This year's Glastonbury Rock Festval will probably be the largest ever. It is the world's largest greenfield rock festival - and is notorious for become a mudbath during inclement weather. There will be around 178,000 festival-goers attending this year's event. This year's acts include The Arctic Monkeys, The Who, Amy Winehouse, The Killers and The Kaiser Chiefs....
First revellers arrive at Glastonbury Festival
20th June 2007
Daily Mail
The Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Rock Festival, near Glastonbury, Somerset. It is the world's largest greenfield rock festival and has been held on Michael Eavis's farm since 1970. Overlooking the area, on a hill, is mystical Glastonbury Tor, supposedly the site of King Arthur's Avalon.
The Glastonbury Festival has opened its gates to 170,000 revellers as weather forecasters predicted another mudbath because of heavy rain.
Music fans began to trickle in, carry backpacks and supplies - including cases of alcohol - in preparation for the days ahead.
More than three inches of rain are expected to fall on the site by the weekend, threatening a repeat of the famous washouts of 1997, 1998 and 2005.
The first of the Glastonbury festival goers trickle in
Festival organiser Michael Eavis has ploughed an extra £750,000 into drainage work to prevent the 1,000-acre site turning into a quagmire.
Hundreds of meters of drainage pipes have been replaced with 1.2m wide concrete tunnels to funnel rainwater away and tonnes of hardcore have used to shore up roads and stage areas.
But Stephen Davenport, senior meteorologist for Metrogroup, said the expensive work may all be in vain.
He said: "With the amount of rain that is about to fall in Somerset, it will be a mudfest.
Thirsty work: one festival goer arrives carting boxes of beer
"We could be looking at a total of 2.4 to 3.1 inches of rain between now and the weekend - that's quite a deluge, so mudbath ahoy."
However, Mr Eavis was in bullish mood and dismissed fears of another 'Mudfest'.
He said: "We have had a lot of work done to the site and are fully prepared.
"There are so many more covered stages and if we get the occasional shower, we are used to it."
This year's festival line up includes Arctic Monkeys, The Killers and Lily Allen
Festival organisers have had crews on site since March 1 - employing three times the amount of heavy lifting equipment normally used.
Spokesman Jason Holmes said: "Every year more and more work has gone into improving the drainage.
"But people must remember that although it is a great party, it is taking place outdoors and they must come prepared to live outdoors for three days for most of the time.
"It gets cold at night and can get wet so people need to bring warm clothes."
A total of 177,500 people will attend the event including 137,500 full weekend public ticket-holders, 35,000 staff and performers and 5,000 Sunday only ticket-holders.
The arrivals came prepared for bad weather, which is expected this weekend
There will be about 2,000 performances across 35 different stages during the five-day event.
For the first time, 25,000 tickets have been sold linked to coach travel from major cities around the UK.
It is estimated that this will avoid the arrival of 7,000 cars.
There are over 2,500 toilets and 15,000 waste bins on site.
Organisers are hoping to recycle 50 per cent of all waste this year.
Sewage tanks with a 47,000-litre capacity have been installed, including one enormous container that can hold 25,000 litres alone.
The site, ringed with over five miles of fencing, also boasts a new area for 2007 called 'The Park' named after the Eavis family's first farm and designed by Michael Eavis's daughter Emily.
It will feature a disco and camp fire areas designed to "relax and entertain" in a more traditional festival manner away from the glare of the main stages.
There will be over 800 stalls on site selling everything from hammocks to hats, including over 300 food stalls.
Now in its 37th year, the 2007 festival is aiming to donate up to £2million to good causes, the largest beneficiaries being Greenpeace, WaterAid and Oxfam.
Crime has steadily reduced in recent years at the festival, falling by 90 per cent between 2000 and 2005, according to Avon and Somerset Constabulary.
Two dedicated medical centres, including an accident and emergency department with full resuscitation facilities, are open 24 hours a day from Wednesday till Monday.
But when the fun is over revellers face a nightmare journey home - traffic queues of up to eight hours are expected as local roads are swamped by 50,000 vehicles on Monday.
dailymail.co.uk
First revellers arrive at Glastonbury Festival
20th June 2007
Daily Mail
The Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Rock Festival, near Glastonbury, Somerset. It is the world's largest greenfield rock festival and has been held on Michael Eavis's farm since 1970. Overlooking the area, on a hill, is mystical Glastonbury Tor, supposedly the site of King Arthur's Avalon.
The Glastonbury Festival has opened its gates to 170,000 revellers as weather forecasters predicted another mudbath because of heavy rain.
Music fans began to trickle in, carry backpacks and supplies - including cases of alcohol - in preparation for the days ahead.
More than three inches of rain are expected to fall on the site by the weekend, threatening a repeat of the famous washouts of 1997, 1998 and 2005.
The first of the Glastonbury festival goers trickle in
Festival organiser Michael Eavis has ploughed an extra £750,000 into drainage work to prevent the 1,000-acre site turning into a quagmire.
Hundreds of meters of drainage pipes have been replaced with 1.2m wide concrete tunnels to funnel rainwater away and tonnes of hardcore have used to shore up roads and stage areas.
But Stephen Davenport, senior meteorologist for Metrogroup, said the expensive work may all be in vain.
He said: "With the amount of rain that is about to fall in Somerset, it will be a mudfest.
Thirsty work: one festival goer arrives carting boxes of beer
"We could be looking at a total of 2.4 to 3.1 inches of rain between now and the weekend - that's quite a deluge, so mudbath ahoy."
However, Mr Eavis was in bullish mood and dismissed fears of another 'Mudfest'.
He said: "We have had a lot of work done to the site and are fully prepared.
"There are so many more covered stages and if we get the occasional shower, we are used to it."
This year's festival line up includes Arctic Monkeys, The Killers and Lily Allen
Festival organisers have had crews on site since March 1 - employing three times the amount of heavy lifting equipment normally used.
Spokesman Jason Holmes said: "Every year more and more work has gone into improving the drainage.
"But people must remember that although it is a great party, it is taking place outdoors and they must come prepared to live outdoors for three days for most of the time.
"It gets cold at night and can get wet so people need to bring warm clothes."
A total of 177,500 people will attend the event including 137,500 full weekend public ticket-holders, 35,000 staff and performers and 5,000 Sunday only ticket-holders.
The arrivals came prepared for bad weather, which is expected this weekend
There will be about 2,000 performances across 35 different stages during the five-day event.
For the first time, 25,000 tickets have been sold linked to coach travel from major cities around the UK.
It is estimated that this will avoid the arrival of 7,000 cars.
There are over 2,500 toilets and 15,000 waste bins on site.
Organisers are hoping to recycle 50 per cent of all waste this year.
Sewage tanks with a 47,000-litre capacity have been installed, including one enormous container that can hold 25,000 litres alone.
The site, ringed with over five miles of fencing, also boasts a new area for 2007 called 'The Park' named after the Eavis family's first farm and designed by Michael Eavis's daughter Emily.
It will feature a disco and camp fire areas designed to "relax and entertain" in a more traditional festival manner away from the glare of the main stages.
There will be over 800 stalls on site selling everything from hammocks to hats, including over 300 food stalls.
Now in its 37th year, the 2007 festival is aiming to donate up to £2million to good causes, the largest beneficiaries being Greenpeace, WaterAid and Oxfam.
Crime has steadily reduced in recent years at the festival, falling by 90 per cent between 2000 and 2005, according to Avon and Somerset Constabulary.
Two dedicated medical centres, including an accident and emergency department with full resuscitation facilities, are open 24 hours a day from Wednesday till Monday.
But when the fun is over revellers face a nightmare journey home - traffic queues of up to eight hours are expected as local roads are swamped by 50,000 vehicles on Monday.
dailymail.co.uk