Hi folks – and happy new year!
We wanted to let you know that the Glastonbury ticket registration site will be down for maintenance for a few hours this evening (beginning at around 5pm). It should be back up again by 7am tomorrow morning.
A resale of tickets for Glastonbury 2011 is still planned for some point in the spring.
This Friday (Dec 17th) at 9pm, BBC Four is premiering a cracking new documentary, Festivals Britannia, which tells the story of the emergence and evolution of the British music festival through the mavericks, dreamers and dropouts who have produced, enjoyed and sometimes fought for them over the last 50 years – naturally with quite a bit of focus on Glastonbury. Then, after the documentary, at 10.30pm, they’re airing an hour of highlights of Pulp’s classic 1995 Glastonbury set.
Festivals Britannia will then be broadcast again on Sunday (Dec 19th) at 11.45pm. That showing will be followed by an hour of Radiohead’s career-defining 1997 Glastonbury performance, at 1.15am.
It’s fair to say that we’re quite excited about it all.
Did you visit one of the three Oxfam shops at Glastonbury in 2010 to pick up some festival essentials?
Thank you!
You helped us to raise £44,000 for Oxfam!
That’s enough to provide the materials to build 225 latrines in a humanitarian crisis; or to provide 4,458 families with emergency hygiene kits that include a bucket, soap and a cloth; or safe water to over 73,000 people in an emergency. After a week at a Festival we can all appreciate the importance of water and toilets.
Glastonbury 2011 may seem very far away, but you can keep on shopping and reviving those festival memories with the Glastonbury Scrapbook. Launched to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Glastonbury, this fantastic limited edition book has been hugely popular. It is now exclusively available in Oxfam shops across the country at a stocking filler price tag of £10.
From each book £7.50 will go towards Oxfam’s project in Haiti helping people prepare for disasters, responding to tropical storms, flooding and hurricanes. The project provides training to communities in how to reduce risks when disasters strike, and emergency shelters for storing emergency equipment throughout the year as well as housing communities during disasters.
“Having this centre is a big step forward for people in the area. It’s very useful to the community who use it as temporary shelter when hurricanes are announced, or in the event of flooding.” Michel Telot, member of the Local Committee of Disaster Risk Management in Petite Anse, Haiti.
Help us continue to help people like Michel – snap up your copy of the Glastonbury scrapbook now, find your nearest Oxfam shop at www.oxfam.org.uk/shopfinder
Oxfam UK
Jason Bryant has kindly sent us these amazing photos of a snow-covered Worthy Farm today.
A bit different to how it was in June…
In the first of our news series of updates from the causes closest to Glastonbury’s heart, we hear from Greenpeace about what they’ve been up to since the Festival.
If you visited the Greenpeace field at Glastonbury in 2010, you’ll know it was a verdant paradise as we focused on the plight facing the world’s tropical rainforests. Thanks to your support, we’ve had some cracking successes on our campaign to protect Indonesia’s rainforests, with the likes of Nestle, HSBC, Kraft and Burger King distancing themselves from companies which are levelling huges areas to produce palm oil and pulpwood.
Since the summer, we’ve also been spreading the Go Beyond Oil message – partly as a response to BP’s mess in the Gulf of Mexico but also because we need to end our dependency on oil. One of the Greenpeace ships, the Esperanza, headed out to the Arctic waters off Greenland and to the Shetland Isles to challenge companies searching for oil in the deep, hostile northern seas. The generous donations we receive from Michael Eavis and all our donors means we have the resources to make that journey, bare witness and take action in locations like the Arctic.
Of course, our ships don’t last forever and our flagship, the Rainbow Warrior II, is nearing the end of her campaigning life. A replacement is currently being built and we need your help so we can continue making waves. Please donate now because the world needs another Rainbow Warrior.
Greenpeace UK
We’re pleased to report that Glastonbury organiser Michael Eavis has become the new patron of UK-based charity, the Bhopal Medical Appeal (BMA) which funds the award-winning, free Sambhavna Clinic in Bhopal, India – site of the world’s worst industrial disaster, the 1984 Union Carbide gas leak.
Following the BMA’s growing volunteer litterpicker presence at Glastonbury – since 2004 the festival has donated over £27,000 to the charity in return for ‘litterpicker hours’ given – and in keeping with Mr Eavis’ strong commitment to charitable causes, he agreed to join the BMA in raising awareness of the second and very current disaster of water contamination.
He explained: ‘It’s hard to believe that after 26 years, the factory has not been cleaned up, and that people are still dying of the chemicals that the company left behind but it’s true, and it’s outrageous.’
‘We have a duty to help those less fortunate than ourselves. I’ve always believed in working for the community, and that for me, is a global community. We all have a huge responsibility to help these people.’
Becky Moss, Communications & Information Officer for the BMA, said: ‘We’re thrilled to have Michael as our new patron. He’s deeply respected for his down- to-earth values, as well as his love of music and creativity; he works hard and is open to new ideas – we’re now developing a campaign to highlight the contaminated water in Bhopal for Glastonbury 2011.
‘Michael joins our existing patron – Jon Snow, journalist and presenter of Channel 4 News – in our third year of becoming an independent charity, which sees the launch of our new website, an education programme and a unique auction of special artworks by internationally-recognised artists, including Subodh Gupta, Tracey Emin and Anish Kapoor.’
Bhopal survivors and supporters the world over will be lighting candles and torches on Thursday 2nd December to commemorate the victims of the 1984 Union Carbide gas disaster and to celebrate the spirit of those who continue to fight for clean water and proper healthcare.
We’re pleased to announce that tickets for the 2011 Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza will go on sale on Friday December 3rd.
The show on Saturday 6th August 2011 will see the return of legendary rockers Status Quo, who brought the house down at a sell-out Extravaganza in 2009. Their support act has yet to be confirmed.
Glastonbury organiser Michael Eavis enthused, “I am delighted that Status Quo have agreed to come back to the Extravaganza again as tickets sold out so quickly the last time they played. I know there were many disappointed people then – so what could be a better Christmas present for them than to get another chance to see Quo at the Abbey? It was such a success last time – people are still talking about the show!”
Then, on Sunday 7th August 2011 Katherine Jenkins will headline, accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra and special guests.
“I was really pleased that Katherine Jenkins became available for the 2011 Extravaganza,” explained Michael. “She is a stunning performer who has become a Welsh national treasure. I know it is a change for the classical night not to have The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra playing, but Katherine will be singing many similar classical favourites that we all love, accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra – and of course, the Dragonfire display will ensure we end with the usual high quality firework show.”
This will be the sixteenth consecutive and the last Extravaganza before Michael Eavis takes time out during the Olympic year.
Michael explained, “Next year will be the last time to enjoy the Extravaganza until 2013. In 2012 we are having a total year off, no Glastonbury Festival, no Pilton Party, and no Extravaganza. We have run the Extravaganza every year since we first started in 1996 and I am looking forward to a complete year off. My wife Liz and I are planning a long holiday touring the British coast, starting off on the south coast, then go up the east, go to Scotland, into Wales and on to Cornwall. This will be the first real holiday we’ve had since we got married 10 years ago”
TICKETS
Tickets for each night are priced at £32.50 for Adults and £17.50 for Children (6-16). They go on sale on 3rd December and we anticipate they will sell very quickly.
How to buy tickets
Online: Visit glastonburyextravaganza.co.uk to book online.
By telephone: 01458 834596 during office hours.
In person: by calling at the Glastonbury Festival Office in Northload Street, Glastonbury (during the working week) or The Glastonbury Abbey Shop in Magdalene Street, (open seven days a week).
To receive tickets in time for Christmas we must receive orders by 16th December 2010.
For further information head to glastonburyextravaganza.co.uk.
This week, Zane Lowe’s BBC Radio 1 show returns with its Masterpieces series, in which Zane and his guests will pay tribute to four of the greatest albums ever made, before those albums are then played in full.
All of the artists picked this year have strong links to Glastonbury, which is why the Festival’s co-organiser, Emily Eavis, has been interviewed for the shows.
They begin tonight (Monday, 22 Nov) with The White Stripes’ Elephant album, then it’s Jay-Z’s Black Album tomorrow (Tuesday, 23 Nov), The Smiths’ The Queen Is Dead on Wednesday (24 Nov) and Fatboy Slim’s We’ve Come A Long Way Baby on Thursday (25 Nov).
Tune into Zane’s show from 7pm each night to join in the fun (click here to listen online).
A short film showing the switching on of Worthy Farm’s new solar-power plant, which opened yesterday. Film by Harriet Hoare and Mandy Briggs. It’s soundtracked by a vibes (vibraphone) freeform session, captured live at the Engine Shed, Worthy Farm, performed by Harriet Riley accompanied by Alex Lee.
There was also a great piece on the solar-power plant in today’s Guardian – click here to read it.
The sun shone on the Festival site today as an excited crowd watched Michael Eavis officially switch on Worthy Farm’s new solar electric array.
Michael said: “We now not only do the best festival in the world, we also have the best solar power system.”
More than 1,100 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roof of the “Mootel” cowshed can generate enough power for 80% of the farm’s electricity demand and export excess to the grid. Saving more than 2,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over its lifetime, the system is part of the Festival’s environmental commitment to Love The Farm – Leave No Trace.
Pictures by Matt Cardy (top two) and Laura Zaky (bottom two)
Here are some facts and figures about the Worthy Farm solar photovoltaic system:
– The largest private solar electricity-generating system in the UK.
– Generates enough electricity to meet the annual demand of 40 average households.
– Helps combat climate change by saving about 100 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
– The system, installed on the roof of Worthy Farm’s cow shed, contains more than 1,100 solar photovoltaic (PV) modules.
– The PV modules generate direct current electricity which is converted into alternating current by two large inverters. The power can then either be used in Worthy Farm’s buildings, or, when there is more supply than demand, exported to the grid.
– With the benefit of the government’s new feed-in tariff for renewable energy, the payback time for the system is expected to be about nine years. The system is designed to keep operating for at least 20 years.
– The installation was organised by Solarsense, based in Bristol.
– The modules were manufactured by Romag in County Durham.
– The grid connection was provided by Western Power Distribution.
– The inverters have been supplied by Swiss company Sputnik Engineering.
– A loan to enable the project to proceed was made available by Triodos Bank.
Technical specifications
Power output: 200.88 kilowatts peak (kWp)
Modules: 1,116 Romag modules
Inverters: Sputnik SolarMax
Inclination and orientation: Inclination 5°, faces south
Expected annual yield: 160,700 kilowatt hours (kWh)
Lifetime carbon dioxide saving: More than 2,000 tonnes
Area of solar PV array: 1,500 square metres