strum-friendly melodies and some alternative soul.

SUNDAY

THE LAST CLUB IN TOWN

Dekker And Johan’s Sunday Night Homage
Little Boots and SMD remixers with a seamless mix of hip hop, funk, northern soul, pop, cosmic disco and acid house.

Lois And Jon
Northern, mod and Motown grooves.

Eddie Piller
The Acid Jazz man spins northern soul, jazz and reggae.

Phill Jupitus
Slaloming from ‘60s ska to Balkan beats, punk to jazz, metal to calypso, it'll be a mess... But a mess you can dance to...

THE Q ACOUSTIC SESSIONS

Johnny Flynn
Hot from supporting Springsteen, a festival exclusive.

Island Line
Emiliana Torrino’s band step out and harmonise.

THE SINGSTAR SESSIONS @ THE SNUG

Every day in The Snug you can dress up and perform in themed SingStar sessions. Props will be provided for everyone, from feather boas to false moustaches depending on the day…

Thursday
SINGSTAR Queen Night (17.30, 19.30, 21.30, 23.30)

Friday
SINGSTAR Abba night (17.30, 19.30, 21.30, 23.30)

Saturday
SINGSTAR Guilty Pleasures (17.30, 19.30, 21.30, 23.30)

Sunday
SINGSTAR Eighties Night (17.30, 19.30, 21.30, 23.30)

ETC blogs: City Stereo

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:27:19 +0000

Each of the finalists from our 2009 Emerging Talent Competition will be performing at this year's Festival. Ahead of their trip down to Somerset, we've asked them to write a blog telling us about their experience of the competition and their plans for the Festival. Our third blog is from Salisbury indie-poppers City Stereo.

City Stereo have been pretty crazy busy since the ETC finals, as we have been finishing off our debut album which we’ll be releasing later this year. Lots of time has been spent in the studio, and it’s coming together really nicely, we can’t wait for people to hear it. We are preparing to release this independently, subject to label interest, so have also been doing a great amount of planning, research, promo etc which has eaten up a lot of the 2 months since the finals.

We’ve been keeping busy on the live front, and have had some extremely fun shows, with our audiences getting bigger and bigger all the time. All of this of course, is building up to Glastonbury which is going to be something else!

We just can’t wait! I don’t think it’s really going to hit home that WE are playing GLASTONBURY festival until we take to the stage, even now it’s still surreal.

I’m just so glad we entered! In fact, we very almost didn’t… it was by chance that I suddenly remembered about the competition having entered it before, thinking "I’m sure the Glasto competition is run around now. I’ll check it out just in case" so I looked it up, and there it was. 1 hour from the deadline! So at 11pm on the final day for submissions, I entered the band... and I’ve been thanking my lucky stars since. This whole whirlwind ride was only an hour away from not happening at all!

From there we got the call informing us of the amazing news, and to be honest, it didn’t really sink in! I was delighted, but part of me was thinking, "Maybe there’s been a mistake, maybe they called the wrong band or something?" Because there was that element of self-doubt, we actually didn’t tell anyone about it until it was up on the Glastonbury, and Q websites. Then we started to be believe it that little bit more!

Obviously, we were over the moon. US... GLASTONBURY... WOW!!!

Next up was the live final; a great experience. We got to meet some top people, play with some awesome bands, all of whom are very different from us in style, it was a real pleasure. We were pretty happy with our performance on the night. I’d be lying if I said it all went swimmingly though... Our drummer Ben felt something snap in his hand on the first song and was playing through the pain barrier for the rest of the set. He did a great job, as we took a look at his hand after the show, and it looked like he was holding a golf ball in his palm! Of all the times for that to happen! It was never going to stop him, the man is a true pro.

We also had the pleasure of meeting Michael Eavis, and we can’t thank him and the team enough for giving up and coming bands like us a chance. Being an ETC finalist has certainly boosted our profile, and we’ve secured a number of other festival performances over the summer. It’s also been terrific experience that will hold us in good stead for anything that may lie ahead.

Now we are all counting down to the performance. The Queens Head stage, Friday, 1.50pm. Game on! We have also been asked to play the Avalon Crew Stage on the Thursday around 8pm, which we are also looking forward to, as well as playing some live acoustic tracks for Worthy FM on Sunday. We are super eager to introduce the people of Glastonbury to our little pop-rock band from Salisbury. We just hope they like what they hear, and enjoy the performances.

As for future hopes for the band, right now we are all about making our album the biggest success it can be. We’ve put everything into this, and we just want as many people to hear it and enjoy it as possible. We hope this can reach out to as many people as possible, and that we will continue to go from strength to strength. Ultimately, the dream would be to live off of our music. This is what we love doing, it’s our passion, and it’s all any of us ever want to do.

With 2 singles, 2 music videos, our album, and loads of shows (including 2 UK tours) in the pipeline, this year is going to be massive for us. It all kicks off with Glastonbury, and hopefully, this is just the beginning for City Stereo.

Click here to check out City Stereo's MySpace

Click here to read more ETC finalist blogs

Look who's turned up at Worthy Farm

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:32:34 +0000

They're clearly cut out for life down here. :-)