Revellers to rock Glastonbury as the ‘festival of festivals’ returns

AS these pictures show, the festivals of all festivals at Glastonbury has come a long way from its humble beginnings as a left-field music show for hippies looking for peace and love on a remote dairy farm.

Now established as one of the world’s largest and best-loved festivals it has survived riots, fires, mud swamps and the wrath of the local council over its 37-year history to become the world’s most recognised festival.

Farmer Michael Eavis organised the first festival in 1970, after being inspired by the psychedelic delights of the Bath Blues Festival.

He was convinced he could do even better by combining the pop festival culture with a more traditional fair and harvest event.

Around 1,500 people paid £1 to see Marc Bolan headline the first Pilton Pop Festival in September.

Free milk from Worthy Farm’s dairy was also on offer to revellers, as the Glastonbury legend was born.

A second festival was organised a year later, but this time the date was moved to coincide with the summer solstice.

David Bowie played in front of 12,000 people, who had not paid a penny for the privilege.

But not everyone was happy with the new invasion of free-spirited souls descending on the rural communities surrounding Eavis’s farm.

Outraged locals complained of revellers wandering the streets with nothing but a top hat on.

Eavis also became concerned about the impact it was having on his livestock and business and vowed to end it for good.

A small “impromptu” event was held in 1978 after travellers arrived from Stonehenge having heard rumours that a festival was planned.

They got what they wanted, despite virtually no planning. The stage was powered by an electric motor in a caravan with the cable running to the stage.

The following year, the Glastonbury Fayre – as it was then known – returned as a three-day festival, but continued to lose the organisers money.

Eavis stepped in to save the event in 1981, by persuading the Campaign Against Nuclear Disarmament (CND) to help run the festival – in exchange for the profits he said would be made.

The event was a turning point in Glastonbury’s colourful history as it made money for the first time, which was handed over to a grateful CND.

But during the 1980s and early ’90s, Eavis faced more challenges from unwanted revellers and his neighbours, which again threatened to end the event.

In 1990, on the festival’s 20th anniversary, travellers rioted with security staff after attempting to loot the empty site. Police made 235 arrests and the festival was cancelled the next year.

But it returned in 1992, having learned some tough lessons, and went from strength to strength.

In more recent years, 1997, 1998 and 2005, the festival site turned into giant mud bath thanks to torrential rain and thunderstorms.

A £1 million “superfence” was erected in 2002 to finally beat the fence- jumpers and boost security.

After a one-year hiatus, 2007’s festival returned with new security features.

More than 140,000 people supplied ID photos for their tickets to kill off the touts, who had grown rich off the booming demand for black market tickets.

This month, at the age of 73, Eavis announced he would retire as the festival’s boss in 2011, handing over the reins to his daughter Emily and her fiancé.