- Title: A look back at Glastonbury Festival on its 50th anniversary
- Date: 23rd June 2020
- Summary: VARIOUS OF DEMONSTRATORS PLAYING INSTRUMENTS
- Embargoed: 7th July 2020 18:03
- Keywords: Adele Amy Winehouse Arctic Monkeys Beyonce Billie Eilish Blur Bruce Springsteen Coldplay Dame Shirley Bassey David Bowie Dolly Parton Dua Lipa Emily Eavis Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine Glastonbury Jay-Z Kendrick Lamar Lady Gaga Michael Eavis Moby Paul McCartney REM Status Quo Stevie Wonder Stormzy Taylor Swift The Cure The Killers The Rolling Stones The Verve The White Stripes The Who music festival the Kings of Leon
- Location: VARIOUS
- City: VARIOUS
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Music
- Reuters ID: LVA00QCJLDJD9
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: In 1970 Methodist dairy farmer Michael Eavis opened his 150 acre farm to 1,500 people to listen to pop and folk music. He had no idea then that it was the beginning of what would become one of the longest running, best known and most popular music and arts festivals in the world.
Over the years names like David Bowie, Amy Winehouse, Radiohead, Coldplay and The White Stripes are only at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to acts which Glastonbury has hosted. During the same period the festival has also come to reflect the social and political climate as well as the music of the time.
In 2002, when the future of the festival was in question, festival founder and organiser Eavis wanted a record of the all the years of Glastonbury for prosperity in case it was the event's last year. What resulted was "Glastonbury" the film, directed by Julien Temple.
Known for its rain and muddy conditions, heavy downpours flooded parts of the music site in 2005. Tractors were called to the southwest festival site to tug out some of the 40,000 cars that had sunk into the mud. More than 120,000 people at the festival were injured, mostly with sprains and bruises from slipping in the mud.
Jay-Z became the first hip hop act to headline the festival in 2008, traditionally a rock event.
"We proved that hip hop could play anywhere in the world," the music mogul said.
On the festival's 40th anniversary in 2010 - one of the sunniest in memory, disappointed England fans watched their team get beaten 4-1 by Germany in the World Cup. Revellers put a brave face on England's World Cup soccer defeat on June 27, saying the show must go on.
Damon Albarn's band Gorillaz played the headline slot on the main Pyramid stage the same year, following the withdrawal of U2, after frontman Bono had emergency surgery on his injured back.
However, the Irish rockers were back for their festival debut in 2011. There was a small protest as promised against U2's decision several years prior to switch its operations from Ireland to the Netherlands for tax purposes.
Kayne West was the polarising figure of Europe's biggest greenfield festival in 2015, and the announcement of his appearance prompted thousands to sign a petition against the choice of a rap act for the top billing. He went on to deliver an uncompromising headline performance on the Pyramid Stage.
The 2017 festival fell silent for a minute on June 23 in memory of London and Manchester terror attacks and the devastating Grenfell Tower fire in west London, before Hacienda Classical eased revellers into the first day of music.
Peter Hook, the bass player from Manchester bands Joy Division and New Order, led the crowd on the main Pyramid Stage in reflecting on "our hopes and our prayers for life, love and freedom, the things we are here to celebrate."
Last year, there was much enthusiasm for Glastonbury's philosophy: "Love the Farm, leave no trace". The organisers aimed to be entirely eco-friendly. In a statement published on their website Glastonbury said that they were "committed to reducing greenhouse emissions and using clean energy sources whenever possible". Single-use plastics were banned.
Kendrick Lamar, Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa were set to headline at Glastonbury in its 50th year this month from June 24-28.
However, on March 18 the largest greenfield music festival in the world was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.
"Clearly this was not a course of action we hoped to take for our 50th anniversary event, but following the new government measures announced this week - and in times of such unprecedented uncertainty - this is now our only viable option," said Michael and Emily Eavis on social media.
More than 135,000 tickets had been sold for the festival, while millions more watch the performances on television.
Organisers said those who had the coveted tickets - they sold out in just 34 minutes last October - would be guaranteed an opportunity to attend in 2021.
Some of the top acts who have played Glastonbury over the years include Paul McCartney, Status Quo, Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Coldplay, U2, Adele, Billie Eilish, Stormzy, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Jay-Z, Amy Winehouse, Arctic Monkeys, David Bowie, REM, The White Stripes, Moby, The Killers, The Who, Dame Shirley Bassey, The Verve, Kings of Leon, Blur, Stevie Wonder, Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine, Beck, Dolly Parton, The Cure and Metallica to name a few.
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