As revellers pour through the gates of Worthy Farm for Glastonbury 2022, celebrations are underway for the festival’s belated 50th anniversary celebrations.
Glastonbury turned 50 in 2020, having begun as the Pilton Pop, Folk and Blues Festival in September 1970 with 1,500 people in attendance. Admission cost £1, which included free camping and free milk.
To mark the occasion, Francis Whatley, the producer and director of the David Bowie Five Years trilogy, is re-sharing his social and musical history, The World’s Greatest Music Festival.
The story of Glastonbury is told through the festival’s principal curators, Michael and Emily Eavis, and some of the thousands of musicians who have performed at Worthy Farm over the years, including Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Ed O’Brien, Dua Lipa, Fatboy Slim, Noel Gallagher, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, and Stormzy.
The documentary will be available on BBC iPlayer for 30 days from Sunday 19 June.
Take a look at some defining images of Glastonbury from over the years. Make sure you also follow The Independent’s live coverage of this year’s event.
A group eating apples next to a smouldering wooden cart at the first Glastonbury Festival, 1970 (Getty Images)June 1971: Hippies at the second Glastonbury Festival, which saw the first use of a pyramid stage (Getty Images)21st June 1971: Festival-goers washing and collecting water at one of the stand pipes at Glastonbury Festival (Getty Images)June 1971: Hippies at the second Glastonbury Festival celebrate the summer solstice with music and dancing (Getty Images)Two Glastonbury festival-goers in 1971 (PA)A punk relaxes in 1983 (Nils Jorgensen/Shutterstock)Crowds in front of the original Pyramid Stage in 1983 (Redferns)Telephones at Glastonbury in 1985 (David O'Neil/ANL/Shutterstock)Aerial view of Glastonbury in 1995 (PA)Keith Flynn of the band ‘Prodigy’ performing in 1997 (PA)Music fans make the best of muddy conditions as they display a wish you were here banner in 1997 (PA)Radiohead’s Thom Yorke performing in 1997 (PA)Two festival-goers enjoy a pizza in 1998 (PA)Norman Cook aka Fatboy Slim laughs at his fiance, radio and television presenter Zoe Ball (right), as the weather takes a turn for the worse in 1999 (PA)A naked festival goer in 1999 (PA)David Bowie performs in 2000 (PA)Paul McCartney performs on the Pyramid stage in 2004 (Getty Images)Two festival-goers pass a roll of toilet paper between toilet cubicles in 2004 (Getty Images)Festival-goers dance in the mud in front of the Pyramid stage in 2004 (Getty Images)Kate Moss and Pete Doherty walk backstage in 2005 (Getty Images)A festival-goer tries to rescue belongings washed away in 2005 (Getty Images)Amy Winehouse performs in 2007 (AFP via Getty Images)Jay-Z performs in 2008 (Getty Images)Bruce Springsteen performs in 2009 (Getty Images)Beyonce performs in 2011 (Getty Images)A man jumps over a fire in 2013 (Getty Images)People gather to watch the sun set in 2014 (Getty Images)Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama (R) joins US singer-songwriter Patti Smith (L) on The Pyramid Stage in 2015 (EPA)Two festival revellers roll in the mud after they took part in a tomato fight in 2016 (Getty Images)An actor wears a heart-shaped costume in the circus area in 2016 (EPA)People gather to watch the Arcadia landing show in 2017 (Getty Images)Fireworks mark the end of the Foo Fighters performance in 2017 (Getty Images)Ushers pose in a convertible at the Cinemageddon event in 2017 (EPA)Stormzy performs in the headline slot in 2019 (Getty Images)Climate change protesters take part in a procession in 2019 (EPA-EFE)
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