Glastonbury festival is a five-day festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England. Its main focus is on contemporary performing arts, hosting dance, comedy, theater, circus, cabaret and other arts. Regarded as a major event in British culture, the festival is inspired by ethos of the hippie culture, counterculture, and free festival movements. The first festival was hosted by Michael Eavis and was called ‘Pilton Festival’ back then. It was inspired by an open air Led Zappelin concert at the 1970 Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music.
It is the largest Greenfield festival in the world, attended by approximately 175,000 people, and requires extensive infrastructure in terms of security, transport, water and electricity supply, the majority of staff are usually volunteers helping the festival to raise millions of pounds for charity organisations.
A series of concerts, lectures and recitals called the Glastonbury Festivals was established with a summer school in the town of Glastonbury between 1914 and 1926 by classical composer Rutland Boughton and with their location attracted a bohemian audience by the standards of time. In 1970 Glastonbury was heavily influenced by hippie ethics and the dress festival movement in the early 1970s beginning with the Isle of Wight Festival, which featured performances by
The Who among other artists. 1971 saw the first incarnation of the ‘Pyramid Stage’, conceived by Bill Harkin. The stage was a one-tenth replica of the Great Pyramid of Giza. The event was a success and was filmed and released as a film called ‘Glastonbury Fayre’.
Years later in 1989, impromptu unofficial sound systems sprung up around the festival site. These sound systems would play loud, electronic acid house music, rivaling the volume of some of the official stages and running non-stop throughout the festival. The biggest festival held yet in 1990 ended in violence between security guards and
new age travelers led the organizers calling off the festival in 1992 and 1996. The year 2018 was a ‘fallow year to allow the ground to recover. But it is coming back with a bang in 2019.
Glastonbury festival is all-out British charm and eccentricity. Anything goes, from hoodies to feather head dress and you will fit right in. It’s held on a farm so make sure you’re ready for that. Neon colored raincoats, pastel colored hats, tunics and big shouldered sweaters can be guideline for what you need to pack for this festival. But make sure you place a hooded biker jacket. This season the emphasis is more on sequins. Pair a sequined tee with an over-sized coat or Trench coat to keep warm after hours. And don’t forget your super-sized tinted shades. They’re excellent for hiding those party-tired eyes!
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