Glastonbury Festival

2011 tickets to go on sale on October 3rd

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 09:39:18 +0100

Tickets for Glastonbury Festival 2011 will go on sale at 9am on Sunday, October 3rd, costing £195 (+ £5 booking fee and P&P). You will be able to book your tickets by paying a £50 deposit per person, either online at www.seetickets.com/g2011 or on the booking line: 0844 412 4635.

There will then be no further UK payments taken until the booking site re-opens on April 1st 2011, when you will have a week to pay your balance of £145 per ticket, and to book everything else you might need (tipis, campervan tickets, parking, insurance). To clarify - it will not be possible to pay for a ticket in full in October, when only deposits will be taken.

This extension to our deposit scheme will allow people more time to save for their tickets, knowing that they have a secured booking. It will also help the Festival to reduce costs, allowing us to give more to our joint charities.

Please note, the balance payment window for international buyers will be for one week from February 25th to March 3rd 2011.

Anyone who decides not to pay their balance in 2011 will be refunded their deposit, minus a £10 administration fee. Those tickets will then be put forward to a re-sale, which is likely to be in April or May 2011.

For full 2011 ticket information, please click here.

Tuesday is Glastonbury night on BBC4

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:50:23 +0100

Tomorrow night (Tue 31st August) BBC4 are having a bit of a Glastonbury special, with almost eight hours of programming dedicated to the Festival. The schedule is as follows:

20:00–20:50 Hello Glastonbury!
Filmmaker Rachel Davies's documentary follows three unsigned acts playing Glastonbury 2010. This is the Glastonbury experience through the first-time eyes of Celt Islam, D.M.E. and Lettie as they prepare for the big gig on the BBC Introducing stage.

20:50–22:50 Glastonbury 2010, Highlights
A look back at the biggest and best performances from around the site at Worthy Farm.

22:50–00:50 Glastonbury 2010, Glastonbury at 40: From Avalon to Jay-Z
Documentary celebrating the 40th anniversary of Glastonbury.

00:50–01:50 Glastonbury 2010, The Scissor Sisters
A look back at the set by the disco-pop New Yorkers on the Pyramid Stage at the Festival.

01:50–02:50 Glastonbury 2010, The Pet Shop Boys
Highlights of the headlining performance at Worthy Farm by the Pet Shop Boys.

02:50–03:50 Glastonbury 2010, Ray Davies
A look back at the performance by singer/songwriter Ray Davies on the Pyramid Stage.

Theatre and Circus Webisode 2

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:35:27 +0100

In the second of our seven short films about the Theatre and Circus field at this year's Festival, performers work on collaborations and the last pieces of equipment arrive on site, as the gates open and the crowds flood in.

Theatre and Circus Webisode 1

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 20:01:14 +0100

At this year's Festival, the Theatre and Circus team made a series of short films - or, indeed, webisodes - taking you behind the scenes in one of Glastonbury's most vibrant areas. This is the first of seven pieces that we'll be running over the coming days.

GlastoTV: Glastonbury illuminated

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:26:44 +0100

Here's our final short film made by the students from Solent University at this year's Festival, this time focusing on how Glastonbury lights up at night.

DEC Pakistan Flood Appeal

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 10:07:14 +0100

Given the scale of the disaster, Oxfam have asked us to post a link to the DEC appeal for the emergency relief effort in Pakistan. The work they are all doing out there is amazing and desperately urgent, so if you are able to support them, please click here or text the word give to 70707 (UK only) to give an automatic £5 donation.

Thank you.

Emily

Abbey Extravaganza: Day two pics

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:29:07 +0100

Here are Jason Bryant's photos from day two of the 2010 Abbey Extravaganza, which featured rousing performances from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Nicola Benedetti.

Thanks to everyone who came along. See you next year!

Abbey Extravaganza: Day one pics

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 13:48:56 +0100

Here are some of Jason Bryant's pictures from a terrific first day of the 2010 Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza, which featured sets from Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel and Madness.

Today (Sunday) it's the turn of the Classical Extravaganza, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. If you'd like to go along, tickets will be available on the gate. Click here for info.

Video: Thom Yorke & Jonny Greenwood's surprise set in The Park

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:52:55 +0100

One of the undoubted highlights of this year's Glastonbury was the surprise Friday evening appearance by Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood in The Park. But, as it was completely unannounced - and the BBC don't film The Park stage - we realise that lots of you didn't get to see it.

So, when this wonderful video was uploaded to YouTube showing the climax of their amazing set - Karma Police and Street Spirit (Fade Out) - we thought we really ought to post it here.

Enjoy!

Get tickets for Sunday's Classical Extravaganza

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 12:17:23 +0100

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra will create a breathtaking family concert at this year's Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza on Sunday, August the 8th. With world renowned guests, water fountains, a light show, and a spectacular firework finale, all in the beautiful grounds of Glastonbury Abbey, it's one night you won't want to miss!

Advance tickets, costing £30, are available online from www.glastonburyextravaganza.co.uk or from the Glastonbury Festival Office, 28 Northload Street, Glastonbury, Somerset BA6 9JJ. Tel: 01458-834596. Between 9.30 am and 5pm, Monday to Friday. TIckets will also be available on the door, costing £35.

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra will be conducted by Tim Redmond with soloists, Nicola Benedetti (violin), Joanne Appleby (soprano) and Andrew Rees (Tenor).

Michael Eavis has announced a wonderful programme of classical favourites beginning with a performance from string quartet, Raven.

The RPO’s orchestral pieces this year include Glinka; Ruslan & Lyudmila; Bernstein; Candide; Overture, and the vibrant Sabre Dance by Khachaturian.

Nicola Benedetti, always a favourite at Glastonbury Abbey, returns to treat the audience to the Violin Concerto No.1 by Bruch.

The tenor solos include Puccini’s Tosca: E lucevan le stele and the evergreen anthem that is Nessun Dorma.

Joanne Appleby will perform Lehar, The Merry Widow; Vilja and Catalani, La Wally: Ebben before joining forces with her husband the tenor, Andrew Rees to provide traditional proms numbers, Jerusalem, Rule Britannia and Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance, March No.1

Bring your picnic, and your flags... and party!

GlastoTV: Campaigns and causes

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:07:07 +0100

Here's another terrific short film made by the students from Solent University at this year's Festival, looking at the causes and campaigns which drive Glastonbury.

WaterAid's post-Festival report

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 11:31:14 +0100

WaterAid and Glastonbury go way back, so being there to enjoy and share their 40th birthday celebration was a bit like going to a great party held by a really good friend.

But it wasn’t all fun and games, honest! WaterAid had a pretty serious message to get across this year – that the Millennium Development Goals are seriously off track and world leaders must not be allowed to let them drop – although we tried to do this in a festival-friendly way.

Over at the stand, to the left of the Pyramid Stage, we were doing brisk business handing out cold, fresh tap water and water-bottle re-fills to the hot, thirsty masses. While they waited we asked them to sign our Don’t Let it Drop petition, wear a badge or get a tattoo. And people signed up in their thousands. 32,263 to be precise – more than double last year, sending a strong message to our elected representatives that the good people of Glastonbury Festival will not let it drop!

Speaking of the Pyramid Stage, it was great to see our Don’t Let it Drop film being shown on the big screens between the live acts. It seemed to be on all the time (thanks guys!) which is good because it’s a great film with loads of music stars, such as Goldie, The Cribs and Faithless getting behind our campaign and encouraging you do the same. If you’ve not signed the petition, it’s not too late!

As usual, WaterAid volunteers provided some essential services at the festival, including:
- The hardy recycling team, out collecting litter under the scorchio afternoon sun
- The lovely ladies looking after the famous she-pees (if you’re female and haven’t tried it yet, you are missing out big time, or so I’m told!)
- The guys and girls maintaining probably the cleanest, most environment-friendly loos on the whole site up in the Kings Meadow near the Stone Circle.

Prince Charles didn’t have time to check out are eco-loos (I’m sure he would have loved them) but he did have time to visit the WaterAid/Hunter Welly Shy. While there, he was a great sport and had a go throwing a tennis ball to dislodge a welly. You can re-live coverage of this mighty fine moment over on our blog, which was updated live via mobile throughout the weekend.

The Prince, in his role of WaterAid President, also met WaterAid volunteers and our Chief Executive, Barbara Frost, before being whisked off into the dust by his trusty Land Rover. The moment he came face to face with a WaterAid volunteer dressed as a tap also made the front page of Glastonbury’s festival newspaper, Q Daily. Result!

Our team also grabbed face-time with a few notables, including Alex James from Blur, who was getting on famously with Prince Charles, apparently; Billy Bragg, a Glasto veteran and great supporter of all the Glasto good causes; and Emma Watson, who couldn’t move for paparazzi but seemed to enjoy having her photo taken in the WaterAid photo booth!

Glasto 2010 will also be remembered as the year Glasto went football crazy – until England got knocked out of the World Cup on Sunday afternoon. WaterAid got into the football spirit too, thanks to a charity football match organised by our friends at E-Festivals which raised over £6000. Nice work, fellas!

All in all then, 2010 will surely go down as the best ever Glasto for WaterAid, and everyone else! Thank you to all the wonderful volunteers for their sunny enthusiasm, the hard working events and media teams for handling the complicated logistics, and last but definitely not least Michael and Emily Eavis for sharing your farm with us and 170,000 other people once again! See you same time, same place next year.

Joe Downie
Website Manager
WaterAid

(Pics: Mark Pengelly / WaterAid)

BBC4 showing Glastonbury highlights

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 09:09:45 +0100

BBC4 are showing four hour-long concert sets from Glastonbury 2010 on Friday nights over the next few weeks (at around 9.30pm). They began last night with Muse, which you can now watch on the BBC iPlayer.

Friday 23rd July - Muse CLICK TO WATCH ON THE iPLAYER

Friday 30th July - Pet Shop Boys

Friday 6th August - Scissor Sisters

Friday 13th August - Ray Davies

The difference a month makes...

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:10:30 +0100

Jason Bryant has just sent us through two pictures taken from the same position, one during the Festival, the other taken this week. And we've made them into this one animated image...

Pretty amazing no? If you'd like to see a bigger version - then click here.

GlastoTV: A to Z of Glastonbury 2010

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 16:48:57 +0100

As well as making a short film during each day of this year's Festival, the students from Solent University have made some mini documentaries about Glastonbury 2010 as a whole. We begin with this terrific A to Z of the Festival. (The music on the film is by Nick Cashmore.)

You big bunch of mother lovers...

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:01:39 +0100

For more info on the White Ribbon Alliance's campaign to promote increased public awareness of the need to make pregnancy and childbirth safe for all women and newborns, please head over to whiteribbonalliance.org.

Community Channel's Glastonbury charities film to air on TV

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:46:16 +0100

UPDATE: You can now watch the full film right here - as the Community Channel has uploaded it to their YouTube channel...

The Community Channel film crew were at Glastonbury this year, where they captured some great footage of the charity and volunteering side of the Festival.

Glastonbury: Sun, Sweat and Charity features exclusive interviews with Billy Bragg, Michael Eavis, a pregnant woman from White Ribbon Alliance who gave birth at the festival and the Green Police "arresting" festival-goers.

It will be broadcast on Freeview, Virgin and Sky at the following times:

Monday 19th July: 8pm (Sky 539 • Virgin TV 233)

Tuesday 20th July: 7.30am (Sky 539 • Virgin TV 233 • Freeview 87)

A big day for the cows

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 21:00:58 +0100

Yes, as of today, the cows were let back into the Worthy Farm fields. Big thanks to all of you who did your bit to tidy up the site this year. We really appreciate it. (And so, clearly, do the cows.)

Green Trader Awards winners

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:43:50 +0100

This was the fifth year of the Festival’s Green Traders Awards, given by Greenpeace, the Soil Association, the Fairtrade Foundation and the Nationwide Caterers Association (NCASS), to Festival traders who have done the most to give their businesses a low environmental impact.

A team of Greenpeace volunteers trekked across the festival site interviewing over 400 traders, quizzing them about everything from how they arrived on site, what their stall was made of, how much of their stock was Fairtrade, organic or recycled and any other ethical criteria they proactively used to reduce their impact on the environment.

2010 winners and runners up

The prestigious Gold Award for food went to Fresh Organic, who do popular Fairtrade, organic, healthy food with a smile. They commented, "We’re completely speechless – we really believe in the food we sell."

No Bones Jones picked up the Silver Award for food, for cutting his energy usage and doing everything he could to reduce his carbon footprint. In Jones’s own words, "I have worked really hard for 10 years to get greener – there is more to do and will keep going, the only way forward is to use less!"

Cascada were the lucky winners of the Gold Award for non-food, for having minimal impact in terms of their stall, and for close relationships with artisans and workers in Ecuador and Colombia. They said, "We love being here – more and more people are buying our stuff – that’s what Glastonbury is all about – style with a conscience.’

Silver Award for non-food went to Skrunch, who up-cycle old clothes into beautiful new ones.

Yam the Cassava won the Fairtrade Award for using Fairtrade rice and bananas in their delicious Caribbean food

The Thali Café picked up the Organic Award for their scrumptious organic festival meals.

And Green Street picked up the new award for top tip on energy and water efficiency after cutting their gas usage by 65% in one year, at no cost to themselves, by radically re-assessing how they used their equipment. Tim said “Next year i’m going for top prize!”

Congratulations to everyone who took part!

(Pictures by Vanessa Miles/Greenpeace)

When Morley went to Glasto

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 12:03:44 +0100

Paul Morley, the writer, broadcaster and cultural commentator, decided to attend his very first Glastonbury this year. This enjoyable film, made by the Guardian, charts his voyage of discovery...

Glastonbury40 photography exhibition opens

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:26:08 +0100

A terrific new exhibition has just opened at the Atkinson Gallery in Street, Somerset, featuring Glastonbury pictures from the archives of seven Somerset photographers. See below for all the info, or click here to check out a report about the exhibition from ITV's The West Country Tonight.

A post-Festival blog from Greenpeace

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:14:31 +0100

An unfortunate numerical coincidence linked this year's Glastonbury anniversary and Greenpeace. In the 40 years that Glasto has been providing a superlative outdoor adventure for music lovers, 40% of the world's rainforests have been destroyed. This does not bode well for the climate, nor for rainforest inhabitants, including the endangered orangutan.

Every 16 minutes, an area of rainforest the size of Glastonbury is cleared, mainly to make way for palm plantations. Accordingly, the theme of this year's Greenpeace field was rainforests. We wanted to show people what we stand to lose if the destruction continues, but to demonstrate all the things a sustainably managed forest can provide.

The field featured a forest friendly, FSC-certified skate ramp, a giant climbing wall in the shape of a tree (a woman once insisted on doing the climb naked; a spectacle the Greenpeace team was adamant would not be repeated this year), cafes, and a lounge.

But arguably the site's biggest draw card was its zero-carbon, rainforest-themed showers (for which queues often stretched around the field). Reminiscent of a Scandinavian bath-house, decorated with lush tropical plants donated by the Chelsea Flower Show, set to a soundtrack of exotic birds and boasting an (albeit scaled down) infinity pool, these showers were open to all, but fit for royalty.

Very appropriate then that the future monarch should deem an inaugural royal visit to Glasto in order this year. On the Friday, Prince Charles and his cavalry navigated their way down the dusty Glasto streets and into the Greenpeace field.

Charles is a big fan of the rainforests, and has set up The Prince’s Rainforests Project to help save them. The reception at the field was welcoming, with hundreds chanting, “We love you Charlie!” Others were slightly more standoffish, calling for Michael Eavis to be made King of England instead.

Backstage, Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne had also taken an interest in the rainforests. Initially he was glum when discussing the orangutans’ plight (“what can I do? I’m just the singer in a silly rock band.”) But then he saw the opportunity to give our furry friends some exposure. So that night, two Greenpeace volunteers, disguised as orangutans, appeared live on stage with the Flaming Lips, in what was described as one of their best ever performances (the Flaming Lips that is, not the orangutans).

Once again this year Greenpeace teamed up with Mi7 Records to put on live music in the Greenpeace field. We placed our 50-foot high world globe stage (known as the “earth dome”) in the middle of the field, and it played host to four full days of live music - some of it exceptionally good and drawing sizable audiences.

Last year the lovely Laura Marling and indeed Mumford and Sons cut their Glastonbury teeth on that same stage. This year, Mumford played "the biggest gig of their lives" in the significantly larger John Peel tent, but did take a moment to acknowledge their Greenpeace Glasto roots.

Each year Mi7 and Greenpeace put together a wrap-up video of the festival. Florence, the XX, the Flaming Lips and others make cameo appearances in this year’s edition, which is set to the Recycled Orchestra's take on Tears for Fears classic "Shout" (the song is made using only instruments from recycled waste). The video played three times on the main Pyramid Stage on the festival’s last night - including just before Stevie Wonder- which was a huge achievement.

Glastonbury, Greenpeace, The Soil Association, and The Fairtrade Foundation again joined forces this year for the Green Trader awards, which recognise traders who’ve done the most to reduce the environmental impact of their business. Fresh Organic scooped this year’s top food-stall award, for, according to the judges, “doing loads of Fairtrade, organic, healthy food with a smile”. Cascada won top non-food green trader, for the minimal impact of its stall, and for close relationships with artisans and workers in Ecuador and Colombia. Part of the prize was a free stall for each at Glastonbury 2011.

So a true triumph of an event. Thank you again to Michael and Emily for being such great green hosts, thank you to hundreds of people who took the opportunity at Glastonbury to join Greenpeace, thank you to the THOUSANDS of people who joined the push to save the world’s rainforests and last but not least, thank you to Mother Nature for those uncanny clear skies.

Kathy Cumming
Greenpeace Press Officer

Dance Village videos

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 09:52:49 +0100

At this year's Festival, the Dance Village had a crew on hand to make some short films. These are the entertaining results...

Site snaps: the big tidy up

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:10:35 +0100

Here are some more of Jason Bryant's photos, taken in the 10 days since the Festival ended, as the site has been tidied up by an army of litter pickers.

They're making amazing progress, as this before and after shot shows...

Festival T-shirts available in website shop

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:46:01 +0100

If you missed out on a T-shirt for this year's Festival, you can still buy one from our official website shop.

There are two designs available (in various colours and styles). The design on the left is by Michael Seume, who won our annual T-shirt design competition, while the design on the right is by Stanley Donwood, who regularly designs Glastonbury's T-shirts (as well, of course, as Radiohead's artwork). That one features a glow in the dark moon!

Click here to check out the various shapes and sizes they come in.

There are also still a few copies left of the 40th Anniversary Scrapbook, featuring pictures from across the Festival's history. Click here for more info or to buy.

Congratulations to 6 Music

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 17:08:51 +0100

We're so pleased to hear the news that 6 Music has been saved. Thanks for all your support and here's to a future of great radio that supports new music.

Emily

Arcadia highlights film

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 12:40:35 +0100

Oh for a time machine to transport us back about nine days...

Secret Glastonbury: A very decent proposal...

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 12:36:15 +0100

Dear Glastonbury

Thought you guys might like to post this online.. a very touching marriage proposal I caught on Friday. The very creative chap is sat on the bank in front of the lettering nervously waiting for "Boo" - obviously she said yes. :-)

With love...

Felix

----

5/7/10 UPDATE: Boo has been in touch...

Dear Glastonbury,

I was over the moon to see the news article about a very decent proposal…I am in fact ‘Boo’ (Sarah ) and the creative young man is my now fiancée Luke. I was extremely touched with the comments that Felix put and thought I would email in.

The proposal took place on Friday 25th which was 5 years after we met each other. Luke had been planning this for about a year with the help of a number of friends and family. I actually had no idea whatsoever, which made it all the more special. After a deceptive shopping trip around the festival site I was taken up to the stone circle, when I noticed the big white letters…’Boo will you be my one life stand?’ Luke did get down on one knee much to the cheers of the people around. Of course I said yes!

I just wanted to say thank you to all the people who helped make it special, including a number of bystanders who helped with the cheers! I would especially like to thank my fiancé Luke….how amazing to tell people you got engaged at the stone circle at Glastonbury on its 40th anniversary.

Boo (Sarah)

------

If you also have an image which captures the secret Glastonbury - the hidden aspects of the Festival which other people might not have seen - then please upload it to our Glastonbury Gallery, making sure to tag it with "2010" and "Secret Glastonbury". Thanks! (You can, of course, upload all your other pictures to there too - with whichever tags are relevant.)

Thanks for Taking It Home

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:29:28 +0100

A big thank you to everyone who packed up all their camping equipment and took it home, and for putting all their rubbish into bin bags.

It made such a huge difference looking across the farm after the Festival and not seeing nearly as many abandoned tents, roll mats, sleeping bags, chairs etc. It still wasn't perfect, but it was a LOT better than last year.

Thanks to everyone for 'TAKING IT HOME' - and let's work towards doing even better next year!

Lucy
Green Initiatives Co-ordinator

Leftfield pictures

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:19:20 +0100

Here are a bunch of Peter Dunwell's pictures from Billy Bragg's Leftfield stage, which made a triumphant return to the Festival in 2010.

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Thank you

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 18:16:55 +0100

Thank you to everyone who made it to Worthy Farm to celebrate our fortieth anniversary. It really was a magical year, with an abundance of special moments throughout the weekend. The energy put into it by all of you was incredible and has left us feeling inspired and optimistic about the future!

Thanks for making it so good.

Michael, Emily and all at Worthy Farm

Sunday pictures

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 09:05:03 +0100

Our round-up of shots from the last day of Glastonbury's 40th Anniversary party begins with SImon Wagner's shots of Michael Eavis joining Stevie Wonder for a spirited rendition of Happy Birthday.

Here are Jason Bryant's Sunday photographs...

These are Andrew Allcock's Sunday pictures...

Poems from our poet in residence

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 19:10:56 +0100

Poems from Jo Bell, our 2010 Website Poet in Residence

What’s Glastonbury?
A crowd-sourced poem

It’s yoga and bacon butties, it’s wrist bands and tent pegs and earplugs:
it’s sweaty tent sex and wellingtons, it’s colour and cartloads of drugs.
It’s wanting a shower, it’s FREEDOM; it’s a failure to meet expectations;
it’s hot moshpits and sweaty armpits, clammy tents and loud conversations.

It’s angels in pink and toilets that stink, it’s drowning in quagmires of shite;
it’s time spent away from the city and friends, to mingle with strangers and wet wipes.
It’s old friends and new, it’s panic attacks, it’s performers sweating blood;
starry night skies, theocracies; it’s Peace and Love and Mud.

It’s more mud, and good times, it’s NO UNNECESSARY LOADS;
it’s my first ever festival at 51! It’s 4 pints of Stowfords and one for the road.
Wet canvas, warm beer, no sleep, lots of noise;
silhouttes in the shower tent of soapy girls and boys;

It’s the tricky removal of wellies; leaking tents, friendly strangers;
sleep deprivation in muddy fields; mountains of nachos and gurning teenagers.
It’s surprisingly serious, splendidly daft; it’s fairies and spiders in tents;
it’s MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC; it’s face paint and cider and brand new friends.

It’s dancing until we fall over; it’s singing a song till we don’t know how.
It’s a hundred thousand strangers holding hands in a field;
it’s all of us, right here, right now.

The Glastopoem
Composed entirely of Tweets (or, for the purpose of this poem, Tweaks) from Glastonbury festival-goers

Lying on a stranger watching sunrise: losing my tent and my mind;
Giving birth and back the next day; Rolf Harris and Good Effing Times.

Middle class hippies on hash fudge, or tasting colours in mushroom brew;
it’s mud, sweat and beers: it’s Baker Street played with sax and kazoo.

Awesome sun-up over the stones. Neil Young is angry, I feel.
It’s beating the Orb with our Sid. It’s chillin with Mickey off the Bill:

it’s buying a trippy from Mr Whippy;
Cool experience: warm friendships; hot sun.

It’s like no other place on earth. It’s ‘Cup of Tea our Kid’?
It’s can in the hand, watching the band: First time: I’m getting annihilated!

For one lucky person it’s ‘Circus. Night. Moroccan tea and willies.’
for others - Welly, smelly, brolly, jolly, Delhi belly!

Dancing with deaf people: love, hope, strength – toke, coke, smoke, hoke, poke.
seeing the witch for my eczema; that bicycling piano bloke.

Dreadlocked and horny, moody boyfriend, watching the Waterboys;
The Boss. Damon’s Tears; Warm cider; making a lot of noise.

Actual sunshine! Bee Shaped Kiln: mud, glorious mud and PASSION;
On the fence, sixteen and awestruck; gatecrashed backstage, stole nice cushion.

Campsite steward, nightshift on a long and rainy night;
Honeymoon kisses and hedgerow pisses; the dog still itching cos ‘fleas have rights’.

It’s realising how happy I am – it’s Paul McCartney – Live and Let Die.
It’s watching the sunrise high on the hill – it’s ‘where the fuck am I?’

It’s waterfalls and windy days – or ‘hold phone tightly at Long Drop’ –
It’s Hang on, This Ain’t Fuckin’ Butlins! It’s beatboxers doing a chicken rap.

It’s sparking a fag from a nudist’s ass; it’s lovemyvagina.com;
It’s Orb 93 – You, Them and Me - it’s brass bands, tiddly om pom pom.

It’s Faithless saying ‘this is our church’; a monkey chased by bananas
It’s juggling for Guinness; hot air balloon ballerinas.

It’s a naked old lady shopping for clothes. It’s we won’t fight, we’ll sing;
It’s Glastonbury: thank God I’m home. Thanks for the Everything.

We Are More Than This

We are poets in the corner of a field;
we’re pissheads in the corner of a bar;
we’re healers with a pocket full of crystals;
but that’s not all we are.

We are jugglers and firebreathers,
Inger-land supporters watching football on a screen:
we were hungover people this morning,
but that’s not all we’ve been.

We are jewellers and stewards; barkeepers,
beekeepers and witches raising spirits under trees;
smokers, tokers, bad t-shirt jokers –
but that’s not all we want to be.

We are gathered in Arcadia, the Green Fields and the Glade;
the Pyramid, the Leftfield, the cabaret or Other Stage;
we’re hotting up and chilling out, each finding our own bliss;
each one a dot on a global map – and together, more than this.

One for the stewards

Here's to the stewards and volunteers - those
Who go to the places that nobody goes,
Who pick up the litter we've dropped between shows,
And sort out the toilets and do - well, God knows!
But bless all their efforts - so this is a cheer
Of thanks to the stewards and volunteers.

Glastonbury - an economist's view

In view of the recent figures
and the economic recession
I thought we were approaching
a double dip depression.

There’s not enough love manufactured,
there’s not enough joy to supply demand;
but when Michael Eavis walked on stage
we knew the recovery was in hand.

Projections were awful, but then we found
the Financial Times had turned another page;
The national love deficit was fixed
when Michael Eavis walked on stage.

The force of can-do, will-do,
have done for forty years
When Michael Eavis walked on stage
we all became multi-millionaires.

The First Time

You were on your back in a field somewhere –
the smell of your bodies, and grass, in the air.
You think there was music; there was sweat on your skin
in that snapshot moment when you knew you were in
way over your head, and head over heels;
the moment you knew that this was the deal;
you’d joined the club, done it for the first time
even though you knew it was probably the worst time.

But what if that first time was also the best?
The one that you knew would eclipse the rest?
What are the chances of that – what luck
to find that your first is your best ever – look,
I’ve had a few, but I recognise this;
the shiver that comes with a perfect kiss.
You can lose your virginity in a field or a suburban bungalow,
and lose it again in Pilton's fields, at the fortieth birthday of Glasto!

My heart is becoming as full as the moon,
my soul is solar-powered; and it’s nice
to know that in this blue-sky June
even a cynic can still be deflowered – twice!

Things I Learned at Glastonbury

That sunshine makes dust of the fields of mud:
and Three Daft Monkeys are really good!
That a female speaker gets a female signer
and using a Moon-cup means I Love My Vagina.
That the Caribbean Kitchen does a brilliant chicken jerk:
that solar powered shower bags are great - they really work!
That a little poetry village makes everybody write:
that sometimes the most surprising folks will stay up all night, every night.
That Glastonbury's 40 and will be here 40 years hence:
that Jean Binta Breeze gives out a free smile with every sentence.
That we've 45 stages of words and music, circus and magic to rock to:
that Dizzee Rascal swears a lot, and the Gospel Choir tends not to.
That it may be a huge ordeal going to the bog, but
that I have tasted the future - and its name is frozen yogurt.
That circus girls have great eyebrows, that there's always somewhere to go:
and on top of these, I've re-learnt things that I should already know.
That the sweetest music is blackbird song
even if - especially if - you've been partying till dawn.
That life is short and life is good, and you need to live every minute;
that the stone circle means nothing without the people in it.
That dehydration hurts your head,
that it's hard to sleep on a camping bed:
that friendship is constant, whatever the weather:
that the best way to spend a summer is together.
That Glasto is not just a field or ten, but a feeling we all could be better:
better neighbours and better friends. Let's take that home with the litter.

We Are More Than This

We are poets in the corner of a field,
Pissheads in the corner of a bar,
Healers with a pocketful of crystals -
But that's not all we are.

We are jugglers and firebreathers,
Or Ing-er-land supporters watching football on a screen.
We are people with hangovers after last night's excess
But that's not all we've been.

We are barkeepers, bee-keepers, stewards and jewellers,
Witches raising spirits under old oak trees:
We are smokers, tokers, bad T-shirt jokers -
Buy that's not all we can be.

We're fellow travellers on common ground
Sharing the fruits of a lifetime's labour:
We're people with goodwill and stories to tell,
And for these precious days, we are neighbours.

A Hundred Thousand Happiness

So Jean likes to dance, and Tony likes to mosh,
And Rich likes to smoke, and me? I'd like a wash:
And hundreds like to party until dawn between the stones
And hundreds like to raise their hands together. Me? I stood alone
In a field with a hundred thousand friends, and
Smiling, read a text that said - if I was there I'd be holding your hand.

This Is What We Do

If we were whales, we’d do this underwater:
meeting in a circle of sea-monoliths,
a slow deep gathering of singing philosophers.

If we were apes – as we so nearly are –
we’d convene in the jungle canopies,
a shrieking parliament of fruit and grooming.

But since we’re human, what we need
to feed our appetites is carrot cake and Norah Jones;
ukeleles, geisha clowns and noodles;
forests of silk flags, and seas of sun-drenched skin.
Since we’re human, what we need is to keep each other close;
to gather somewhere we can play at being
nothing but ourselves.

Glastonbury – the alien’s view

We have observed this planet now for decades.
We do not intervene, though we have seen
it grow less green, its climate shift, its volume levels
always on the rise. We’d leave it to its slow decline
and turn to finer ecosystems – but we find
a single Great Anomaly recurring every year.
One spot in their northern hemisphere becomes illuminated.
Around their longest day, a surge of light appears.
It’s inexplicable by any law of physics: generates
a form of energy we cannot name. It isn’t heat or light.
It can’t be quantified or broken down, but if it could
we have a feeling it might do this fragile planet good.
We hope that our research will soon bear fruit; we
note it in the meantime as a curiosity, and by the way
a thing unrivalled in the galaxy for beauty.

Re-live the Festival with the BBC

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 20:35:13 +0100

If you head over to the BBC's website now, you can watch highlights of around 70 acts that played at this year's Glastonbury. All the videos will be there until midinght on Sunday.

Head to bbc.co.uk/glastonbury/2010/ to check it all out.

There will also be a two hour highlights programme on BBC Two this Friday (2 July) from 11pm-1am.

Trader tales

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 19:09:25 +0100

At this year's Festival, Maite Cicognini was serving up food at a stall in the Park. And then blogging all about it.

Tuesday 29 June

It surprises me how quickly people leave the site and it’s embarrassing at how much rubbish they leave behind. It makes me think that while Glastonbury Festival brings out the best in people, we still have a lot of work to do on ourselves.

After a busy morning yesterday we wrap things up at around two pm. The other traders are ready to go and we make them lunch. It’s such a pleasure to feed people; this is something that I have thought again and again over the weekend.

A few more of our crew leave and after the length and intensity of our time together saying goodbye feels like a real loss. But we take everyone else for dinner at the pub where food and drink combined with tiredness and the sense of a mission completed makes us giddy and relaxed. Then more goodbyes, and I feel a flicker of the post-festival blues.

All of Glastonbury is saying goodbye, and by the time we woke this morning the trucks and JCBs have returned and The Park is being stripped apart. The sand art is gone. So are the waving tulips. All that is left of The Park bar and the Silent Disco are the bare bones of tents.

But the washing lines still stand, and outside the traders party at the Bimble Inn last night a girl was pole dancing around one of them. It was festival style: athletic in mismatched underwear, pale skin contorting in the dark night and not a smidge of fake tan or cosmetic enhancement.

We have a long hard day of packing up ahead of us and it has started to rain.

We’ve traded at many festivals and will be going to many more but Glastonbury remains the one closest to my heart. It is the hardest and the kindest, the most creative and the most shocking, the most uncomfortable and the most life affirming. Whatever it takes out of you it replaces with something better.

Happy birthday Glastonbury, and thank you.

Monday 28 June

The last push. Which is a good thing because I really don’t think we could do much more; everyone in our crew is exhausted and running on reserves of sleep, tolerance and patience.

For the first time ego rears its ugly head. Yesterday’s England v Germany match had radio presenters voicing their concern about the possible fallout of the results, but I was more worried about the power struggle in our kitchen.

But the spirit of Glastonbury overrides both a disappointing football score as well as the pot of overcooked pasta and everything is forgotten in the high sprits of the last night.

This morning the only thing on most people’s minds is the inevitable slog home and that is as true inside our marquee as outside of it.

Two of our crew have already left and the tents are beginning to come down in the Park campsite, but the three naughty boys who went out yesterday at lunchtime haven’t been seen since. I’m secretly glad that they have managed their own hedonistic last push and trust that they haven’t become casualties of the Unfair Ground.

As I write this I can hear birds in the Park for the first time since before the gates opened. It serves to remind me that we are all guests here, and that maybe it is time the cows came home.

Sunday 27 June

Yesterday sees the queue constant from nine am in the morning - great for business and morale, but also a cause of tremendous pressure. It doesn’t let up until the bigger acts play on the main stages and that’s a good 12 hours from when we open.

At around ten, with a quiet spell upon us and in the interests of research, Dorian and I decide to wander up to the Park Stage. After all, who wants to read a blog about how tired we all are?

Before we go I make everyone spiced rum and cokes, and discover it is much more fun being drinks lady than Recycling Bitch or Rota Hag.

By the time we reach the stage with its patchwork sign and ivy-clad pillars, Laura Marling is on her last song and everyone has started to leave. We sit down and the throng dissipates around us. The ground is hard and dry and the grass bleached to yellow by days of endless sun and no rain. I make a mental note to water the hanging baskets.

On our way back we duck into the Silent Disco because I have never been before. There are pockets of people singing unselfconsciously because they can’t hear themselves - it’s joyful, innocent and completely out of tune. The only other sound is the shuffling and scuffing of feet. The novelty factor is fun, and it’s great to be dancing, but I miss sharing the music.

The three naughty boys are on for the late shift – this worries me when the queue reappears. The hours pass. The queue does not. But the boys don’t let us down.

Then I notice the light changing. I sense frustration and exhaustion in the others. The music begins to feel abrasive and very quickly I go from feeling ok to really terrible. But the Park is still rocking and there is no end to the demand for food.

We all finish just after four am because we simply can’t carry on any longer. Lots of hugs and two hours sleep. Can we survive today on that?

Saturday 26 June

I need eggs. I need soft drinks. I need plates, forks and bowls. I need to not have backache and not feel shaky. I need a shower and some breakfast. I need to be able to open my eyes.

Someone lends us a box of eggs. We fill up the fridge with water. Perhaps people can just eat off a napkin?

Yesterday was a day of two halves. It starts off with me feeling blissful and in control. We are busy but everything runs smoothly. I get a couple of hours off and sit under the umbrella in the sun with my best friend, listen to music and eat ice-cream.

It all goes wrong with Florence + The Machine. I miss the only gig I have wanted to see all summer because I can’t get cover. I am gutted but don’t realise how much so until it is gone two am and I haven’t had a break since lunchtime, feel emotional and irritable and wobbly on my feet.

I finish for the night because a meltdown is imminent and that won’t help anyone. There is no middle ground at festivals is there? It’s either brilliant or fu@*king awful and when I look around at the faces in the queue I see that it is the same for us all.

Friday 25 June

Tiredness like being smothered in a prickly blanket. Mornings are harsh, but yesterday’s queue puts a swift end to any thoughts other than: take order, give change, serve coffee, next person, repeat. We start at nine and I beat the queue in the early afternoon.

Chaos nearly takes over as we realise that breakfast is finishing, people are asking for lunch, and yet we have sold out of all our prepped food and have been too busy that morning to do anymore. Somehow we manage to make the changeover, but it hurts a little to realise that everyone is suffering because we still don’t have enough help.

The Park is absolutely rammed with people – I cannot imagine how it must be in other parts of the Festival that are traditionally the busiest. What does it look like by the Pyramid Stage? How intimidated would I be now?

My darkest hour is between four and five in the afternoon. This is when I am at my most tired, but I push on until I have a break at nine that evening. This is only possible with the arrival of five more people and I love them instantly for getting stuck in the moment they arrive, tying aprons on, fretting about getting the orders right and being the sweetest and calmest antidote to my stress. Everyone else relaxes too. People can take breaks. Drinks are poured. Dusk hits and someone turns the music up. This is starting to feel like fun.

Thursday 24 June

Three has become five and we are all working flat out to open. People are pouring into the Park and the air is charged with pressure as if a storm is building. All around us the other food stalls are open with long queues. We are determined not to open until we are ready – but after three and a half days of preparation why aren’t we ready?

Then we are. We open up the marquee. There is a flutter of business… but only a flutter because the field is virtually empty - the queues have all gone. Then we realise: England are playing and everyone is watching the match on the Pyramid Stage. We hear a roar and horns and whistles; England have scored.

I start to feel tetchy and decide to take myself away for a while. Whether it is the anticlimax of being open with no one around or the accumulation of tiredness or simply the heat I’m not sure. It’s probably a bit of all three.

The heat in the kitchen is unforgiving. A classically beautiful English summer’s day on the outside of the marquee turns into claustrophobic and stifling thanks to two gas cookers, an oven and four grills which are on all the time.

I find the perfect sanctuary. A cluster of what look like the prettiest bus shelters I’ve ever seen. I chose one that has been decorated with sash curtains and a painting of a river. There is even a rug. I head up to the Treehouse café for a cup of tea but then guilt and worry consumes me and I carry it away with them.

I was right – with the match over the crowds have returned and so have the queues. We throw ourselves into it. The night is young and old and we are on fire, dishing out food and working around each other as if we have been doing this for years.

At 3am we stop. But Glastonbury Festival 2010 is only just beginning.

Wedensday 23 June

We went for a wander last night after we finished. Up to the Cider bus then onwards. There is a pleasing amount of people around - few enough to be able to get a feel for your surroundings and yet still create an atmosphere. And the atmosphere is of excited anticipation. Glastonbury Festival has awoken.

The Unfair Ground beckons. It’s all twisted metal and twisted dreams; as if Tim Burton has stolen the nightmares of four-year old boys and turned them into sculptures. They probably all breathe fire and read your mind but for now they are still. It’s wondrous and terrifying and reminds me that Glastonbury is as much about art as it is about music, though there will be some fragile souls that will walk into this field at one end and crawl out at the other.

There are four of us now, and today four more arrive. I won’t refer to them as staff because they are our friends and calling them helpers makes them sound like little green elves. Crew sounds about right, because it suggests a team, which of course we are.

By Friday there will be thirteen of us. Presuming no one gets sick or arrested – both of which happened last year – we should get through the next five days. I thought this morning that I wish I could have put credits into a sleep bank in recent weeks to help me get through the weekend. Lack of sleep makes everything a little harder, and tempers and tears more likely, but then I also think digging deep never killed anyone.

The Park is all waving tulips and giant flowers. The sand sculpture was finished under cover of darkness – black magic or hard work? I think Glastonbury Festival is a testament to both.

Tuesday 22 June

An early start today because we have to meet a delivery.

There is no one else awake in the Park at seven am apart from a man sitting up on a bench who Dorian recognises from late last night. We aren’t sure if he is an eccentric or a security guard, but when we get closer it appears that he is guarding fifty freshly built wooden tables and benches. He smiles a toothless and benign smile and suddenly his purpose is irrelevant.

We have to drive across one of the main arteries of the Festival, rattling along the old railway track in the van to get to the compound where the traders’ deliveries come in. Under the leaves overhead it feels tropical. The day is dewy and wet, and it is as if the whole site has been washed clean.

The compound is crammed with arctic lorries and trucks. Stacks of tortilla chips, chickpeas and tinned tomatoes wait to be claimed. Bags and bags of onions. It is like food backstage here and our delivery is running nearly two hours late, like a temperamental performer.

Even so, getting the deliveries into the site isn’t as hard as trying to work out how much of everything we need in advance or going off site to collect things ourselves.

We had to go into town yesterday. Sainsbury’s felt amazing, mainly because it contained everything I can’t have from now until next Tuesday.

It takes us ages to get back; there is an increase in traffic and a shift in the atmosphere. It’s still relaxed, with people lounging around on the grass as you drive in, chatting and laughing in the sun, but there is greater purpose to everyone’s movements and the hold-up to get back on site is fraying nerves.

The final countdown has begun and we have one last full day to get ready. There is still the plumbing to do and the sign. We need to build more outside seating, make pesto, prepare the sauces and find a home for the hanging baskets. Tidy, stock and organise.

I know in the back of my mind that no matter how hard we work today, we will still have those sickening and thrilling couple of hours on Wednesday morning when the gates are about to open, but it feels like we aren’t ready and the anxiety hits. Maybe everyone feels like this.

Monday 21 June

I can’t quite believe it.

The girl who came to Glastonbury festival for the first time over a decade ago and begged to go home after a day has returned as a food trader for the second year in a row.

I don’t know why it is better for me on this side of the fence. The toilets are a marginal improvement but it is more than that.

Witnessing the gradual build up is gentler on the senses than being flung into the sprawling heaving madness that is Glastonbury Festival in full flow. Today, right now, all I can hear is the birds flirting with another storybook summer morning and the rumble of a generator in the distance.

We arrived yesterday. The stages are up and the Pyramid Stage, in particular, looks intimidating. The beeping of heavy machinery is everywhere. The tracks are hot and dusty and we are relieved to turn into the Park, where we can see more green than brown.

As with everywhere in the Festival the Park is building itself.

The three of us set up the marquee and empty the trailer of fridges, freezers, stainless steel tables and cookers. We have so much stuff. Last year my partner and I set up on our own which was a mistake; being exhausted before the gates open is not a good way to start.

The work around us eases as it gets late. The hammering and sawing stops, the forklift trucks are parked and the painters pack up. It’s nine o’clock when we remember we need dinner and realise we have to go off site to get some.

I love these pre-Festival jaunts, probably because despite a change of heart and circumstance I am still the girl who wants to escape the Festival, but also because driving around the site in these set-up days feels a bit naughty.

Security stops us. We have our tickets but no wristbands, which means if we go off site we won’t be allowed back in. Rest assured, head of Festival security, no amount of pleading of hunger on our part would make them relent! However, in true Glastonbury style, they did radio around the site to find somewhere we could eat.

Just before bed someone has the idea to take some beers up to the hill behind the Park. We watch the sunset compete with the lights of the festival. Next to us, electricians are testing the lights on the coloured letters that spell out GLASTONBURY 40. And they all work.

Live Festival updates!

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 08:00:36 +0100

At this year's Festival, our team of writers roamed the site, posting news, updates and photos. Our live updates were powered by Orange, the Sony Ericsson X10 phone, Twitter and a whole lot of wandering about.

Glasto TV

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 19:25:37 +0100

Daily videos updates from the students at Southampton Solent University.

SUNDAY

SATURDAY

FRIDAY

THURSDAY

Saturday pictures

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:58:52 +0100

Here are Jason Bryant's pictures from another sweltering day which delivered some amazing performances.

More pictures from amateur photographer Andrew Allcock, who uploaded such great pictures to our Gallery that we asked him to come and work for the website this year.

Darren Cornwell has been wandering around the site with his camera...

Finally, here's a shot of the new Cubehenge area sent to us by the Dance Village chaps...

Listen to Worthy FM live

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:14:37 +0100

UPDATE: Worthy FM is still broadcasting on Monday morning. If you're on site, tune in for all the local travel info.

Glastonbury's resident radio station, Worthy FM, has just begun its 2010 broadcast, live and direct from the Festival site.

Click the button on the left to listen live on your computer (the stream will open in your computer's default music player).

To check out Worthy FM's full broadcast schedule between now and Monday 28th, click here.

Friday pictures

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 23:19:52 +0100

More pictures from the site, on the day the big stages kicked off and the sun beat unremittingly down.

Here are Jason Bryant's shots from the first day of main stage performances:

These pictures are by Andrew Allcock, an amateur photographer who uploaded some great pictures to the website Gallery, so we offered him the chance to be part of our website team this year. We're very glad we did.

Thursday pictures

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 11:17:05 +0100

These are Andrew Allcock's terrific shots from around the site on Thursday:

Here are Jason Bryant's terrific pictures from Thursday down on the farm, including some shots of ETC winners Ellen and the Escapades.

Wednesday pictures

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 09:23:41 +0100

Every day, we'll be posting pictures from the Festival, taken by our ace website photographer Jason Bryant plus amateur photographer Andrew Allcock, whose pictures uploaded to our Gallery were so good, we invited him along to join our Festival team.

Andrew's Wed pics:

Jason's Wed pics:

Click the (amazing) picture below to see a bigger version of it

Oh, and we went for a wander and made a video...

Mos Def forced to pull out

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 18:40:27 +0100

We're sorry to report that Mos Def has been forced to cancel his Glastonbury appearance tonight following a death in the family. We wish him all the very best.

His slot on the West Holts will be taken by Nneka - the Afro German Warrior Princess who comes over as a fresher, funkier version of Lauryn Hill. The line-up is now as follows.

20.45 - 21.45 Nneka
22.30 - 23.45 Femi Kuti

Sunday's England game to be shown in Football Field

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 10:43:55 +0100

Following yesterday's victory against Slovenia, England's football team will play their Last 16 World Cup match against Germany at 3pm on Sunday afternoon.

The match will be shown on a giant screen in the specially-created Football Field which will only open for the match (it's large enough to host a very big crowd). The field is located in Bushy Ground on the west side of the site - and is signposted from that side of the site.

Please note, there are toilets in the field, but no vendors - so bring food and drink with you.

Site snaps: The boat / Cubehenge

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 08:55:15 +0100

The Cadmus Boat in the Green Kids Field had its grand opening yesterday, with a little help from ETC winners Ellen and the Escapades. Jason Bryant was there to capture it:

Also, a couple of nights ago, Cubehenge was tested. Cubehenge is a brand new concept stage for the Dance Village in 2010. A series of monumental white cubes laid out in the design of that other great henge a stone's throw away near Amesbury. The testing show could be seen right across the Festival site as the stacks of cubes, up to twenty feet high, lit up in bright colours and flickered in time to the stage's soundsystem. During the festival the cubes will display an impressive performance right through the night, while guest DJs include Norman Jay, Will Saul and Zero 7. This is how it looks...

ETC catch-ups

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 21:50:25 +0100

Bunny Come

Ahead of the Festival, we caught up with some of the runners up at this year's Emerging Talent Competition finals who've secured slots at the Festival. (See the line-up page to see when/where they're all playing.)

Dizraeli and the Small Gods

I'm still pushing hard on the album I released last autumn, Engurland (City Shanties), because it's as yet only had a small release - me on my tod splurging it as far as I can - and I want it to spread further, because I'm dead proud of it.

Gig-wise, we are sailing to a land where there are festivals and nothing else. We're playing Sunrise, Beach Break, Lovebox, Larmer Tree, Secret Garden Party, Camp Bestival, Green Man, Shambala and Bestival, as well as GladstoneBerry of course.

What we've been up to since the finals? Well, the day of the finals I was in Cairo, avoiding camel scams and visiting subversive authors, and a lot of the time since has been spent getting home from there by land. I played in the West Bank in Palestine, spent 5 nights on buses in order to get to Kosovo in time for another show, then swooped through the Czech Republic on the bus route home. If you've got time to chuckle and look at beautiful photos (taken by my photographer companion Billy Macrae) you can investigate our diary on www.unplaned.com. The other band members were on their very own missions too - our bass/beatbox genius Bellatrix spent several weeks in India with her acapella group The Boxettes, and has spent her time since in the toilet or groaning on a bed.

In general, though, the mission to play and be played is unending, relentless: I spend 70% of my time plugging my work to the world, trying to get noticed by reviewers, radio people, gig people, anyone with ears. That's what occupies my days for the most part. All the rest of the time, it's music. That's possibly a bit sad.

Rowan

Tom Williams and the Boat

In May we toured with the amazing Stornoway for a week, culminating in our biggest ever club show at ULU in London which was very exciting. That all led up to our second single which is out this week to celebrate our appearance at glasto. It's called 90mph and will also include our first ever video!

We're playing 3 slots at Glasto, on the Avalon Stage on the Saturday 11:30am, and the Avalon Cafe on the Sunday 6:30pm, and we've just confirmed playing the lovely Tadpole Tent too.

Since the ETC final we have been gigging constantly and planning a summer of fun... getting ready for Glasto, touring with Stornoway, and planning studio time for the summer to go in and commit new songs to tape. We're also playing Latitude in July on the lovely Huw Stephens' lake stage.

Mayhew

Since the ETC we’ve been working hard on new material, with some songs set to be given greater public premieres at Glasto! We’ve also been busy finalising our debut EP 'Tinderbox', which will be released at a launch party in June, details tbc on our myspace. We are scheduling quite a few gigs at the moment for June to get the new material ready.

The Acoustic Stage slot at Glastonbury this year is certainly a major highlight on our calendar. We're also looking forward to a potential interview with BBC 6Music's Tom Robinson whilst we're down there. Apparently we’ll be playing in a bubble bath on a double-decker bus (!) as well at some point during the festival, so look out for that one.

'Foxglove', one of the tracks from our EP, has been selected to go on the 'Festival Harvest' CD, which features some of the emerging bands from all the UK festivals.

Beyond Glastonbury we’re planning to keep madly writing and gigging new material, and adding some more dimensions to our sound with synth, backing vocals, electric guitars etc. We’ve got what we reckon are two great singles waiting in the wings for release in Autumn this year. Finally, we are planning on a group move down to Manchester in September, which will bring us all together and focus our energy solely on our music. We're looking forward to seeing where the next year takes us - exciting times!

Cathy

Secret Cinema Band

Since the Glastonbury etc finals Secret Cinema Band have been busy gigging and finishing off the last touches for their forthcoming album 'Through a Cathode Darkly' which was co-produced with Daniel Knowles from the Post-Rock band, 'Amusement Parks On Fire.' The band will be having an album launch this summer and the band are looking forward to releasing it. They are also working with film maker Robert Rafalat creating new ideas for their visuals that the band incorporate as part of their performances using a projector. Also they have started filming their video for their song 'official neck for the rope' which has been chosen to be played on BBC 6 Music by Tom Robinson in June.

Secret Cinema Band were also chosen as 'Ones to watch 2010' in 'Talk Talk Music' Article

We also secured a main support slot at this years Gig In The Park festival Friday August 6th.

Bojan

My Luminaries

Our debut album 'Order From The Chaos' was released as CD & Download on our own label Cottage Industries, earlier this month. Please find the album art attached. We can't wait for Glastonbury, where we'll also be singing in the Bath for the Jubilee Debt campaign. Strange I know..

James

Let's Buy Happiness

Since the band played ETC we've had our fair share of travelling and some pretty good gigs.

In April we supported Idlewild at our home town Academy. Earlier in the month we where asked BBC6 radio Dj Tom Robinson, to play a BBC Introducing show down at maida vale studios which was amazing, has to be the best gig we have done to date. In May we travelled down to Brighton to play the Great Escape Festival which was another good gig with a beautiful town. We also played with The Futureheads & we have band for a topman CTRL w/Channel 4 at our first local gig in a long time (was lovely to be back home again).

We are releasing a new single called 'Six Wolves' The release date will be around July/August after our Glastonbury gig... let summer role on

New Merch out very soon!

Bunny Come

Hello everyone!

Since our celebrated sojourn into the green countryside all those months ago, we've splashed and sploshed across London, maintaining our regular gig schedule and excitedly preparing our set for Glastonbury. As well as playing in London venues with our better known tracks, we've been refining our look and working on one or two little ditties that we'll be unveiling soon. As far as upcoming gigs go, we're casting our gaze seaward next week as we play Processed Meat at JAM in Brighton. It's a busy time for us bunnies!

But in other Glasto-related news, we've secured a second slot. In addition to playing the East Dance Village at 12:30 on Friday, we'll be playing at 04:30 the following morning at The Rabbit-Hole. You're all invited to stay up with us and party (quite literally) 'till the sun comes up.

Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

West Holts signings with Songlines

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:00:10 +0100

As you probably know, the Jazz World Stage has become the West Holts Stage in 2010. World music magazine Songlines is bringing its stall to the field, where they'll be offering free signing sessions from many of the artists who are appearing - including George Clinton, Toots & The Maytals and Femi Kuti. Click the thumbnail below to see a full programme of their signings. They'll also be selling CDs from the acts.

By the way, another reminder that Femi Kuti and Mos Def have swapped slots on Friday night. So, their new times are as follows:

Femi Kuti - 22.45-23.45
Mos Def - 20.45-22.00

Follow our Festival Twitter coverage

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 20:47:37 +0100

We wanted to let you know about our Twitter coverage for the this year's Festival, which will be spread across two different Twitter feeds.

twitter.com/glastofest (aka @glastofest)
We'll be using our main Twitter page to post official news updates from the site - be it travel information, weather forecasts or line-up changes/announcements. If you're coming to the Festival, this will be well worth checking on your mobile phone's web browser once in a while.

twitter.com/glastolive (aka @glastolive)
We'll be using this feed to post pictures and comments from our team of reporters roving the site, throughout the Festival. This feed will be embedded onto the official website, a bit like this last year. It's purpose will be to give a real flavour of what's going on, throughout the site. (We're giving it its own feed so that we can keep big news announcements separate, and to prevent us spamming up the Twitter feeds of people who follow @glastofest with our constant updates.)

Site snaps: nearly ready now...

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 17:41:23 +0100

More of Jason Bryant's pictures from the site - including the team from the Greenpeace field and Saturday night's gorgeous sunset.

BBC4's Glastonbury A to Z

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 09:18:03 +0100

Last night, BBC4 showed a terrific two hour programme called Glastonbury at 40: From Avalon to Jay-Z, in which Mark Radcliffe narrated an archive-led look back at many of the iconic things and performances connected to the 28 Festivals there have been at Worthy Farm, from Avalon to Common People to Hippies to Joe Strummer to Pyramid Stage to Radiohead to The Tor to Jay-Z. If you're in the UK you can click on the picture above to watch it on the BBC iPlayer (until June 27).

Car parks opening on Tuesday night

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 14:07:53 +0100

For the first time this year, the Festival car parks will be opening at 9pm on the Tuesday night before the Festival. This is to enable Festival-goers to arrive away from the peak traffic times, thus easing congestion on the roads around the site. If you are thinking of coming on Tuesday night, we would urge you to read the following information:

- Between 12am and 5am on Wednesday morning is likely to be the quietest time to arrive (but please do not drive when you're tired).

- Do not arrive too early in the car parks as it will be a long night sleeping in your car and the main site will NOT be open until 8am on Wednesday.

- There will be NO entertainment, food or facilities provided (apart from toilets) on Tuesday night. The expectation is that those arriving on Tuesday night will stay in their cars and take the chance to get some rest before the Festival gates open at 8am on Wednesday.

- If you are planning to arrive on Tuesday night / early Wednesday morning please bring enough food and water to see you through to when the gates open.

- If you choose to come and sleep in your car on the Tuesday night, you must be prepared to stay in your car, as due to the Festival's traffic plan any exit from the site will be very difficult.

- There will no drop-off facilities or pedestrian access on Tuesday night. Nor will public transport services be running. And there will be no access for pedestrians between the car parks and campervan fields.

- Absolutely no camping will be allowed on Tuesday night.

- There will be no barbecues, fires or cooking allowed in the car parks.

- Please be considerate to other early arrivers and the Festival's neighbours by keeping noise to a minimum and staying inside your car.

- There will be no baby changing facilities or other facilities for children, and we would strongly advise families with young children NOT to arrive on Tuesday night.

- Please use the bins provided for any rubbish.

If you don't already have a car park ticket, they will be available on the gates, costing £20.

Please Take It Home

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 19:49:15 +0100

Please Take It Home is our new campaign to raise awareness of the terrible state that Worthy Farm is left in when everyone goes home after the Festival. Abandoned camping equipment and rubbish blight the beautiful green pastures of the farm. It really is very sad.

Please do your bit when you leave, take all your camping gear home and put all your rubbish in the bin bags provided by your campsite stewards. Even just five minutes of effort from each person at the Festival would make a HUGE difference.

To support us in the Please Take It Home campaign, click here and join our Facebook group.

Here's a video to give you a bit more motivation...

Free GlastoNav app for your phone

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 17:09:36 +0100

Orange today announced the launch of their new and improved Orange GlastoNav application, a free mobile app, which enables Festival-goers to plan which artists they want to see at Glastonbury and navigate around the Festival using the indispensable GlastoNav map. For the first time ever, an Augmented Reality version of GlastoNav will also be available for the iPhone, to download as a free app during the week of the Festival.

The free mobile service is now in its third year and has evolved in response to feedback from last year’s users as well as Orange’s twitter followers. This feedback has led to two versions of the application being produced, the java app which will be available across a range of handsets and the Augmented Reality iPhone application.

GlastoNav is available to download for free from today by texting the shortcode GLASTO to 65101 for the java application. The Augmented Reality iPhone version is available from the Apple App Store during the week of the Festival.

For more information, head over to Orange's GlastoNav site.

For those looking to recharge their batteries on site, the Orange Chill ‘n’ Charge area will be returning for the duration of the Festival with more free charging points than ever (whatever network you're on), plus exciting new interactive elements and stripped back acoustic performances from established and up and coming artists.

Site snaps: 40th procession / Arabella's bridge

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:15:24 +0100

Here's a bumper batch of Jason Bryant's latest photographs from Worthy Farm. We begin with the impromptu carnival procession from the crew which was a surprise for Michael to celebrate the Festival's 40th Anniversary:

The next few pictures are from a new bridge opened this week in memory of the late Arabella Churchill, mastermind of the Theatre & Circus area and one of the founding figures of the Festival. It was opened by her nephew Jack Churchill, her husband Haggis and her children Jessica and Jake.

Here's Arabella at the 2004 Festival

Download the Clashfinder PDF

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 21:37:16 +0100

Over the last few years, we've become big fans of Clashfinder, an unofficial Glastonbury fansite which offers Festival-goers the chance to download a handy PDF showing one day's Festival set times on one sheet, giving you an easy way to work out what you'd like to see (and, as the name implies, spot any clashes).

So, this year, we decided to supply Clashfinder with all our line-up times ahead of publishing them here on the official website, so that they'd be ready to launch their most comprehensive and accurate Clashfinder yet.

You can download their PDF of 22 of the Festival's biggest stages by clicking here.

Or, head over to Clashfinder's website where you can make your own personalised Clashfinder, highlighting the bands you'd like to see, from any of the 45 stages we've announced.

Full line-up timings revealed

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 10:24:04 +0100

We've just launched our full line-up timings page, with stage times for 45 music stages at this year's Festival.

Click here to check it out

Please note, Femi Kuti and Mos Def have swapped slots on the West Holts.

We've kept the timings page simple, so that you'll be able to access it via your phone's mobile web browser while you're at the Festival, without incurring heavy data charges or slow load times. Might be worth bookmarking it now. (Also, look out news on Orange's latest GlastoNav phone application soon.)

Attitude Is Everything return to the Hub

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 20:24:28 +0100

We're very pleased to welcome Attitude Is Everything back to the Hub in Shangri-La on the Saturday afternoon of this year's Festival. Here's the info:

Find out more at www.attitudeiseverything.org.uk

Free University returns to the Park

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:58:57 +0100

The Free University of Glastonbury, the Festival's very own literary tent, returns for a second year after making its debut in 2009. Based in HMS Sweet Charity in the Park it throws opens it doors again for a mind expanding series of lunchtime talks featuring some of the UK's leading writers and free thinkers. The line-up for 2010 is below:

Friday
Compere: Dan Kieran
Alex Bellos and Lana Citron 'The Power of X' A talk on Maths and Kissing 11am
Gavin Pretor-Pinney talks about his new book The Wavewatcher's Companion 11.30am
Tom Hodgkinson leads a mass ukulele jam 12.15pm
Will Hodgkinson discusses the nature of folk music 1.15pm

Saturday
Compere: Matthew De Abaitua 11am
Rob Chapman talks about his biography of Syd Barrett 11.30am
John Niven reads from his novel The Amateurs 12.15pm
Peter Hook Joy Division and New Order's bass player in conversation 1pm

Sunday
Compere: Ben Moor
Hamish McRae the compost toilet guru talk about Haiti 11am
Joseph Piercy and Giles Coghlin a history of the world in 5 and 1/2 drinks 11.45am
Tony White on rediscovered Edwardian science fiction 12.15pm
Laura Barton talks about her new novel Twenty-One Locks 1pm

2010 website Poet in Residence

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 11:54:32 +0100

We're pleased to announce that this year's website Poet in Residence will be Jo Bell. She'll be writing poems for the website throughout the Festival, just as Adam Horovitz did last year.

For more information on Jo, and to check out some of her poems, head over to her website.Jo will also perform in the Poetry&Words tent on the Sunday afternoon.

WaterAid's Don't Let It Drop campaign

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:18:55 +0100

Musicians at this year’s 40th Glastonbury Festival are rallying behind charity WaterAid’s Don’t Let It Drop campaign to send a message to world leaders ahead of an important UN summit on global poverty this September.

WaterAid is holding world leaders to the promises they made ten years ago when they first came together at the UN to agree the Millennium Development Goals, a set of targets to tackle world poverty by 2015. There are just five years to go and targets in Sub-Saharan Africa for water continue to fall behind, but most shockingly the aim of halving the proportion of the world’s population without adequate sanitation is almost 200 years behind target.

Michael and Emily Eavis said: “We hope everyone at Glastonbury and everyone watching at home signs up to the Don’t let it Drop campaign. Water and sanitation are vital in getting people out of poverty and we all need to put our voice behind this message to world leaders.”

WaterAid will be providing Glastonbury goers with new composting toilets in the King’s Meadow, the famous women’s urinal (the she-pees), as well as handing out water at the WaterAid stand by the Pyramid Stage. The ever popular giant poo and toilet costumes will also be making their annual appearances at the festival.

To sign the Don’t Let It Drop petition, click here.

Site snaps: the poo pit kickabout

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 17:51:55 +0100

Here are some more of Jason Bryant's terrific pictures from the site. We begin with three from an unusual crew football match which took place in the Festival's brand new poo pit - which will cut down lorry loads leaving the site. Between the lagoon (at the farm) and the new pit, all the waste on site can now be held and then sent to sewage treatment plants within a ten mile radius. This will lead to a massive reduction in vehicle movements/distance and thus emissions. But until it's full of poo, it's a great place for a kickabout.

DeafZone plans for 2010 Festival

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:53:13 +0100

DeafZone 2010 presents a veritable mix of visual wonder; there are sign language classes for keen hearing punters, plus a team of interpreters for Deaf Festival goers to access the full range of acts that are offered in the Glastonbury experience.

Sign language for hearing punters
If you want to come and learn the basics in British Sign Language then sign up for a class in the sunshine at the DeafZone tent, we are situated near the meeting point in the market area.

How to book a BSL//English Interpreter – before the Festival
If you want to make sure you get an interpreter for what you want then it is best to tell us before the festival starts.

The interpreters are allocated on a first-come first-served basis so get your requests in now for any bands, comedy, theatre or other events that you will want an interpreter for.

For advance bookings please email: Deafzone2010@gmail.com

We will send you confirmation of your request and let you know when an interpreter has been allocated. We will also include details of where to meet the interpreter and at what time.

Facebook
Why not become a member of the Facebook group specifically set-up for Deaf people going to Glastonbury.

How to book a BSL//English Interpreter – during the festival
For information about BSL interpreted events and to make bookings during the festival please make your way to the DeafZone tent, we are situated near the meeting point in the market area.

Please note: All out interpreters are registered and have a clear enhanced disclosure CRB.

Shangri-La Shack winners revealed

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 18:28:03 +0100

You might remember that, a few months ago, the Shangri-La area launched its Build a Palace from Pallets competition. In a first for festivals, they opened up their field to include the creativity of the public in the creation of the area.

Festival-goers were invited to respond to Shangri-La's narrative and design brief, and build their own homes on site. The overall theme of the field is about a fight for resources and the Shacks form a crucial part - they are the tiny homes erected by the desperate on the outskirts of the alleys.

Whilst the Shacks are part of the overall visual aesthetic of the field, there is a more serious aspect to the project – this is about a fight for survival when resources become scarce and resourcefulness becomes the name of the game.

From the beautiful to the profound via downright silly, the weird yet wonderful winning entries are detailed below:

WATER SHORTAGE
“The reason that these materials have been chosen is to firstly exhibit how found materials can be recycled for use in building; the ability to use recycled materials is fundamental to sustainable development. Secondly, the water bottles are used to highlight a socio-political issue: the global shortages of water. Two thirds of the bottles in the structure will be full of water and the other one third will be left empty to symbolise the 1/3 of the world’s population that suffers from a shortage of drinking water.”

TEMPLE OF THE B-MOVIE CULT
“Afuture hybrid religion has emerged amongst the struggle for survival in Shangri-La. After a huge hoard of ancient VHS tapes was discovered by miners on the outskirts of the city a new form of worship began to take hold in the city. Followers of this new religion worship the characters and monsters depicted on the covers of the VHS boxes. They believe them to be prophets and saints from time’s past; a lost religion now reborn!”

SUPER SHACK
“What would happen if superman was still around?

What if he worked with our governments to help towards a better future? IN THE SUPERSHACK HE DOES!”

CHANNEL YOUR AGGRESSION
“Continuing directly on from the events of Shangri-La in 2009, the shack imagines that during the Utopian fantasy that followed the revolt, flashy boutiques flourished, popping up in sheds and ramshackle structures. ‘Channel your Aggression’ is a shop that has been taken over by a revolution, the couture turning into rebel armour, a costume of reclaimed evening wear covered in slogans of playful aggression. getting ready to fight for what you believe in, to fight for what is right, and to do it with style and conviction.”

SEEDBANK
The Seed Bank is a concept that will show how we have escaped the corporation strangle-hold and live by means of exchange tolerance and help. Where fellow man will be provided with provisions exchanged with other provisions and resources required for day to day living. For example:

You can swap your unwanted TV remote for some fresh water and tomato plant seeds. The TV will be obsolete so now only collected for parts and scrap, and in return given valuable and ever so rare tomato plants and clean water. A utopia where we are trusted to be humble, honourable and giving.

MUTANT VAJ
The vegetable corner shop of the future, combining a retro shopping experience with futuristic sentient vegetables. Due to nuclear and chemical pollution the vegetables have mutated and grocery shopping is now a disturbing experience. The horned shopkeeper, vegetable limbs hidden beneath his grubby apron, glares at you with glowing eyes as you enter, but stays put in his corner. On display, hideous dystopian creations nestle next to militant fruit of the lower ranks: some scramble for freedom, but their glowing bodies offer no camouflage. Soylent greens jostle for space with jaundiced carrots, while silent spring onions glare mutely at you. These fruit all have eyes, and teeth, and some are armed – and they’re watching you...

WORLD RECLAMATION CENTRE FOR PLANTS & PEOPLE
Words speak louder than actions. Through governmental influence, generations have conspired against themselves to disintegrate the former international language of English. Studies dating back to 2010 have shown that talking to your plants really does promote healthy and natural growth. In our current toxic climate most plants have to be kept alive in incubators. At the Word Reclamation Centre for Plants and People we collect the CO2 which you breathe out whilst you are talking to the plants. Across decades words have been hijacked by advertising and political campaigns, often dissolving into meaningless sounds that people no longer recognised as ‘true words’. At the Word Reclamation Centre for Plants and People we encourage our visitors to come and talk to the last organic plant specimens on Earth.

CITIZENS EXPRESSION SHACK
After the death of the corrupt regime, freedom has come to Shangri-La! Resources are scarce, but citizens are finally able to express themselves without fear of reprisals. As a home for free speech and citizen journalism, the Citizen Expression Shack will encourage the people to produce a record of their experiences and thoughts. By providing a range of free media direct to the people, citizens will be able to forge a new identity. Using recycled materials, people will literately be able to build a house dedicated to recording issues and happenings, and their ideas and hopes for the future.

EMPTY PROMISE
Made from multi coloured wool wrapped around a foundation to cover the walls, floor, ceiling, windows and furniture; Empty Promise is a house made of the imagination, barely real enough to stand in, but at night, so brilliantly illuminated its impossible to ignore.

SLUMTONS
Slumton’s is Shangri-La’s Number 1 Estate Agency. With thousands of slums for sale and to let worldwide, we give you a unique insight into the ever changing slums market. Our café-style offices have revolutionised the selling of slums, making the dream of slum living accessible to all. The eye-catching design of our offices was created to provide a better service and a more one to one experience. Enjoy some delicious (almost clear) muddy water from the local spring whilst perusing the best selection of with and without running sewage slums – available to suit all budgets. Whether you fancy the streets of Rio or if you have aspirations for Mumbai’s Dharavi (very popular after the recent TV coverage!) – we are sure to have the perfect place for you and your family. From our distinctive colour scheme to the welcoming figure of our founder adorning the roof, Slumton’s cannot be missed on the streets of Shangri-La. So why not come down to see us for our special 40th Anniversary celebration – we’ll have some very special slums on offer as well as some lively entertainment and music on in the area. We look forward to seeing you there!

CONCH TENTROPLIS
Our design concept has worked from a shell form, through utopian fantasy fairytale castles and finally coming around to tents. Concepts include shelter, sanctuary, taking your home with you, recycling and re-imagining utopian castle forms. References to fields of tents, both within the festival setting and also refugee camps. Mass migration and the need to create shelter relates to the dystopian concepts outlined in the brief.

TARDIS
It will appear to be just an unassuming police box from the front but inside it will be twice the width and depth (much like the Tardis in Dr Who!).The Tardis was built using tens of thousands of lego bricks. Lego was used as a building material as it's reusable, recyclable, strong and does not biodegrade, so will last forever!

HOUSE OF THE OBSESSIVE RECLAIMER
Unable to let go of the past, compelled to collect anything that might be ‘Useful’ for fear of what the future holds the re claimers domain resembles an Aladdin’s cave of artefacts and materials. Light shimmers through the haphazard windows, coloured by the collaged plastic panes, and collections of all manner of objects hang from the walls carefully organized in groups based on material, size and countless other hierarchies. Inside the house time stands still, underlined by the lifeless clocks hanging from the wall. The house of the re claimer is like a bank of memories, a palace of past possessions in which people can marvel at the many objects, and ponder the stories that they may have once been part of. The house of the re claimer becomes a church of forgotten belongings offering wonderment and ambition to each who grace its walls. The re claimer sees value where others don’t.

THE OBSOLETORIUM
In a dark corner of Shangri-La rests a battered old man whose tormented mind only animates his broken limbs into action when an invention, so contradictory it borders on genius…. Inside, his walls are strewn with paraphernalia of a by-gone era; books, road signs and maps of places that may no longer exist. It is filled with objects and furniture built from technologies from the old world in new and contradictory ways. Although now there is no sign of the broken minded cretin, his television makes the room flicker with the glowing suggestion that he left in a hurry and his drawings imply he was planning for an event worse than his demented mental nightmares. Oh! and by the way, if you see the fused out old crank be sure to find out what he knows...

TUBE STOP
Every dystopian future-city needs good transport links and with the world’s oil supply finally running out, options are in short supply. The government of the time, with their last throw of the dice, decided to extend the underground network across the country, all the way to Shangri-La. Though typically for Shangri-La, what you’ll find isn’t exactly at any normal train station, with a toothy tunnel entrance threatening to swallow those brave enough to travel. During the festival, the station will be closed due to planned industrial action and all those who cross the picket lines are at risk of being labelled a scab. You have been warned! [NOTE this entry was from a TFL Underground Worker]

BLOW OUT
The manufacture, use and disposal of tyres contribute to environmental damage in a huge way. The UK produces enough waste tyres each year to stretch from London to Sydney. They take thousands of years to decompose and they give off toxic fumes when burnt. Some tyres can be re-moulded for use again but after this they too become obsolete. Used tyres are increasingly being recycled into products like flooring, road surfacing, play areas, aggregates and footwear. They can be used in construction, as a supplementary fuel, or even reprocessed into rubber granulate for use in turf. Finding a use for waste after its intended purpose and supporting initiatives that do is a way in which we can help the environment. Blow Out will show how versatile and easy they are to use.

THE GAMBLE
This proposal playfully addresses the issues of inequality- the basic gamble of birth (where when and who one is born to) that strongly influences if not determines the course of one’s life. Just as one cannot choose which circumstance in which country and at what time one is born, one does not know what lies beyond the two identical doors facing the alley. The writing on the wall asks that you choose one door. You go in and find yourself in one of two possible scenarios:

1. You are in a cramped space built of scraps of salvaged materials, a dirty futon by your feet and a small pile of well worn clothing. You’re poor. You sit on the bare timber floor planks and stare through the bars that separate your space from the space next door.
2. You are surrounded by luxury. The cosy space is wall-papered, carpeted and comfortably lit by an exquisite table lamp. You’re rich. You sit in the antique armchair and look at the person on the other side of the bars. This split-personality space is intended to entertain and encourage interaction between visitors, perhaps even role playing possible scenarios thus turning the spaces into stage sets, separated yet forced to face each other

RUBBER GLOVE ANGEL
This Shack reclaims neglected washing up gloves that have been made redundant as a result of the dishwasher. Picture 16In contrast, the figure on top is made of readily available vegetable fibres, reflecting the natural fibres used more frequently in construction by our ancestors and a return to tradition. The distressed hessian figure will be exposed to the elements- bleached by the sun, or sodden by the rain, it will become vulnerable to its surroundings. The changing figure will be documented daily, as will the interaction from the audience. The audience will be invited to enter the structure through the legs of the figure.

KINGDOM

Ecover sponsors WaterAid She-Pees

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 11:21:32 +0100

At this year's Festival, the WaterAid She-Pees (clever little devices which allow females to have a wee without sitting down) will be sponsored by Ecover, makers of environmentally friendly, safe and biodegradable cleaning products. Ecover are also supplying ecological hand soap and shower gel to Greenpeace for their Solar Showers.

To celebrate their partnership with Glastonbury, Ecover are giving three people the chance to win an entire year’s supply of Ecover, plus loads of runners-up prizes to be had. To enter this competition please click here.

Line-up times revealed for smaller stages

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 17:27:56 +0100

Here's something to get your teeth into over the weekend - we've just launched a new Line-up Times page, with full set times info for 34 of the Festival's smaller stages.

Click here to check it out.

We decided to give you this info before the 10 main stages (Pyramid Stage, Other Stage, The Park Stage, John Peel Stage, West Holts, West Dance, East Dance, Acoustic, Glade and Avalon Stage) because we thought it'd be a good way to shine a light on some of the amazing stuff that happens out and about around the site. The main stage timings will be announced soon.

Please note, the "Start date" field on the line-up times page shows the day a set will strictly start - so, if it's just after midnight on Sunday night, it will be down as Monday on the page. And please be aware that any stages running on the Wednesday of the Festival will be acoustic only.

Also, as ever, these times/bills are all subject to change (and, realistically, some of them definitely will).

Here's the full list of stages we're giving you times for:

Croissant Neuf
Tadpole/green futures
Small World Stage
Mandala Stage
Speakers Forum
Avalon Café
Experimental Soundfield Dance
Glade Lounge
NYC Downlow / Block9
NYC Downlow / Outdoor stage
London Underground / Block9
Arcadia
Lunar Sea Lounge
Igloo (The Common)
Bez's Acid House (Unfair Ground)
Bassline Circus
Wow!
Pussy Parlure
Cube Henge
BBC Introducing
Magic Bubbles
SILENT DISCO
Club Dada
Hub Stage
Cocktails & Dreams
Sustrans Change Your World Disco
Bourbon Street
Queens Head
Poetry&Words, Bella's Field
Stonebridge Bar/The Park
Free University of Glastonbury/The Park
The Bandstand
Pilton Palais (Cinema)
The Rabbit Hole

Here at website HQ, we're particularly excited by Bez's Acid House...

Kidzfield: "Weâ€™re looking forward to our best year ever!"

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 16:14:30 +0100

We caught up with Kidzfield organiser Tony Cordy to find out what the plans are for the children's area at this year's Festival.

Hello Tony, how are things shaping up for the Kidzfield in 2010?
We’re looking forward to our best year ever! We’re opening a day early, on the Thursday, for the first time this year and we’ve got some great new acts and facilities.

Have you got any new additions to the field for this year?
We have our regular TV legends Bodger & Badger and we’re pleased to have attracted a number of other children’s TV stars. We’ve got CBeebies’ Andy Day with his comedy crew and Kirsten O’Brien will be premiering her live, interactive SMart Art Show in our BigTop. We’ve also got a fantastic mobile recording studio, courtesy of RePlay and Access to Music. Over the last few years we’ve given away hundreds of musical instruments and as well as doing that again this year we’re letting the kids record themselves in a fully equipped state of the art studio. We’ve had kids from the field that now play on stages across the site and we want to produce the future stars of the Pyramid stage.

How did you come to be opening a day earlier this year?
It’s the 40th anniversary of the Festival and we want to bring as much of the Kidzfield magic to the festival folk as we can. Kids under 12 come to Glastonbury for free and everything in the Kidzfield is free so we’re the last traditional Free Festival left standing.

For anyone wondering whether to bring their kids to Glastonbury, what would you say?
Glastonbury is a fantastic, magical, memorable experience. 40 years after we began we’re still sending out Peace & Love and living with the values of openness and acceptance, willingness to experience things and share our lives with the myriad people of the World. We aim to create an organic wonderland in the Kidzfield, there are hundreds of things to do but children must be accompanied at all times, so the parents get to share the experience. That’s really rewarding and adds to the good vibes in our area. Kids come to us and go from the Big Top to the Make and Do, climb on the castle, learn a Circus skill, listen to a story, bang on a drum, climb the rock wall, watch a puppet show and ride on a fairground ride. Then they leave with a painted face, holding something they’ve created with a broad smile and memories to last a lifetime.

Are there any acts performing in the field that you're particularly excited about?
I’m excited by all our acts, obviously. Some special acts we have this year are ‘Zu Aerial Dance’ - an aerial acrobatics show with workshops for the kids. Rainbow Theatre are doing a production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest with kids from the audience and, of course Bodger & Badger’s show will be a total mash-up! We’ve got pirates, aliens, BMXer’s, Magicians, Clowns, Drum Bands and mimes and I mustn’t forget Professor Pumperninkle and his Mad Science Show. This is the best year ever to have a happy childhood!

For more info on the Kidzfield, check out kidzfield.com

Site snaps: cranes, bins and flowers

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:57:51 +0100

Here's another batch of Jason Bryant's wonderful pictures from down on the site over the last few days - beginning with some shots showing the Arcadia stage being, well, erected.

BBC Introducing Line-up Announced

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 19:11:42 +0100

BBC 6 Music DJ Steve Lamacq and Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens today revealed the line up for the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury 2010. The BBC Introducing Stage showcases 31 under the radar artists from around the UK. It is the fourth time that BBC Introducing has been at the Festival, with the stage finding a new home in the Dance Village this year.

Here's the line-up:

Friday
Kid Adrift
Meursault
Ms Darks
(Da Mighty Elementz) DME
The Federals
Out Like A Lion
P Money
Napoleon In Rags
Jesca Hoop
Yr Ods

Saturday
Roll Deep plus Guests
Pulled Aprt by Horses
May 68
Celt Islam
New Islands
Lanterns on the Lake
Lady Leshurr
SPECIAL GUESTS
Dog Is Dead
Fellow Stranger
Two in a Boat
Louis Elliot & The Embers

Sunday
Chew Lips
Dark Horses
Man Without Country
Seven Summits
Lettie
Dry The River
SPECIAL GUESTS
Broadcast 2000
Patch William
End of Level Baddie
John E Vistic Experience
The Theory of Six Degrees

For more info on the acts, head over to the BBC Introducing website's Glastonbury page.

BBC Introducing has also made a MySpace playlist featuring a song from all of the bands, which you can listen to here.

Keane to play Avalon Stage set

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:28:55 +0100

We're pleased to announce that Keane will be playing a special set at the Avalon Stage on the Sunday afternoon of this year's Festival.

The band, who recently topped the UK album chart for the fourth consecutive time with their Night Train EP, will perform an acoustic set at 4.35pm on Sunday 27th.

The Sussex trio weren't originally due to perform at this year's Glastonbury, as they have their own forest shows in Yorkshire and Staffordshire on the Friday and Saturday night of the Festival. But the band are huge Glastonbury fans and really wanted to come along and help celebrate the festival's 40th Anniversary.

"We’ve been going to Glastonbury as punters for years now" says Keane frontman Tom Chaplin. "I love it there - we all do. The atmosphere simply cannot be beaten and it's the best place to stumble upon all sorts of amazing acts.

"The Festival clashes with our UK Forest Tour this year but we really wanted to get involved with their 40th anniversary celebrations so, at the last minute, we've decided to play an acoustic set on the Avalon Stage on Sunday afternoon. We'll be arriving during the early hours of Sunday morning, so will get to enjoy the last day of the Festival too."

Shangri-La line-ups and blog

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 12:27:02 +0100

We're very pleased to announce the line-ups for the Hub Stage and Club Dada, the two main venues in the wonderful Shangri-La. We've also just launched the Shangri-La Blog over on their section of the website, to give you a behind-the-scenes look at what they're up to - click here to check out the first one.

Hub Stage

Thursday
The Hub Wall Spectacular
Dutty Moonshine
Nick Turner's Space Ritual 40th Anniversary concert
The Gentle Mystics
The Worm
Bunty

Friday (night) BBC Radio 1's Essential Mix with Annie Mac
Dead Silence Syndicate
Toddla T feat Serocee
Rusko
The Hub Wall Spectacular
Chase and Status plus guests
The Hub Wall Spectacular
Annie Mac featuring really special guests
The Hub Wall Spectacular
Congo Natty feat Top Cat and Tenor Fly
Gappy Ranks feat Pierre Vost
Roots

Friday (day) MOVIEMIENTOS and GlobalLocal.co.uk - Hottest new Latin Remix
DJ Creme De La Core
Movimientos Djs
Mano De Dios
Wara
Los Chinches
Jardares Por Fuera
Lokandes

Saturday (night) VIVA LA FRANCE with SMS Festival , Favela Chic and Bureau French Music Export
Mucho
Djedjotronic
Teenage Bad Girl
Mucho
The Hub Wall Spectacular
Sexy Sushi
Gringo Da Parada
The Hub Wall Spectacular
Birdy Nam Nam
The Hub Wall Spectacular
Tepr
Debruit
Madera Verde
Fran and Josh Featuring MC Tali

Saturday (day) CLUB ATTITUDE - Attitude is Everything
Deaf Rave
Bug Prentice
DJ Void
Drugstore
DJ Void
LA Rebla Fam
DJ Void

Sunday (night) ROOTALOGICAL
Bunty
Dj Switch
The Hub Wall Spectacular
Solution Sounds and Friends
The Hub Wall Spectacular
Nik Diezel
The Hub Wall Spectacular
Nik Diezel

Sunday (day) MAGPIES NEST and GlobalLocal.co.uk PRESENTS
Pêle-Mêle (live)
Dj Chris Van Tofu
SBO Band
The Cedars
Wagon Tales
Cut A Shine and The Belles Of London Hoedown
Serious Sam Barrett

Club DADA

Thursday HOE DOWN - Folk Punk Ceilidh
Los Albertos
Cut a shine and the Belles Of London City
Tofu Love Frogs
Zen Hussies
Victor Menace
Claptones

Friday THE LATIN REMIX
Dj Jason Mayall - The Cumbia Kid
Systema Solar ( Columbia)
Soul Jazz Orchestra ( Canada)
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble ( US)
Ska Cubano ( Cuba/Brixton )
Los Chinches ( Peru )
The Worm
Nick Turner's inner city unit
Planetman and The Internationalz
Dj Dominic Middleton

Saturday THE DAWN OF ELECTRO SWING
Dj Switch
Suprise Guest
Movits ( Sweden)
Kormac and Band ( Ireland)
The Correspondents
Twilight Players ( Bombay / Bronx)
Suprise Act
Neville Staples
Swing Zazou
The Stow
La Rebla Fam
Rachel Furner ( US)
TBA
TBA

Sunday GYPSY SOUNDCLASH
Rafan ( Sweden )
Birdy Nam Nam ( France)
Orchestra Del Sol (Scotland)
Brass Roots
Blackberry Wood ( US)
Victor Menace
King Porter Stomp
Bunty
Dj Tofu

BBC confirms Glastonbury coverage

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 17:57:15 +0100

The BBC today announced its television coverage of Glastonbury 2010, unveiling comprehensive and exclusive coverage from Worthy Farm.

From Friday 25 to Sunday 27 June, there will be programming across BBC Two, BBC Three and BBC Four and on four Red Button streams, complemented by live BBC Radio coverage from BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 1 and a host of offerings at bbc.co.uk/glastonbury.

Celebrating the festival's 40th birthday year, the award-winning BBC television coverage comes together on BBC Two, BBC Three and BBC Four and on Red Button, to bring viewers three days of glorious live music across four stages.

Across the programming, viewers can enjoy live headline sets from the likes of Gorillaz and Muse; classic acts like Ray Davies and Jackson Browne; the hottest British acts from Dizzee Rascal to Florence and the Machine; experience Willie Nelson and Snoop Dogg; and sample unsigned acts on the BBC Introducing stage.

They can also explore cutting-edge bands from the John Peel Tent and groove to music from around the world on the West Holts Stage, formerly the Jazz/World Stage.

In addition to these musical treats, viewers can meet the people who make Glastonbury what it is – the entertainers, circus and cabaret acts, the workers and the crowd that have made Glastonbury the world's paramount live music festival – all brought to your armchair courtesy of BBC television, Red Button, Radio and Online.

Jan Younghusband, BBC Commissioning Editor, Music & Events, says: "It is a great privilege to be working with Glastonbury in this special birthday year.

"With the help of our expert presenters, we will bring one of the world's greatest cultural events directly to the viewers over a weekend of live music entertainment across TV, Radio and Online."

Mark Cooper, Creative Head, BBC Music Entertainment, adds: "We can't wait to get back to Glastonbury, come rain or shine.

"Ever since the BBC's first TV broadcast from Worthy Farm, back in 1997 when we captured Radiohead going live into Paranoid Android in a sea of mud, our TV team look forward to the challenge of filming as many stages as possible for as long as we can amongst a huge crowd of very happy people!"

BBC Two's coverage is presented by Jo Whiley, Lauren Laverne, Mark Radcliffe and Zane Lowe and combines live performances, festival highlights, interviews and special acoustic sets across the weekend.

With live headline sets from major artists, including Gorillaz and Muse, BBC Two also has extended highlights of each day's events into the early hours of the morning.

Viewers can watch the best of the festival with a two-hour highlights programme on Friday 2 July at 11pm.

BBC Three programming is presented by Edith Bowman and Reggie Yates and kicks off the BBC's television coverage on Friday evening with Vampire Weekend and Florence and the Machine.

They are followed by a transatlantic hip-hop clash with Dizzee Rascal and Snoop Dogg. Saturday's coverage includes sets from Shakira, The Cribs, Scissor Sisters and Pet Shop Boys, while Faithless are covered live on Sunday.

BBC Three viewers are encouraged to share their thoughts about the live artists and guest interviewees on Twitter and Facebook, via their own dedicated Glastonbury hashtag. There is also a highlights programme on Monday 28 June at 7pm.

BBC Four's coverage is hosted by Mark Radcliffe and includes sets from a discerning blend of heritage artists and critically acclaimed favourites. Friday's programming showcases Corinne Bailey Rae, Willie Nelson, Seasick Steve and Groove Armada, while Saturday sees performances from Jackson Browne and The National. Sunday sees sets from Jack Johnson, Norah Jones and Toots & The Maytals.

BBC Four's coverage is preceded on Sunday 20 June (9pm) by the two-hour documentary Glastonbury at 40 – From Avalon To Jay-Z, which celebrates all of the iconic things now associated with this great performing arts festival.

Red Button coverage includes performances from all four stages during the festival, with 6 Music presenters Craig Charles and Cerys Matthews appearing on all streams. The BBC Introducing stage is also showcased on the Red Button each day.

The BBC's dedicated website – bbc.co.uk/glastonbury – launched on 7 June with a major new section called Archive. Archive mines the BBC archives showing highlights from every year of the festival to date. Audiences are invited to add their own Glastonbury memories.

In conjunction with 6 Music listeners, there is an online vote on the greatest Glastonbury performances. The results are announced on Thursday 24 June.

A Glastonbury quiz goes live at the end of this week and can be accessed via the site and on mobile and Facebook.

During the Festival, the site will offer live streaming across the weekend, visualising 6 Music's activities plus several performances.

Following the weekend's coverage, there are extended highlights of 60 performances from the Pyramid, Other, John Peel, West Holts and BBC Introducing stages. The iPlayer broadcasts are also aggregated into the site.

Full television/Red Button transmission details (not confirmed):
Sunday 20 June
BBC Four: Glastonbury at 40 – From Avalon To Jay-Z
9-11pm

Friday 25 June
BBC Two: 10-10.30pm and 11pm-2am (Saturday 26)
BBC Three: 7pm-10pm and 2.15-3.15am (Saturday 26)
BBC Four: 9pm-12.00midnight
Red Button: Sky and Virgin 7pm-11.20am (Saturday 26)
Freeview: 9.10pm-9.40am (Saturday 26)

Saturday 26 June
BBC Two: 4-5.30pm/10.30pm-2am (Sunday 27)
BBC Three: 7.45-11.45pm/2-3am (Sunday 27)
BBC Four: 9-11pm
Red Button: Sky and Virgin, 4.30pm-11.40am (Sunday 27)
Freeview: 10.30pm-10.50am (Sunday 27)

Sunday 27 June
BBC Two: 4-5.30pm/10pm-2am (Monday 28)
BBC Three: 8.50-10pm/2-3am (Monday 28)
BBC Four: 7-9pm
Red Button: Sky and Virgin, 4pm-2am (Monday 28)
Freeview: 10.10pm-2am (Monday 28)

Monday 28 June
BBC Three: highlights programme
7-8.30pm

Friday 2 July
BBC Two: highlights programme
11pm-1am

For those of you outside the UK, we'll be giving info on BBC Worldwide's broadcast plans as soon as we get it (but you will be able to listen to 6 Music's coverage online).

Get your car park tickets before June 14th

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 14:46:49 +0100

If you're planning to come to this year's Festival by car, you will need a car park ticket.

Car park tickets are available to buy through Seetickets, priced at £15 (plus £1.50 postage) from 0844 412 4635. Please note, the last day to book car park tickets from Seetickets is Monday 14th June.

For full info on the various ways to get to the Festival, check out our Getting Here section.

The World Cup at Glastonbury

Sun, 06 Jun 2010 15:13:53 +0100

As you probably know, this year's Glastonbury Festival will take place during the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa.

England's last group game, against Slovenia on Wednesday June 23, will be shown on the Pyramid Stage screens (kick off 3pm).

Should England qualify for the knock-out stages (fingers crossed!) their last 16 game will also be shown live at the Festival, though not on the Pyramid Stage - which will be busy with bands by that point!

The game will either be on the Saturday evening at 7.30pm (if England win their group) or on Sunday afternoon at 3pm (if England are runners up in their group).

Please keep an eye on the big screens, Information notice boards, the website and the @glastofest Twitter acount to find out when/where the game will be shown.

Apologies to those of you coming from far afield, but no other games from the World Cup are due to be shown during the Festival.

Buy Millets gear, collect at Glastonbury

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 09:27:09 +0100

Millets have been selling their camping equipment at the Festival for a number of years now, but they've launched a new Buy and Collect service for 2010 giving Festival-goers the chance to order equipment online or in store and pick it up at Glastonbury.

They've selected a range of 101 quality products which can be pre-ordered in store or online, then collected from the Glastonbury Millets Stand at J7 Market, which is situated between the Pyramid Stage and the John Peel stage. The stand will be open for collections (and onsite sales) from 8am until midnight each day during the Festival (Wed 23 June to Sunday 27 June).

The Buy and Collect offer is limited to the first 500 orders, with the last order date being Wednesday 16th June.

Click here to go to the Millets Buy and Collect website
(NB: this site is operated by Millets, and not Glastonbury Festival)

Please note, we've agreed to this new service because we wanted to make things a little bit easier for people to bring all their camping equipment/food/drink etc to the Festival. However we want to reiterate that we really need you to TAKE ALL YOUR EQUIPMENT HOME with you. So, please make sure if you do use the service, you leave room to take your new gear home.

We've worked with Millets to ensure that all the products being made available for Buy and Collect are quality items, which will serve you well for festivals for many years to come. The intention is absolutely NOT for people to order a tent to collect at the Festival and then leave it here on the farm. We'd be very grateful if you'd respect that (that goes for everyone and all their equipment). Thanks folks.

40th Anniversary Scrapbook launched

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 16:50:59 +0100

Celebrating 40 years of the Festival, the Glastonbury scrapbook features exclusive material from the personal archives of the Eavis family, from tickets and posters to pictures and personal messages tracing the event from its beginnings in 1970 through to the multi-stage extravaganza of today.

Full colour and with hand-written captions by Emily and Michael, the Scrapbook is a 120-page look at the Festival over the years.

You can buy this limited edition book now for £10 from Oxfam's website, by clicking here. £7.50 from each sale will go to aid Oxfam’s efforts in Haiti.

Here are some examples of pages from the scrapbook:

Click here to buy the book for £10 from Oxfam.

Ticket dispatch update

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 09:45:56 +0100

Some of you have been in touch enquiring about the status of your Glastonbury ticket delivery, so we wanted to give you an update. All UK tickets purchased through Seetickets are being sent out DX using DX secure mail service. All tickets must be signed for on delivery.

A number of you received an email on May 21st advising you that your tickets would arrive in 2-3 days. Unfortunately, this email (triggered by the tickets arriving with DX) was sent prematurely. Please don’t panic if you received this email but have not yet received your tickets. We are really sorry for any confusion this email caused.

Once DX has scheduled your delivery, you will receive a dispatch e-mail in advance to let you know that your tickets are coming. The email will include a DX tracking number (NOT your Seetickets booking reference number) which you can use to track your tickets on www.thedx.co.uk/glastonbury.

If you haven't yet received your tickets or your dispatch email, please don't worry, you will receive them soon. Over half of the ticket orders have already gone out, but deliveries are expected to continue up until Saturday, 19th June.

If you have any questions regarding the delivery of your tickets but have NOT yet received a dispatch email from DX, please use Seetickets' online order tracker using your Seetickets booking reference and email address, If you HAVE received a dispatch email from DX, but have yet to receive your tickets, please email DX at Glastonbury@securemail.co.uk, quoting the tracking number from your DX dispatch email (ie, not your booking reference).

Thank you.

Stonebridge Bar line-up revealed

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 14:59:14 +0100

The Stonebridge Bar is open for music, booze and socialising every day in The Park from 1pm. As ever the music policy spans everything from psychedelic rock n roll to reggae; from charity shop records to ‘60s girl group pop, going through to house, disco, dancehall, baggy classics, dancefloor soul and more.

It's a brilliant beer tent with a great soundtrack by day, and an alternative dance party by night that is now in its 4th year in The Park. Some old favourites will be returning including DJ sets from Fourtet, The Heavenly Jukebox, Greco-Roman, Joe Hot Chip, Ross Allen, Bridgwater Reggae Soundsystem, Hip Hop karaoke's Saturday afternoon open mic. and, of course, the now legendary Baggy Mondays Thursday night session - hear their 2009 crowd in fine voice in the video below...

Other DJ sets over the weekend include Jamie from Klaxons, Micachu, Jamie from The xx, The Heatwave, Optimo, Lowlife, Stuart Patterson and Dave Hill and loads more.

Here's the full line-up:

Thursday
1-3am – Optimo
11.30pm-1am – Frank Broughton & Michael Cook (Lowlife)
10-11.30pm – Baggy Mondays
8-10pm – Autodisco
6.30-8pm – Ultimate Power
5-6.30pm – Mark Boyd and Matt Foney (The Social)
3-5pm – Carl and Danny (Heavenly Jukebox)

Friday
2.30am-5am – Greco-Roman ft Joe Hot Chip, Drums of Death + Ross Allen
1-2.30am - Jamie xx and Micachu DJ set
12-1am – Jamie (Klaxons) DJ set
8pm-12am – break
6-8pm – Bridgwater Reggae Soundsystem vs Broader Than Broadway
3-6pm – Stuart Patterson and Dave Hill (Deviant vs Rootical set)
1-3pm – Coyote (Is It Balearic?)

Saturday
3-5am – The Heatwave
2.30-3am - Silver Columns (live)
12-2.30am – Four Tet DJ set
8pm-12am – break
6-8pm - Riddim and Soul
4-6pm – 5 A-sides
2-4pm – Hip Hop Karaoke
1-2pm – The Endeacott Family

Sunday
2-4am – Heavenly Jukebox presents HVN JBX
12-2am – Very Special Guests
8pm-12am – break
7-8pm - RackNRuin
5-7pm – Man Like Me (DJ set)
3-5pm – Mr Shiver (Size Doesn’t Matter)
1-3pm – Jeff Barrett (Heavenly Jukebox)

Rabbit Hole line-up announced!

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:52:08 +0100

We're very pleased to announce the full 2010 line-up for the Rabbit Hole, the much-loved underground venue in The Park.

Once again the fevered imagination of the White Rabbit has concocted a psychedelic smorgasbord to titillate the palate of even the most seasoned Festival adventurer. The Rabbit Hole invites you to the land of the unexpected, from tea party to trance party, dormice to disco dancefloors, caterpillars to kicking live bands.

Explore a warren of underground magic that combines live music, theatre, disco and the all new “Peoples Palace ” cinema extravaganza. As usual an entourage of batty thespians awaits you with riddles, carrots and magic potions to test your wit and determination to gain entry into the inner worlds down the rabbit hole.

And all this on top of an incredible line-up of cutting edge, underground music hand picked to delight, inspire and reinvigorate you after this long winter of hibernation, including Saturday's very special Annie in Wonderland bill, curated by legendary Radio 1 DJ Annie Nightingale and featuring a host of treats from across Glastonbury's 40 years - including DJ Mad Mick (who played the very first record at the very first Festival) and Freebase, the supergroup featuring Peter Hook (New Order), Andy Rourke (The Smiths) and Mani (Stone Roses).

Here's the full line-up:

Thursday (Opening night Party with Flying Rhino DJs)
1am James Munroe
11pm George Barker.
10pm Grantly.
Midnight Special; Live set from Elvis (the real one)

Friday
6am CLOSE
4.30 Bunny Come
2.30am Transpersonals
12.30 The Mad Cows
11pm TBA
9pm. 360
8pm The Soap Dodgers.
7pm Tin Roots
6pm The Tailors
5pm Poppy and Friends
4pm Bryony Fry
3pm Aishling
2pm Rory H
1pm Freddie Page
12.noon. Bert Miller and other animals
Resident Dj (best Dj in the world) Poshratz.

Saturday. “Annie In Wonderland”
6.am CLOSE.
4.am The Egg
3.am dj Doorly
2.am Dreadzone
12.30 Freebass
11pm. dj Far Too Loud
10pm Space Ritual
8.00 Quintessence
7pm Dj Mad Mick
6pm Marsupilami
5pm Dan Mangan
4pm Gabby Young And Other Animals.
3pm Pete Lawrie
2pm Skinny Lister
1pm Jamie Burke
Guest Djs

Sunday
5am CLOSE
3am Dubble Head
12.30 6ix Toys
11pm Secret Special Guest
10pm Elvis(The Real one)
9pm The Travelling Band
8pm Perhaps Contraption.
6pm Rabbit Foot Spasm Band
5pm Babeshadow
4pm Troy Ellis And The Long Shots
3pm Sound of Rum.
2pm Lion Child
1pm Josh Thorner
12.30pm Hot tin Cat
12noon Georgie Pope (acoustic Harp)
Resident Dj (best Dj in the world) Poshratz.

For more info, head to the Rabbit Hole's page.

A Greener Festival releases new talent CD

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 11:26:57 +0100

Next Monday (June 7th), a new double CD featuring 28 of the best new British acts is being released by campaign and advice group A Greener Festival with bands tipped from bookers at some of Britain’s best-loved festivals, including Glastonbury.

Featured bands on Festival Harvest include the recently-crowned Glastonbury Festival Emerging Talent Competition winners Ellen & The Escapades, UK Festival Awards critic nominees Yearner Babies, The Orkid, the outstanding four piece girl band from Plymouth, Lykez, the brilliant and innovative urban act from London, Doncaster’s hot new talent The Beaus along with outstanding contributions from Mayhew and A Band Called Quinn, both from Scotland

Festival Harvest will be released as a limited edition double CD and will carry the IG (Industry Green) mark, the award from cross music industry climate change initiative Julie's Bicycle which identifies a product as committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The album, manufactured by Disc Manufacturing Services, will dispense with the plastic jewel case and will be sold only in 100% card sleeves. The album will also be available to download.

A Greener Festival co-founder Ben Challis, who compiled the album, said: “Working with six of the top music festivals and two regional music initiatives really unearthed some magical talent. It's an added bonus for us that they all have agreed to support green festivals and the fight against climate change.”

You can pre-order the CD, for between £5.99 and £6.99, from the following retailers:

- HMV
- Amazon.co.uk
- Play

Site snaps: Signs and sunsets

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 11:39:21 +0100

Here's our latest batch of photographs taken by Jason Bryant down on Worthy Farm. We begin with Dan Stuart, the sign man, who has been working at the Festival for 26 years. He and his team will be putting up around 2,000 signs this year.

Very lovely indeed.

The Guardian's Festival ticket giveaway

Sat, 29 May 2010 16:09:50 +0100

If you've missed out on a Glastonbury ticket so far, then you may be interested to know that The Guardian newspaper (one of our official partners) has launched a competition to win one of 50 pairs of tickets to this year's Festival. If you'd like to be in with a chance of bagging a pair, then click here to enter, before midnight on Monday, May 31st.

Three new late-night areas announced!

Fri, 28 May 2010 12:39:08 +0100

The eagle-eyed among you may have already noticed that there are three new areas on this year's Fine Guide map. We're now very pleased to be able to give you full details of these fantastic additions to Glastonbury's late-night landscape. Say hello to Block9, The Common and The Unfair Ground.

"We were really keen to expand the number of late-night venues, because they were so busy last year and we wanted to give people more choice," Emily Eavis told us. "I think with these new additions - plus existing areas like Shangri-La and Arcadia - it's fair to say that late-night at Glastonbury will never have been better!"

Here's the lowdown on the three new areas:

Block9
After the success of their acclaimed NYC Downlow, radical set designers Block9 are back. The crowning glory of the Block9 field is the brand new London Underground. A sinister, decaying tower block with a blazing tube train bursting from the top, this towering venue showcases the cream of London’s sound system underground. Plus, there will be disco, soul, funk and porn moustaches in the NYC Downlow and live bands and debauchery in DogFacedGeisha. Come and explore their wonderland of incredible creations and serious sound systems from sunset to sunrise. Click for more info.

The Common
The Common is home to bustling music venues, urban circus, late night bars, and a range of intimate sideshows. Watch performers on vintage Indian motorcycles at Ken Fox’s incredible Wall of Death; expect the amazing, unusual, wicked sick, sorted, dirty and LARGE at Bassline Circus: rave to 360 degree visuals in The Igloo; grab a decapitated head at Hook-A-Head! to win a prize; and visit The Old Curiosity Shop to feast your eyes on bizarre artefacts and wondrous curios. Click for more info.

The Unfair Ground
Join Glastonbury legends the Mutoid Waste Co. at their party at the end of the world, featuring their latest sculptural lunacy: The Hellcopter, the nightclub of your wildest nightmares in the form of a Royal Navy helicopter crossed with a preying mantis. The brave can take a stroll down Sam Haggerty's Joker's Sideshow Alley or indulge in the hedonistic delights of The Acid House hosted by Bez. You can also prop up the bar at the Apocalypse Hotel, get down with the robots in Reverend Sharky's Church Of The Holyroller, and check out underground art in the MuTate Britain tent. Or join the lovely Strummerville people around their campfire. Click for more info.

Bourbon Street Jazz â€˜nâ€™ Blues unveiled

Thu, 27 May 2010 16:58:57 +0100

We're very pleased to unveil a new venue which will be rocking the William's Green area at this year's Festival. Here's what the organisers have to say about Bourbon Street...

Bourbon Street Jazz ‘n’ Blues – we are Big and we are Easy...
Party animal? Dancing queen? Fancy a tipple? If the answer to any of these is yes (and we’re sure it is) then Bourbon Street Jazz ‘n’ Blues is the venue for you. With our endless array of drinks, an atmosphere to die for and more talent than you can shake a stick at you’d have to be down-right daft not to get involved. Forget everything you think you know about jazz ‘n’ blues... this is the real thing.

The Music
At Bourbon Street our weapon of choice is jazz ‘n’ blues, and no, we’re not talking about dull, repetitive, sit down jazz ‘n’ blues. We’re talking about an atmosphere alive with the sound of sexy saxophones, rolling drum beats and dirty bass lines designed to get you dancing, with a few smooth grooves thrown in for good measure. Genres like Filthy Swing, Jump Jive and Texas Boogie Blues are just some of the funky styles that await you here at Bourbon Street. Do not miss out!

The Bar
Here at Bourbon Street Jazz ‘n’ Blues we take pride in the fact that we are offering you one of the most authentic experiences on site. Our watering hole is modelled on an original Bourbon Street bar straight out of New Orleans and features more than twenty different delicious bourbons, plus ice cold beers, fine champagnes, fresh ground coffee and a selection of signature cocktails including the ‘Hurricane’ and the ‘Hand Grenade’ to help make your visit to Bourbon Street the best you make all weekend.

The Line-up

Wednesday (All acts acoustic)
TBC
Dave Arcari
Bex Marshall
Charley Macaulay
Leon O'Doherty

Thursday
Aynsley Lister Band
Djangonauts
King King
Jacqui Wicks & The Cliff Brown Band
Scott McKeon
Ben Martin
Bex Marshall Band
Nicola Farnon
Dave Arcari

Friday
The Dizzy Club
Stephen Dale Petit
Kubla Khan
Oli Brown
Nicola Farnon
Aynsley Lister Band
Alpha Manouvre
Wagon Train

Saturday
Oli Brown
Wagon Train
Marcus Bonfanti
The Dizzy Club
P-A-U-L
Top Shelf Jazz
Brigitte DeMeyer
Carmen Ghia & The Hotrods (pictured, above)
Bex Marshall Band

Sunday
Alpha Manouvre
TBC
Top Shelf Jazz
P-A-U-L
Carmen Ghia & The Hotrods (pictured, above)
Brigitte DeMeyer
Ben Martin
Sandi Thom
All Star Gospel Session

The podcasts

With the permission of our artists, we've put together two free podcasts to give you a taste of what to expect from Bourbon Street.

Download the jazz podcast

Download the blues podcast

New Orleans art at Bourbon Street

Bourbon Street Jazz ‘n’ Blues will be featuring fantastic artwork depicting atmospheric scenes of the original New Orleans street, provided by artist and jazz and blues enthusiast, Diane Millsap.

Her vibrant, colourful and inspirational images will be displayed around the venue allowing audiences to witness the true beauty of the Big Easy whilst enjoying some incredible music and some tasty drinks.

Let the train take the strain

Thu, 27 May 2010 12:10:14 +0100

If you're planning to come to this year's Festival by train, then head over to the Glastonbury travel page at our train ticket partner www.raileasy.co.uk for timetable info and possible savings on tickets.They're offering advance single fares from London to Castle Cary from £10.50 and to Bristol from £10.00.

The best railway station to reach the Festival is Castle Cary. There's a free shuttle bus for Festival ticket holders running between the train station and the Festival Bus Station. The shuttle bus service will run between Castle Cary station to Pilton and back throughout the Festival, from Wednesday to Monday (there is no service during the night when trains aren't running). The last bus from the Festival to Castle Cary railway station will be at 5pm on the Monday. You will need your Festival ticket to use this bus service.

Gorillaz announced as new Friday headliners

Wed, 26 May 2010 14:58:21 +0100

We're very pleased to announce that the Friday night Pyramid Stage headline slot which U2 have been forced to vacate will now be taken by Gorillaz, who called offering their services once the news about U2 had broken.

Said Michael Eavis: "This is going to be Gorilllaz' only UK festival appearance, and it'll be a massive audio visual spectacle which will really ignite the Pyramid on the Friday night, with Muse, then Stevie Wonder to follow.

"I'm very excited about Gorillaz' show coming here because they're so open to guests and collaborations. The alchemy of Friday's show is going to be astonishing: a perfect, contemporary way to kick off the 40th anniversary celebrations.

"I am so grateful for the enthusiasm of the media and the whole of the music industry for their willingness and eagerness to support us in what could have been a crisis."

Said Murdoc from Gorillaz: "We're like some great big horrible warship pulling in to the Bay of Glastonbury to save the day. It was us or The Beatles and they split up years ago. The previous soldiers got pulled from duty last minute so it's up to my Plastic Beach naval cavalry to sail in and sort the battlefield out. I can assure you though, I'm bringing extra troops. Loads of them. Glastonbury will be ours…cutlasses drawn, trumpets ready. We're coming in…"

Find the orange welly, win Glastonbury tickets

Wed, 26 May 2010 12:09:38 +0100

One of the Festival's official partners, Orange, has just begun its annual Glastonbury ticket giveaway. Head over to www.orange.co.uk/glastonbury where there's the chance to win a pair of 2010 Festival tickets every day from today until June 9th. All you have to do is find their orange welly in the Glastonbury crowd.

U2 forced to cancel Glastonbury appearance

Tue, 25 May 2010 12:25:38 +0100

Following a phone call from Bono to Michael Eavis this morning, we're extremely sorry to report that U2 will not be able to perform their headline slot at this year's Glastonbury Festival. This is due to the serious back injury which Bono sustained last week and the subsequent medical advice he has received.

Said Bono: "I'm heartbroken. We really wanted to be there to do something really special - we even wrote a song especially for the Festival."

Said Michael Eavis: "It was obvious from our telephone conversation that U2 are hugely disappointed. Clearly, they were looking forward to playing the Pyramid Stage as much as we were looking forward to watching them. At this point, we have no comment to make about possible replacements for U2's Friday night slot. Instead, we would simply like to send Bono our very best wishes for a full and speedy recovery."

Pilton Palais cinema tent programme

Mon, 24 May 2010 12:25:38 +0100

We're pleased to announce the 2010 programme for the Pilton Palais cinema tent, which is located at the bottom of the Acoustic field.

THURSDAY
11:00 Where The Wild Things Are (PG)
13:00 Gake no ue no Ponyo (U)
15:00 Food Inc (PG)
17:00 Moon (15)
19:00 When You're Strange (TBC)
21:00 Four Lions (15)
23:00 Exit Through The Gift Shop (15)
01:00 District 9 (15)

FRIDAY
11:00 Toy Story 1 (PG)
13:00 Alice in Wonderland (PG)
15:00 Avatar (12A)
18:00 Cemetery Junction (15)
20:00 It Might Get Loud (15)
22:00 Sherlock Holmes (PG)
00:30 Iron Man 2 (12A)
02:30 No Distance Left To Run (15)

SATURDAY
11:00 Toy Story 2 (U)
13:00 How To Train Your Dragon (PG)
15:00 Fantastic Mr Fox (PG)
17:30 Across The Universe (12)
20:00 The Hangover (15)
22:00 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (12A)
00:30 Kick-Ass (15)
02:30 Food Inc (PG)

SUNDAY
11:00 Advance 3D Preview screening
13:00 Advance 3D Preview screening
15:00 Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs (U)
17:00 A Town Called Panic (PG)
19:00 Special Preview Screening
22:00 Shutter Island (15)
00:30 The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (18)

Click here to read synopses of the films.

Other accommodation options

Sun, 23 May 2010 09:29:28 +0100

Your Festival ticket includes free camping from Wed 23rd to Mon 28th (and we've added extra space this year). But if you'd like to push the boat out and go for something a bit fancier, several of the Festival's neighbours are offering alternative accommodation options.

A whole range of choices (and price levels) are on offer, from the Forest Garden Yurts situated on the hill above the Stone Circle, to the yurt love field next to Pedestrian Gate B on the east of the site and the neighbouring Tangerine Fields with pre-pitched tents and geo-domes to gypsy caravans and yurtels.

For information about these and other of our neighbours' accommodation options, click here.

(Please note, the campervan and caravan tickets have now completely sold out.)

Kurt Jackson's Glastonbury paintings auction

Sat, 22 May 2010 19:44:25 +0100

Kurt Jackson is one of Britain's leading painters, and a long-time supporter of Greenpeace and Glastonbury. He has created an amazing series of paintings and sketches from his residency at the 2009 Festival, which include portraits of Radiohead, Massive Attack, Lily Allen and Tinariwen as well as landscapes capturing the essence of the Festival.

Kurt's exclusive Glastonbury paintings and sketches, which will be auctioned on Ebay in aid of the Greenpeace Environmental Trust. The auction will go live tomorrow, Sunday 23rd May, and finishes on 2nd June. Click here to check out the auction on eBay.

For more info on Kurt's Glastonbury paintings, head to www.greenpeace.org.uk/kurtjackson. Or, for a slideshow of his wonderful Glastonbury 2009 works, click here.

Lovely.

The Glastonbury World Cup 2010

Fri, 21 May 2010 17:36:01 +0100

Last year, the inaugural Glastonbury World Cup football match took place in the Pyramid field on the Thursday of the Festival. The teams were made up from users of the eFestivals.co.uk forums, with the England team beating the Rest of the World team 9-3, and Michael Eavis presenting the trophy to the winning captain. Donations were encouraged for WaterAid and the event raised an impressive £3,000.

After the success of the first year, eFestivals has decided to organise another match. We're therefore pleased to announce that this year's Glastonbury World Cup will take place in the Pyramid Field at 1pm on Thursday June 24th. The two teams have already been selected, but the organisers are very much hoping that Festival-goers will head over there to watch the match.

There will be pre and post match entertainment from acts including Hobo Jones & The Junkyard Dogs and The Supernovas, and Michael Eavis will once again present the trophy to the winning team, at around 3pm.

Michael has challenged the organisers to raise £6,000 towards WaterAid's amazing work addressing the global sanitation and water crisis. If you'd like to donate to this very worthy cause, there's a Glastonbury World Cup online donation page at www.justgiving.com/glastoworldcup2010. Please give generously.

While we're on the subject of the World Cup, a reminder that the real England team's final group game, against Slovenia on the afternoon of Wednesday 23rd June, will be shown on the Pyramid Stage screens. Should England progress to the knock-out stages, their last 16 game (on the Saturday or Sunday of Glastonbury), will also be shown at the Festival - although not on the Pyramid screens.

Survey: when are you planning to arrive?

Thu, 20 May 2010 10:37:27 +0100

If you already know when you're planning to arrive at this year's Glastonbury, we'd be very grateful if you'd take a minute to email one of our special survey addresses (it'll really help with giving us an idea of busy times etc).

All you need to do it select the email address which applies to you and send us a quick email (no message needed).

Arriving on Tuesday June 22nd 9pm-1am
TUE9pmto1am@glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

Arriving on Wednesday June 23rd 1am-8am
WED1amto8am@glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

Arriving on Wednesday June 23rd 8am-1pm
WED8amto1pm@glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

Arriving on Wednesday June 23rd 1pm-8pm
WED1pmto8pm@glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

Arriving after 8pm on Wednesday June 23rd (inc Thur, Fri etc)
After8pmWED@glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

Please get your email to us by 10am on Wednesday 26 May. As a thanks for your help, we'll then be picking three names at random and sending them a Glastonbury T-shirt (we'll be in touch for your address if you win).

Please note, gates to the Festival site open at 8am on Wednesday June 23rd.

Car parks will now open at 9pm on the Tuesday night before the Festival, allowing Festival-goers to arrive throughout the night.

There will, however, be no entertainment, food or facilities in the car parks and Festival-goers will be expected to remain in their cars until the Festival gates open at 8am on Wednesday morning.

Sorry, but no camping will be allowed in the car parks and it will NOT be possible to go from the car parks to the campervan fields to stay with friends on the Tuesday night. Access into the car parks will be with car park/Festival tickets and into the campervan fields will be with campervan/festival tickets only.

Please note, all public transport arrangements will stay as per previous years - ie there will be no facilities at Castle Cary railway station for early arrivals. Public transport facilities will only begin on Wednesday morning. As in 2009, there will be no amplified entertainment until Thursday.

New bike lock-up / ride from Bristol

Wed, 19 May 2010 15:37:37 +0100

If you were thinking of cycling to this year's Festival, we're pleased to report that there's a new bike lock-up available, near to the Yellow Gate. Bikes can be left there for the whole weekend, free of charge.

If you were planning to cycle from Bristol, you might like to join a free, organised cycle ride to the Festival. The ride leaves central Bristol on the morning of Thursday 24th June and follows an established cycle route along quiet roads. They'll be cycling through some gorgeous countryside before arriving at the festival late afternoon. Experienced cyclists will lead the ride and a support vehicle will carry your bags from Bristol to the festival site and will deal with any breakdowns on route. Contact cyclefestivals@gmail.com to find out more and to secure you place. Registration closes on June 17th. Spaces are limited so book early to avoid disappointment

Ticket dispatch information

Wed, 19 May 2010 09:16:10 +0100

UK TICKETS will this year be sent out by DX Secure Services. Tickets will be sent to the address specified when booking. A signature will be required at the point of the delivery.

If you ordered more than one ticket, your tickets will be dispatched to the address you provided for the first name on your booking. If you paid your balances separately, you will each receive your own ticket.

It is expected that you will receive your tickets at least 14 days before the Festival starts.

Information about the dispatch of your tickets will be available through Seetickets who will email you with your tracking reference. You can track your ticket order via www.thedx.co.uk/glastonbury by entering your tracking reference number.

You can also obtain your tracking reference via Seetickets' order tracker – www.seetickets.com/tracker. To access the order tracker you will require your email address and booking reference number.

If you are not at home when your tickets arrive, a card will be left giving you instructions on how to arrange re-delivery (including weekend delivery options) or pick them up from your local collection office.

INTERNATIONAL TICKETS will be sent out by registered international post. You can track your international ticket order via www.royalmail.com by entering your Track and Trace number which is available via Seetickets order tracker – www.seetickets.com/tracker. To access the order tracker you will require your email address and booking reference number.

Leftfield line-up announced

Tue, 18 May 2010 13:02:59 +0100

Following our announcement of the return of the Leftfield, Glastonbury's "pop and politics" tent, we're now very pleased to reveal the stage's line-up.

This is what the tent's curator, Billy Bragg, has to say about it: "Leftfield is back after a year's sabbatical and the timing couldn't be better. Come along and take part in our daily debates, stick around to see which songwriters I can pull together from around the site for Bill's Big Round-Up, enjoy some edgy comedy in our Get Up, Stand Up spot and to top it all off, spend the evening listening to blistering live performances from artists with an activist edge. It's all in the Leftfield. The fightback starts here!"

FRIDAY 25TH JUNE
Carl Barat
Reverend & The Makers
Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly
Comedy hour
Bill's Big Round-up
Debate: Global Solidarity
Debate: Climate Change and the Fight for Green Jobs

SATURDAY 26TH JUNE
Billy Bragg
Frank Turner
Thea Gilmore
Comedy hour
Bill's Big Round-up
Debate: This is a Banker’s Crisis
Debate: Beating the BNP

SUNDAY 27th JUNE
Paul Heaton
The King Blues
Lucky Soul
Comedy hour
Bill's Big Round-up
Debate: Another World Is Possible
Debate: Stop the Cuts - 6 Music/Asian network

We'll be publishing the set times of the Leftfield, and all stages, ahead of the Festival.

Site snaps: WaterAid walk and 6 Music at Worthy

Mon, 17 May 2010 14:06:24 +0100

Our latest batch of photographs from Jason Bryant features Millets' WaterAid charity walk yesterday, Michael Eavis on a 1955 Fordson Diesel Major tractor, dragons on the new boat, toilets being sprayed, Hank the bin painter and Reuben the strong man. Jason also captured BBC 6 Music's visit to the farm on Friday, where Lauren Laverne broadcast live with The Drums and ETC winners Ellen and the Escapades (click here to listen again to that).

Sunday's re-sale tickets sell out

Sun, 16 May 2010 16:04:34 +0100

UPDATE: Tickets for the re-sale sold out after just 15 minutes. Thanks to everyone who bought one and sorry to those who missed out. There are no further sales planned for this year's Festival.

As we told you last week, Friday 7th May was the deadline day for Festival goers to request refunds for their tickets. A small number did, which means we now have those tickets to re-sell. And to give you all a fair chance of getting hold of them, we've decided to have a final official ticket re-sale this Sunday (16th May) at 12noon.

You will already need to be registered in order to buy tickets. If you are, then head to www.seetickets.com/g2010 at 12noon on Sunday. Bookings will also be taken on the phone line 0844 412 4635 but we do expect them to go extremely quickly. You'll be able to buy parking tickets at the same time as your ticket.

Pyramid Stage openers announced

Tue, 11 May 2010 10:55:14 +0100

We're very pleased to announce that Rolf Harris will return to Glastonbury Festival next month, taking the opening slot on the Pyramid stage on Friday 25th June. The gig comes in the year Rolf celebrates his 80th birthday and will be his sixth Festival appearance.

A day later, the honour of opening the Pyramid bill goes to rising star in the hood, Tinchy Stryder, whose only previous Glastonbury appearance was at the Dance Village.

Sunday's opening act on the Pyramid will be the Yeovil Town Band, returning to Glastonbury for the first time since 2005.

Click here to check out the full line-up as it stands.

6 Music to broadcast from Worthy Farm on Friday

Mon, 10 May 2010 12:27:39 +0100

We're very pleased to report that Lauren Laverne is heading to Pilton this Friday (May 14th), to broadcast her BBC 6 Music show direct from Worthy Farm, with Emily and Michael Eavis both set to appear as guests and lots of other Glastonbury-related shenanigans planned.

The show will be on from 10am-1pm and you can listen online at www.bbc.co.uk/6music.

WaterAid harness the power of poo!

Sun, 09 May 2010 10:46:25 +0100

This year at Glastonbury, WaterAid's African-style pit latrines in Kings Meadow (aka the Stone Circle Field) will be replaced with composting loos provided by Natural Events.

Used in some of WaterAid's projects these ingenious loos transform human waste into safe, effective fertiliser which boost crop yield and, therefore, a poor community's income. For more info, watch the film above. You can also visit www.wateraid.org/glasto to find out more about what the charity will be doing at the Festival.

Fine dining at the Rocket Restaurant

Sat, 08 May 2010 09:09:08 +0100

In the run up to this year's Festival, we're hoping to shine a light on some of the Festival's best-kept secrets. We begin with the news that the Rocket Lounge and Restaurant is returning to this year's Festival after a break of five years. This legendary guerrilla restaurant, which has now found a home in Shangri-La, is renowned for its uber-high quality food and indulgent approach to hedonism.

It's by no means the cheapest food option at the Festival, but if you're looking to push the boat out, this could be the place to push it to!

The kitchen is run by Head Chef Chris Gillard, moonlighting from the Michelin-starred St Johns’ restaurant in London. The cocktails are by mixologists to the stars, the SoulShakers. The stage is by the infamous Gaz Mayall from Gazs’ Rockin Blues. And their menu is looking like this...

Rocket Lounge & Restaurant Menu 2010

Starters (£8)
- Salt Pollack, Slow Roast Vine Tomato & Little Gem Salad
- Baby Carrots, Radishes, Green Beans & Boiled Egg, dressed with Vinaigrette
- Soused Mackerel, Pink Fir Apple Potato & Baby Spinach
- Fresh Broad Beans, Berkswell Cheese & Rocket Salad
- Pork & Rabbit Terrine with Cornichons
- Potted Beef, Pickled Beetroot & Watercress
- Cornish Octopus Braised with Fino Sherry, Red Onion & Chickpeas

Mains (£18)
- Braised Wild Rabbit with Bacon Mustard & Crème Fraiche
- Griddled Ox Heart, Chard & Anchovy
- Vincigrassi, Truffled Spinach & Mushroom Lasagna
- Roast Hake, Saffron Courgettes & Butterbeans
- Roast Wood Pigeon & Puy Lentils
- Braised Lamb Shoulder, Carrots and Aioli
- Lamb Sweetbreads Sauté, with Peas, Bacon & fresh Mint
- Barrel Aged Fetta Cheese & Cous Cous Deluxe, with Roasted Spiced Vegetables
- Lobster with Cucumber, Samphire & Mayonnaise (£10 supplement)

Desserts (£8)
- 18th Century, Peach & Amontillado Sherry Trifle
- Chocolate & Armagnac Terrine with Fresh Cherries
- Raspberry Parfait
- Walnut Treacle Tart & Crème Fraiche

The restaurant is open from Wednesday to Saturday (as below). Booking is advised - to make a reservation please call them on 07971 138 503 or email. 10/5 UPDATE: We've now heard that the restaurant is FULLY BOOKED for the whole weekend (including the reserves list) - they've asked us to pass on their thanks to everyone for all the interest.

rocketloungeandrestaurant@rocketmail.com

Wednesday 6pm first sitting, 8.45 second sitting FULLY BOOKED
Thursday 6pm only sitting FULLY BOOKED
Friday 6pm first sitting, 8.45 second sitting FULLY BOOKED
Saturday 6pm only sitting FULLY BOOKED

Site snaps: "Unlikely to attract 'hippies'"

Fri, 07 May 2010 19:04:00 +0100

Here are Jason Bryant's latest photographs from Worthy Farm. The first one is taken from an old issue of the Shepton Mallet Journal. (Oh, and the one with all the tents is obviously showing what the scene above it looks like during the Festival!)

By the way, here's a nice interview with Emily from the Glastonbury People website, which they posted recently.

Refund deadline day is Friday

Wed, 05 May 2010 12:55:00 +0100

If you bought a ticket to this year's Glastonbury, but are no longer able to attend the Festival, then please be aware that this Friday (May 7th) is the refund/cancellation deadline day.

If you require a refund for your ticket, please contact Seetickets on 0844 412 4626, before 23:59 May 7th 2010. A £10 administration charge will be retained from all refunded tickets. Please note, tickets can not be transferred to another name, nor can they be sold on.

Should you be concerned that you will be unable to attend the Festival due to any unforeseen circumstances, you may wish to consider insuring your ticket - which, again, you can do until Friday at 23:59. Cancellation insurance is available to purchase for £4.25 per ticket from 0844 412 4626. For information and insurance claims, please contact 0870 950 1119.

The Village Screen would like your film

Tue, 04 May 2010 15:07:22 +0100

The Village Screen is back at Glastonbury for a second year and they’re looking for films to show on their giant screens.

Part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, the Village Screen will be broadcasting a programme of great short films and animations, interactive games, live feeds and highlights of the BBC’s coverage. It’ll be on air Wednesday to Sunday from 10.00am to 03.00am, 17 hours every day!

As part of the programme they’re looking for a mix of inspiring, funny, original and challenging films made by people attending this year’s Festival.

So, if you’ve made a film during the last year and you want to share it with the Festival audience bring a copy to us at the Village Screen. You’ll find them at the Meeting Point, next to the Information tent and opposite the Queen’s Head.

Films on any subject and in any genre will be considered but they particularly welcome:

- Films from recent graduates of film or media schools;
- Films that mark the 40th Anniversary of Glastonbury Festival, including archive footage from past festivals;
- Films that reflect the Olympic Values of Friendship, Courage, Determination, Excellence, Equality, Respect, Inspiration; and
- Films that reflect the five themes of sustainability: Biodiversity , Climate Change, Healthy Living, Inclusion, Waste.

They advise that because of the ambient noise on site, films with a strong visual narrative, as opposed to those reliant on dialogue to tell the story, work better on the Village Screens. They can’t guarantee to show everything (full guidelines are below) but they will try to show as many of your films as is possible every evening between 7.00 and 8.00pm (or in the “After Dark” slot if your film is better suited to an adult audience).

Terms & Conditions of the Open Call for Short Films

- Films should be submitted in DVD format to the Village Screen control tent (at the Meeting Point) together with a completed submissions/ permissions form (downloadable here) before 11.00am on Sunday 27th June (films submitted after this time cannot be considered for screening);
- The Village Screen project cannot take responsibility for films lost or damaged on site and recommends that “master copies” should not be brought to the festival under any circumstances;
- The Village Screen project cannot commit to returning DVDs to you after showing, if you want your film back please come and collect it from the Village Screen control tent;
- The Village Screen project cannot show films that overtly promote commercial branding within the body of the film and, under no account, can show the names, brands or logos of commercial sponsors in the title sequences of your films;
- Films with content considered by the Village Screen organisers to be offensive, pornographic, exploitative or otherwise inappropriate will not be shown.

FILM SUBMISSION FORM - PLEASE COPY INTO WORD (OR EQUIVALENT), PRINT AND BRING WITH YOU

CONTACT NAME

CONTACT ADDRESS

TELEPHONE NUMBER

EMAIL

FILM TITLE

PRODUCTION COMPANY/FILMMAKER/ARTIST

SALES DISTRIBUTOR (if any)

LENGTH

LIVE ACTION/ANIMATION

SYNOPSIS (max. 50 words)

Please read and sign the following declaration

I have the authority to submit the above film to be included in the Village Screen programme at the Glastonbury Festival (23-27 June 2010). I can confirm that all music used in the film has been cleared for use. I can confirm that the participants have signed appropriate clearance forms.

I would like this submission to be considered for the UK-wide Live Site programme* and give my permission for it to be shown if selected (please tick) â˜

I understand that the Village Screen project can take no responsibility for lost or damaged content and that “masters” should not be submitted under any circumstances. The Village Screen project cannot commit to returning DVDs but will try to ensure that fimmakers, whose work is accepted for screening, are informed.

*the BBC operated big screens in city and town centres across the UK

Signed: …………………………………………..............

Print name:………….………………………………………………

Date:…………………………..

Please bring a copy of this form, completed and signed, with your film to the Village Screen control tent at the Meeting Point before 11.00am on Sunday 27th June

Full Dance Village line-up announced!

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 11:19:54 +0100

Following the announcement of Glastonbury Festival's East and West Dance stages, the full Dance Village line-up is now available.

Kicking off the Festival on Thursday evening will be the brand new WOW! stage with a programme to lift the Dance Village to the cutting edge of electronic music. With a high quality bill of disco, future-garage, house, dubstep and beyond, the WOW! adds a bit of colour to Dance, with its giant pineapple DJ booth, flamingo sculptures and kitsch tropicalia.

Also new in 2010 is Cubehenge, an outdoor venue with a completely fresh style. DJs such as Will Saul, Norman Jay, Zero 7 and Ashley Beedle will perform to an audience surrounded by a construction of monumental cubes. At night the cubes will be lit from within, shifting and changing colour iridescently.

"In the Dance Village we've looked at what contemporary UK dance music means in 2010," says the Dance Village's Malcolm Haynes. "With an all-out urban programme in East Dance on Saturday and WOW! looking to the future of dance music with acts such as Joy Orbison, DaM FunK, Jamie Jones and Kode9, we'll be catering for the scene aficionados as well as the chart followers."

The Pussy Parlure returns with a barrage of fringe and leftfield acts, including Annie Nightingale's Thursday night opener celebrating her 40th year at the BBC as well as Glastonbury's own anniversary. Dance Village also welcomes the BBC Introducing stage for the first time (line-up to follow) and sees the return of Magic Bubbles with an eclectic programme of DJs and special guests.

Here is the full Dance line-up...

EAST DANCE

FRIDAY
Fatboy Slim
Chase and Status (Live)
Zane Lowe
Plan B (Live)
Rob da Bank
Example (Live)
Roger Sanchez
O. Children
Bunny Come (Live)

SATURDAY
N-Dubz (Live)
Chipmunk (Live)
Kelis (Live)
MistaJam
Tinie Tempah (Live)
Giggs (Live)
Chiddybang (Live)
McLean (Live)
Bashy (Live)
Donaeo (Live)
Roll Deep (Live)
TBA

SUNDAY
Above & Beyond
Crystal Castles (Live)
Filthy Dukes (DJ Set)
Professor Green (Live)
Yasmin
Naive New Beaters (Live)
Crystal Fighters (Live)
We Have Band (Live)
Primary 1

WEST DANCE

FRIDAY
Boys Noize
Simian Mobile Disco
Delphic (Live)
Fake Blood
Rusko
Chromeo (Live)
Aeroplane
Boy 8-Bit
Hannah Holland

SATURDAY
Dubfire
Nick Warren
Mix Hell (Live)
Sander Kleinenberg
Banco de Gaia (Live)
Riva Starr
Neville Staple (Live)
Dub Pistols (Live)
Parker
Foreign Beggars (Live)

SUNDAY
Magnetic Man (Live)
Jackbeats
Stanton Warriors (Live)
Adam F
Blasted Mechanism (Live)
Toddla T
Alex Metric (Live)
South Central
Jaguar Skills
A1 Bassline
Killaflaw (Live)
Virus Syndicate (Live)

WOW!

THURSDAY
Jaymo & Andy George (Live)
Hot Natured
Joy Orbison
Wax Tailor (Live)
Jamie xx
Boy George (Live)
Beardyman (Live)

FRIDAY
Futureboogie
Matt Tolfrey & Geddes
Jamie Jones
Crazy P (Live)
Horsemeat Disco
Nneka (Live)
Back to Basics
Adam Shelton & Subb-An
PBR Streetgang
El Diablos Social Club
Christophe

SATURDAY
Craig Charles Presents the Fantasy Funk Band
Craze
High Contrast
Redlight & MC Dread
L-VIS 1990
Breakage
Central Spillz (Live)
Hot D'Jour (Live)
Emalkay
Jakwob
Shortstuff
The Heatwave
Dub Boy ft Redskin

SUNDAY
The Ratpack
Snap! (Live)
Tayo
Four Tet (Live)
Hyperdub with Kode9, Ikonika, Terror Danjah & Dark Star
Hudson Mohawke (Live)
DaM FunK (Live)
Roska
Untold
Wedge
Funkineven
Falling Up

CUBEHENGE

FRIDAY
The Orb (Live)
Zero 7 DJ Set
Will Saul
Spooky
Iain Taylor (rEJEKTS)
Pete Gooding
Mamy Rock
The Magnet

SATURDAY
Kissy Sell Out
A Skillz
Bimbo Jones
Pathaan
Paul Lyman
Baobinga
Adam Regan

SUNDAY
Norman Jay Good Times ‘Carnival King’
Ashley Beedle
Craig Charles Funk & Soul DJ Set
Kormac
The Bee Keepers
Ray Mighty
RSD (Live)
Flora
2 Kings

PUSSY PARLURE

THURSDAY
Annie Nightingale’s Opening Party (Celebrating 40 years at Radio 1)
Dave Seaman
Far Too Loud
Nero
Elite Force
DC Breaks
A1 Bassline
Drumsound & Bassline Smith (Live)
Professor Green (Live)
Doorly
Lewah

FRIDAY
DJ Zorro
Jose Luis & Dancers
Julian, Mr M & Miguel Salsa Magic (Dance animation & audience participation)
Robin Del Castillo & his Latin Band (Live)
La bomba - Latin Explosion:
Eclectic Ballroom
Andreya Triana (Live)
Bourbon Warfare
Incredibly Strange Film Band (Live)
Take It 2 The Bridge
Secret Cinema Band (Live)
Feeling Gloomy
Sound Of Rum (Live)
Lovely Morning with Randy & Earls Old Record Club

SATURDAY
Swaparama (Live)
Jalapeno Sound System
Rock Idol (Live Karaoke)
Smoove & Turrell (Live)
Dr Rubberfunk
Taylor McFerrin (Live)
Western Soul
Reverend Sound System (Live)
TBA
Randy & Earls Old Record Club

SUNDAY
Movits and dancers
Kormac with Full Swing Band (Live)
Twilight Players (Live)
The Correspondents (Live)
Dynamo Rhythm Aces (Live)
Movits and Dancers (Live)
Nick Love
Fat 45's (Live)
Lord Fine Ear and Performers
TBA
Broken Hearts
Top Shelf Jazz (Live)
Trio Manouche (Live)
TBA
Randy & Earls Old Record Club

Site snaps: sunny days and stripy fields

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:50:36 +0100

Here are Jason Bryant's latest pictures from Worthy Farm, including more of the new ship being built in the Green Kids field, and a picture of the tapestry depicting when Joseph and Jesus are said to have visited Pilton long, long ago (as displayed in Pilton's village church).

Look out for more of Jason's pictures soon...

Artist links added to line-up page

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:47:06 +0100

Hi folks. We thought you might like to know that we've now added links to the websites of (almost) all of the acts on the line-up page for this year's Festival. Click here to check it out - and to see the very latest line-up as it stands.

The Dead Weather to play the Pyramid Stage

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 10:00:23 +0100

We're very pleased to announce that The Dead Weather will appear on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday 26th June.

Says Emily Eavis: "We're always honoured to have Jack White at the Festival and he's given us some amazing sets over the years with The White Stripes and The Raconteurs. The Dead Weather played a surprise set in The Park last year which blew everyone away, so we can't wait to see them back on the Pyramid Stage this year!"

Design the Festival's official T-shirt

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:26:28 +0100

This year's contest to design the official Festival T-shirt is now open. And, as it's the 40th Anniversary Festival, it's a big one!

The competition will be judged by Michael Eavis. The winner will not only have the pleasure of seeing their design stamped across the chests of thousands, but will also receive two tickets to this year's Festival and a cheque for £1,000.

The competition deadline has been extended to May 8th, to allow for postal disruption due to volcanic ash. Send your entries as hard copy to Glastonbury T-shirt Competition, Q, Mappin House, 4 Winsley Street, London W1W 8HF.

The winner will be contacted by phone or email (so include your details) and their winning design published in the Q Glastonbury Daily newspaper. The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Head over to www.Qthemusic.com for full Terms & Conditions. The 2009 winner is pictured above.

Your Great Big Green Ideas wanted

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 10:34:00 +0100

Last year’s Great Big Green Ideas - organised by our friends at A Greener Festival - attracted a huge number of ideas to make festivals greener. So they've decided to run it again, with two goodie bags up for grabs - each stuffed full with exclusive festival crew T-shirts, CDs, DVDs and other festival memorabilia.

In 2009, travel was the top topic - with many sugesstions on how to improve public transport access - with rubbish and discarded waste not far behind. Several people also pointed out that lots of energy is being produced at festivals and suggested using the heat or kinetic energy created – “How about a Glasto gym where the pedal power created on exercise bikes is used to create electricity?”.

So, now they need your GREAT BIG GREEN IDEAS for 2010. How do you think festivals can get greener? If you have an idea then please submit this (in less than 200 words) to agreenerfestival@aol.com by midnight on Saturday May 15th 2010 - in the English language please.

You can submit more than one idea but please make sure you do include your name and put the words 'Great Big Green Idea' in the subject box. The judges' decision will be final and the winner and one runner up will win goodie bags.

The best ideas will be published on this site in June and the ideas will also be circulated to all of the festivals participating in the Greener Festival Awards scheme 2010.

For more on being green at Glastonbury, head to our green pages.

Extra camping space / last few campervan tickets

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:32:52 +0100

Picture by Tim Patrick-Smith (NB: we don't allow motorbikes in the campsites any more..!)

We're pleased to confirm that there will be a substantial new area of extra camping space at this year's Festival, even though the capacity of the Festival will be the same as last year. The extra space is close to the west car parks, just over the concrete road and a very short walk to the main site and entertainment areas. If you check out this year's Fine Guide map, it's around the Bushy Ground area.

There will also be a new Family Camping area, on the north-west of the site at Wicket Ground - again, you can see that on the Fine Guide map.

In other accommodation news, we can also reveal that a small number of extra campervan/caravan tickets have been released, costing £75. To book one, call Seetickets on 0844 412 4635 (if the operator tells you that they've sold out, please ask them to check the system, as more have been added). For more info on campervan and caravans, please click here.

Two Glastonbury-related exhibitions

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 18:30:00 +0100

We wanted to let you know about a couple of Glastonbury Festival-related photography exhibitions which have recently opened in London. Neither is officially affiliated to the Festival, but both sound worth a look.

Glastonbury Photographs by Venetia Dearden
National Portrait Gallery, London
19 April - 26 September 2010
Free entry
Venetia Dearden's book Another Stage (2010) celebrates the fortieth anniversary of the Glastonbury festival, and her fifth consecutive year of shooting in a studio on site. On display will be photographs ranging from Shirley Bassey to Lily Allen, Pete Townshend and Leonard Cohen, to Festival goers of all ages. Dearden grew up next to the festival site and has been involved with Glastonbury since a young age. More info

Glastonbury: 40 Years
by Liam Bailey
theprintspace gallery, 74 Kingsland Road, London
16 April - 4th May 2010
Free entry
Liam Bailey has been a regular at Glastonbury since the early 1990s. Starting out in the mosh pits, taking pictures of bands, he then became increasingly interested in the more spontaneous side of the Festival, in the spaces beyond the drama of the stages. Documenting the day-to-day life of a makeshift city, Bailey's images show a world in which intense experiences are played out. More info

Don't forget, we also have our own virtual Glastonbury photography gallery, right here on the official site - click to check it out.

Shakira added to 2010 line-up

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 08:34:52 +0100

We're delighted to announce that Colombian pop superstar Shakira has been added to the line-up for this year's Festival. She will appear on the Pyramid Stage on the Saturday of the Festival (June 26th).

Says Emily Eavis: "Shakira is not only an amazing pop star but also socially and politically forward thinking; she's working incredibly hard for good causes around the world. We feel honoured to have the she wolf herself come to Worthy Farm!"

Says Shakira: "I'm really looking forward to playing Glastonbury this year and being a part of their 40th anniversary. Glastonbury is famous for being one of the best festival crowds, so I'm sure I'll have a great time."

For more information on Shakira, head to shakira.com. Or, to read about the work of her charity - which runs schools for underpriviledged children in Colombia - go to barefootfoundation.com.

The 2010 line-up is revealed!

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 20:25:40 +0100

UPDATE: For the most up to date line-up please click here.

Yes, we can finally reveal the line-up for Glastonbury Festival 2010. "This is it!" says Michael Eavis. "The most staggering line up to match the 40-year reputation of the Festival."

FRIDAY 25TH

SATURDAY 26TH

SUNDAY 27TH

Pyramid Stage:
U2
Dizzee Rascal
Vampire Weekend
Snoop Dogg
Willie Nelson
Corinne Bailey-Rae
Femi Kuti
TBA

Other Stage:
The Flaming Lips
Hot Chip
Florence and The Machine
La Roux
Phoenix
The Courteeners
TBA
The Stranglers
The Magic Numbers

John Peel Stage:
Groove Armada
The Black Keys
Mumford & Sons
Ellie Goulding
Kele
Bombay Bicycle Club
Tegan and Sara
TBA
De Staat
Detroit Social Club

West Holts
Mos Def (with full live band)
Femi Kuti
Nouvelle Vague & Guests
Breakestra with Chali 2na
Bonobo
Mariachi El Bronx
tUnE-yArDs
Matthew Herbert Big Band

Acoustic Stage:
Bootleg Beatles
Alan Price Set
McIntosh Ross
Turin Brakes
Brian Kennedy
Danny & The Champs
Megan Henwood
Cory Chisel
Julie Feeney

The Park Stage
The xx
Broken Bells
Special Guests
The Big Pink
Local Natives
Steve Mason
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
Beth Jeans Houghton
Lissie
TBA
TBA

East Dance
DJ Fatboy Slim
Live Chase and Status
DJ Zane Lowe
Live Plan B
DJ Rob da Bank
Live Example
DJ Roger Sanchez
DJ TBA
DJ TBA

West Dance
DJ Boyz Noise
DJ Simian Mobile Disco
Live Delphic
DJ Fake Blood
DJ Rusko
Live Chromeo
DJ Aeroplane
DJ Boy 8-Bit
DJ Hannah Holland

Avalon Stage:
New Model Army
Transglobal Underground
Newton Faulkner
The Woodentops
Lou Rhodes
Goldheart Assembly
Gabby Young & Other Animals
Hobo Jones & The Junkyard Dogs

Croissant Neuf
TBA
6ixtoys
Steve Knightley
Julien Tulk Band
Undercover Hippy Band
Seth Lakeman
Biggles Wartime Band

The Queen's Head
Good Shoes
The Bees
Magic Numbers
The Mystery Jets
Fanfarlo
Detroit Social Club
Tubelord
Tiffany Page
Frank Turner
Fiction Plane

Poetry & Words
Penny Ashton
Baba Brinkman
Sabrina Mahfouz
Tony Walsh
Aisle 16
Kat Francois
Ventriloquist
Paula Varjack
Andreattah Chuma
Jonny Fluffypunk
Kate Tempest
Pete the Temp
Poeticat
Helen Gregory and Pete Hunter

Pyramid Stage:
Muse
Scissor Sisters
TBA
TBA
Seasick Steve
Jackson Browne
The Lightning Seeds
TBA

Other Stage:
Pet Shop Boys
Editors
The Cribs
The National
Kate Nash
Imogen Heap
Coheed and Cambria
Reef
Two Door Cinema Club

John Peel Stage:
Jamie T
The xx
Foals
Marina & The Diamonds
Delphic
Wild Beasts
Field Music
Cymbals Eat Guitars
Sophie Hunger
Let's Buy Happiness

West Holts
George Clinton with Parliament / Funkadelic
Jerry Dammers Spatial AKA Orchestra
Os Mutantes
Devendra Banhart
Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba
Phenomenal Handclap Band
Brother Ali
Troy Ellis & The Longshots

Acoustic Stage:
Christy Moore
Nick Lowe
Imelda May
Al Stewart
Michael Eavis In Conversation
Gandalf Murphy & The Slambovian Circus
The Leisure Society
Ellen & The Escapades
John Allen & Band

The Park Stage:
Midlake
Laura Marling
TBA
Special Guests
Stornoway
Beach House
Strange Boys
Frankie & The Heart Strings
The Ballad of Britain
Peggy Sue
TBA

East Dance:
Live N-Dubz
Live Chipmunk
Live Kelis
DJ DJ MistaJam
Live Tinie Tempah
Live Giggs
DJ Yasmin
Live Chiddybang
Live McClean
Live Bashy
Live Donaeo
Live Roll Deep
DJ TBA

West Dance:
Live Dubfire
DJ Nick Warren
Live Mix Hell
DJ Sander Kleinenberg
Live Banco de Gaia
DJ Riva Starr
Live Neville Staple
Live Dub Pistols
DJ TBA
Live Foreign Beggars

Avalon Stage:
The Lightning Seeds
Alabama 3 acoustic
Charlie Winston
Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
The Unthanks
The Avett Brothers
The Wurzels
Nick Harper
Tom Williams & The Boat

Croissant Neuf
The Beat
MrB. The Gentleman Rhymer
Hot Feat
The Kevin Brown Trio
The Vagaband
TBA
Dizraeli & The Small Gods
TBA

The Queen's Head
Earl Brutus
TBA
Phenomenal Handclap Band
Band Of Skulls
Holy F***
Blood Red Shoes
Here We Go Magic
Cate Le Bon
Lissie

Poetry & Words
John Hegley
Paula Varjack
Andreattah Chuma
Attila the Stockbroker
Hollie McNish
Luke Wright
Kate Tempest
Murray Lachlan Young
Sabrina Mahfouz
Bohdan Piasecki
Open mic. (hosted by Julian Ramsey-Wade)
Ventriloquist
Jonny Fluffypunk

Pyramid Stage:
Stevie Wonder
Faithless
Jack Johnson
Ray Davies
Slash
Norah Jones
Paloma Faith
TBA

Other Stage:
Orbital
lcd soundsystem
MGMT
We Are Scientists
Grizzly Bear
Temper Trap
The Hold Steady
Frightened Rabbit
TBA

John Peel Stage:
Ash
Julian Casablancas
Broken Social Scene
Gang of Four
The Drums
Holy F***
These New Puritans
Everything Everything
Black Cherry
Dan Mangan

West Holts
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Toots & the Maytals
Quantic & his Combo Barbaro
Staff Benda Bilili
Dr John
Tunng
The Bees
Dizraeli and the Small Gods

Acoustic Stage:
Jackson Browne with David Lindley
Richard Thompson
Loudon Wainwright III
Blues Band
London Community Gospel Choir
Joel Rafael
Robinson
Fisherman's Friend
Mayhew

The Park Stage:
Empire Of The Sun
Dirty Projectors
TBA
Archie Bronson Outfit
Beak
Portico Quartet
Fionn Regan
TBA
Here We Go Magic
Travelling Band

East Dance:
DJ Above & Beyond
Live Crystal Castles
DJ Filthy Dukes (DJ Set)
Live Professor Green
Live Reverend Sound System
Live Crystal Fighters

West Dance:
Live Magnetic Man
DJ Jackbeats
Live Stanton Warriors
DJ Adam F
Live Blasted Mechanism
DJ Toddla T
Live Alex Metric Live
DJ South Central
Live Jaguar Skills
DJ A1 Bassline
Live Killaflaw
DJ Virus Syndicate

Avalon Stage:
Gomez
The Saw Doctors
Imelda May
Judy Collins
SPECIAL GUESTS
Teddy Thompson
Adrian Edmondson & The Bad Shepherds
Kirsty Almeida
Ellen & The Escapades

Criossant Neuf
The Baghdaddies
Zen Elephants
Prof Nohair & the Wig Lifters
Corinne Bailey-Rae
TBA
The People's String Foundation

The Queen's Head
Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip
TBA
TBA
Chief
I Am Kloot
Field Music
Goldhawks
The Middle East
Mountain Man

Poetry & Words
Glastonbury Festival Poetry Slam (hosted by Kat Francois)
Helen Gregory and Benita Johnson
Pete Hunter
Pete the Temp
Jean Binta Breeze
Poeticat
Luke Wright
Jo Bell (Website Poet in Residence)
Bohdan Piasecki
Julian Ramsey-Wade
Penny Ashton
Baba Brinkman
Comperes – Dreadlcokalien and Abbey Oliveira

Acts playing the Theatre and Circus fields over the weekend include:
Marcus Brigstocke, BlackSkyWhite Theatre from Russia, Arthur Smith, Three Bonzos and a Piano, The Beat, Space Cowboy from Australia, Jeremy Hardy, Four Poofs and a Piano, Rufus Hound,
Atempo Circus Theatre from Spain, John Hegley, Funny Frank Olivier from America, Andre Vincent, The Stephen Frost Impro All-Stars, Robin Ince, Circo Para Todos from Columbia, Haggis and Charlie. And much, much more

Thursday night's Queen's Head line-up is as follows:

The King Blues
TBA
Chapel Club
Local Natives
Egyptian Hip Hop
Two Door Cinema Club
Howls
My Luminaries

We'll be announcing the smaller stages over the coming days and weeks.

Hope you're as excited as we are.

Join Greenpeace's Airplot campaign

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 11:32:11 +0100

Visitors to the Greenpeace Field last year might remember their miniature Sipson village feature, highlighting the popular campaign by Greenpeace and other organisations against the proposed third runway at Heathrow.

Over 7,000 Festival-goers signed-up as beneficial owners of Airplot - the piece of land in the middle of the proposed third runway site at Heathrow Airport which has been bought by Greenpeace. This plot of land is now shared by over 77,500 people who stand against the proposed expansion of the airport.

In March this year, the High Court dealt a massive blow to the Government's proposed plans for expansion at Heathrow, instructing the Government to re-consult on the project as part of an overhaul of its wider aviation policy.

The Greenpeace campaign is on the verge of success, but they still need your help to keep up the pressure until they get an outright win. Greenpeace won't rest until the Government, old or new, has scrapped the expansion plans categorically and permanently.

Please help Greenpeace and Join the Plot. They want to reach their target of 100,000 beneficial owners by May 1st, when they'll close the deeds on the land. They will then present the deeds to the government and persuade them that they must overturn the plans. You too can become an landowner.

Join the Plot now by signing up at www.airplot.org.uk.

Ticket re-sale today - now sold out

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 15:48:59 +0100

11:07am UPDATE: Tickets have now completely sold out (inc coach packages). Thanks to everyone who bought them and apologies to those of you who missed out.

10.32am UPDATE: Confirmation emails are going out now, but please allow 24 hours - and check your spam folder. And you can still buy coach/ticket packages from www.seetickets.com/g2010

10.07am UPDATE: Standard tickets now sold out, BUT tickets + coach still available. If you didn't get a car park ticket, but need one, these can be bought at a later date.

9.57am UPDATE: There are still tickets available, both individually and with coach tickets http://www.seetickets.com/g2010

9.30am UPDATE: We're experiencing huge demand to both this site and Seetickets' site, but there ARE currently still tickets available.

The re-sale of cancelled tickets for this year's Festival will take place today (Sun April 11th) at 9am.

Buy online: www.seetickets.com/g2010
Buy via Seetickets booking line: 0844 412 4635.

The numbers are limited and we expect them to sell out quite quickly.

In order to purchase tickets in the re-sale, you must be registered. The registration look-up page has now been disabled (to ease pressure on Seetickets' website). Everyone eligible to purchase tickets has been sent an email which includes a reminder of their registration number and postcode. If you're not sure what details you have registered with us, please refer to that email.

For more information about ticket sales and registration, please visit our ticket information page.

As well as standard Festival tickets (costing £185), there will be a limited number of Combined Coach and Festival Tickets on sale. These tickets include either single or return coach tickets from a range of locations around the UK.

We really want to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions produced by Glastonbury 2010. A major way we can achieve this is by helping audience members to travel together, as audience transport actually contributes to two thirds of the Festival's total emissions. Traveling by coach reduces the number of cars on the road which means less traffic queuing to enter the site and less CO2 emissions from cars in slow traffic approaching the site.

A coach traveling to the Festival at full capacity is the most carbon efficient way to arrive:
A festival goer travels an average return journey of 273 miles so the CO2 emissions:
On a coach, one person = 6.02kg of CO2
On a train, one person = 28.40kg of CO2
In a car or campervan, one person = 37.77kg of CO2
If you do come by car, please try to make sure it is full of passengers to help reduce cars on the road and emissions.

As well as it being the greenest way to travel to Glastonbury it is also the most convenient because the coach drops you right by the main gate.

Combined Coach and Festival Ticket prices are listed below:

BRISTOL: Single (£207.50), Return (£221.50)

LONDON: Single (£216.50), Return (£239.00)

MANCHESTER: Single (£221.50), Return (£248.50)

LEEDS: Single (£223.50), Return (£253.00)

NOTTINGHAM: Single (£219.50), Return (£245.00)

TAUNTON: Single (£206.5), Return (£218.50)

WINCHESTER: Single (£215.50), Return (£236.50)

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Please note:

· For all Combined Coach and Festival Tickets, it is mandatory that you travel on the coach.

· Only the Coach travel portion of combined tickets will be sent out in advance.

· Your Festival tickets will be handed out to the lead booker only by the coach driver at a point during the journey.

· All coaches are for travel to the Festival site on WEDNESDAY 23RD JUNE with returns on Monday 28th June.

Coach Timetable

Site snaps: building bridges and boats

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 10:19:58 +0100

Yes, our popular Site Snaps feature from 2009 is back, with pictures from the farm taken by ace snapper Jason Bryant. These first few show the new ship being built in the Green Kids field. It will be named The Cadmus and is being built by Cornish boat builders.

This next picture shows one of six replacement bridges currently being built on the site (this one is near the Dance area). Pictured at the front is infrastructure manager Phil Miller.

West Holts stage and line-up announced!

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 08:54:57 +0100

We're very pleased to announce a major new stage at this year's Festival. The West Holts stage will replace the Jazz World stage (and occupy the same location). The stage will be headlined by Mos Def, George Clinton with Parliament / Funkadelic (pictured) and Rodrigo y Gabriela.

"We're going back to the real roots of Worthy Farm and its history with the name change for the stage," says Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis. "West Holts was a 'halt' originally; one of the two places where we had to open the level crossing gates across the old railway line to get the cattle through for milking. It was a fair walk up to the farm, just as it is now, and those cows took some driving!"

West Holts will feature the best groove-based music from around the world, as living legends share the bill with cutting-edge newcomers. Asked to sum up the sound of Glastonbury's newest stage the answer was: "Global future roots music."

Here is the full line:

FRIDAY JUNE 25TH
- Mos Def (with full live band)
- Femi Kuti
- TBC
- Breakestra with Chali 2na
- Mariachi El Bronx
- Tune-Yards
- Matthew Herbert Big Band

SATURDAY JUNE 26TH
- George Clinton with Parliament / Funkadelic
- Jerry Dammers Spacial AKA Orchestra
- Os Mutantes
- Devendra Banhart
- Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba
- Phenomenal Handclap Band
- Brother Ali
- Troy Ellis & the Longshots

SUNDAY JUNE 27TH
- Rodrigo y Gabriela
- Toots & the Maytals
- Quantic & His Combo Barbaro
- Staff Benda Bilili
- Dr John
- Tunng
- The Bees
- Dizraeli and the Small Gods (chosen from the Emerging Talent Competition finalists)

Click here for more info on the line-up.

Millets walk for WaterAid 2010

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 14:52:46 +0100

On Sunday 16th May 2010, outdoors retailer (and Glastonbury sponsor) Millets, is supporting one of the Festival's charities, WaterAid, with its second annual Millets Walk for WaterAid – a 13-mile sponsored walk, starting and finishing at Worthy Farm, the home of the Festival.

From Worthy Farm, the walk starts out through Croscombe, stopping in Wells for lunch (bring your own, or buy it there), and heading back to the farm through North Wooton. Participants of the walk will also be helping to carry around 125 litres of water over the 13 miles to the finish line, to highlight what some people have to go through just to reach water on a daily basis.

Millets hope to raise as much as possible through the walk to support WaterAid’s life-saving projects providing safe water, sanitation and hygiene education to some of the world’s poorest people throughout Africa, Asia and the Pacific Region.

â€¨WaterAid’s Cara Keane says: “We are delighted Millets have chosen to support WaterAid again this year with the Millets Walk for WaterAid. The event promises to be a great day out, while helping those living without access to clean water.

“We can choose to do a beautiful walk like this one, purely for enjoyment’s sake, but for the 884 million people without access to safe water, there is no choice. Sometimes women and children have to walk daily for miles, just to fetch water which often brings disease to the family. Please join us by putting on your walking boots and help others less fortunate to take the first steps out of poverty.”

You can register to take part in the walk now at www.millets.co.uk/wateraid. Participation is free, but WaterAid very much encourage you to get sponsorship for the event!

National Express coaches booking now

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 16:23:59 +0100

National Express, the UK's number one coach company, is proud to be an Official Coach Partner to Glastonbury. With more than 30 years experience taking hundreds of thousands of people to festivals and events, travelling with National Express will make sure you arrive at Glastonbury ready to enjoy your weekend.

Dedicated coach services will take you direct to Glastonbury from many destinations across the UK. There's plenty of space in the luggage hold for your supplies and the National Express coach park will get you closer to the campsite than any other form of transport!

We all care about the environment and your coach journey will generate at least TEN TIMES less CO2 emissions than a person driving in a car alone to the festival.

Book now at www.nationalexpress.com/glastonbury.

Abbey Extravaganza line-up announced

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 09:25:37 +0100

It would be difficult to top the success of the 2009 Extravaganza. The sell-out Status Quo concert and the return of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra provided two memorable evenings in the ancient parkland Abbey grounds.

But Michael Eavis has pulled off another masterstroke – 2010 has Madness at the Abbey!

The legendary British ska pioneers, Madness, with frontman Suggs, will have the Abbey jumping on Saturday 7th August. Opening the show that night will be 70’s legend Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel most famous for the iconic chart topper “Make me Smile (Come up and see me)” - one of the most played records in British broadcasting. In recent times, the band have played Glastonbury Festival three times, the Isle of Wight festival and many of Europe's major rock festivals.

On Sunday 8th August, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra create a breathtaking family concert with a performance of popular classics full of well know pieces, and culminating with a chance to wave flags to “Land of Hope and Glory”. Innovative violinist Nicola Benedetti makes her third appearance in just six years after her stunning victory as BBC Young Musician of the Year. We also welcome back guest soloists tenor Andrew Rees and soprano Jo Appleby, and as always the excellent production includes screens by the stage, beautiful water fountains, lights and fireworks.

The Sunday concert will open with string quartet Raven – the resident quartet for the BBC2 series, Maestro. Raven have performed and recorded with artists such as Gorillaz, Jools Holland, Leona Lewis and Gwen Stefani.

Bring your picnic and party!

Advance tickets costs £30 (adult) and £15 (child aged 6-16). Children aged 5 and under are free. To buy tickets or find out more about the event, please click here

Ellen And The Escapades named ETC winners!

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 08:56:44 +0100

We're very pleased to announce that the winners of this year's Emerging Talent Competition are Leeds band Ellen And The Escapades, who wowed the judges on Saturday night with their beguiling alt-folk. The band win a main stage slot at this year's Festival.

Said the band: "When we got the call telling us we'd won, the reaction was shock first, then tears, manic laughter and whoops of joy! Massive thanks to everyone there: we loved the whole Pilton experience and winning is the sweetest icing on an already awesome cake!"

Said the judges: "The standard of the acts was fantastic over the whole weekend, but in the end it was a unanimous decision. Ellen And The Escapades gave a wonderful performace, driven by great songwriting and Ellen's stunning voice. We're really looking forward to seeing them down here at the Festival in June."

To check out some of Ellen And The Escapades' songs, check out their MySpace.

It's also expected that several of the other finalists will be offered slots at the Festival by the various stage bookers who attended the finals. Keep an eye on the website for more news on that.

Finally, a big thanks to the 4,000-plus people who tuned in to the live webcast over the weekend. We were really pleased with how it went, and hope to return bigger and better next year.

ETC finals: day two in pictures

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 09:36:19 +0100

Here are some of Jason Bryant's pictures from the second night of the Emerging Talent Competition finals. Big thanks to Jason for the photos.

Tom Williams and the Boat

Tiger Shadow

Mayhew

Secret Cinema

Let's Buy Happiness

Montage Populaire

ETC finals: day one in pictures

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 18:42:05 +0100

Here are some of Jason Bryant's pictures from the first night of the Emerging Talent Competition finals. Big thanks to Jason for the pics, and to the 2,000-plus folks who tuned in to watch it live online. We're broadcasting live again tonight from 7.30pm, here.

Phantom Light

Faded Cadence

Ellen & The Escapades

Dizraeli and the Small Gods

Bunny Come

Family Machine

My Luminaries

From the back

From the front!

Emerging Talent Competition LIVE webcast

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 13:58:01 +0100

For the very first time, we're webcasting this weekend's Emerging Talent Competition live right here on the official website, from 7.30pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Sunday's running order: Tom Williams and the Boat, Tiger Shadow, Mayhew, Secret Cinema, Let's Buy Happiness, Montage Populaire. Click here to read more about the finalists.

Live video chat by Ustream

The judges are Michael Eavis, Emily Eavis, Phillippa Aylott, Steve Symons, Angus Baskerville, Paul Charles, Nick Dewey and Malcolm Haynes

Saturday's running order: Phantom Light, Faded Cadence, Ellen & The Escapades, Bunny Come, Family Machine and My Luminaries.

Create a Shangri-La Shack, win tickets

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 09:03:47 +0000

NB: DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND, THE DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO APRIL 5TH

Shangri-La is one of the key night-time areas of Glastonbury Festival - where folks head to after the music stages shut down. Last year, they created a film-set and developed a storyline for the field, with a main stage, a central gathering area and a maze of alleys with many tiny nano-venues with much strangeness inside.

The Shacks ara a new project for Shangri-La 2010. And the Shangri-La team need your help. They want you to design and build your own palace from pallets.

You have until ~~March 31st~~ April 5th to submit your proposal to glastonbury.shangrila@googlemail.com. The best submissions will then be selected and their creators will be invited to build their Shack at the Festival.
Each Shack-builder that is selected will receive 2 tickets to the Festival, backstage access and camping, and their very own pitch at Glastonbury Festival in which to express their creativity.

The Shacks will form the frontage to the alleys and will be a key part of the overall look of the field. The Shack may be a dwelling - your home throughout the Festival in which to welcome guests, or it may simply be a space for other people to enjoy, or something for them to look at that adds character to the overall field.

The guideline for a Shack's footprint is between 2.5-5m square, but we will consider other sizes up to 7m. They’re looking for poetic eccentricity, colour and character, experimentalism and cheekiness. Be creative – and you must be resourceful!

There is a more serious aspect to the project – this is about a fight for survival when resources become scarce and resourcefulness becomes the name of the game. They welcome references to real-life situations and fears of the global future but not in a preachy or obvious way. They actually do want you to think about survival when resources become scarce. How are your children going to survive when there is no oil, water....? However, it shouldn’t be limited to this – they’re also looking for a cheeky factor as well.

The Shangri-La field was formerly the Travellers field and is still very much aligned with and part of Traveller Culture and the personal liberation achieved by inhabiting portable or temporary structures.

Storyline

The Shangri-La of yesteryear (2009) was a dystopian vision of a citadel ruled by a corrupt regime in its dying days which was dedicated to enforcing its vision of perfect utopia, but all the while trapped in an unwinnable battle with the rebels of the alleyways. At the end of the year 2009, the rebels overthrew the regime, and the city was opened up for pleasure-givers from all corners of the known universe to flood in and carve out their own Utopia.

Those with resources have taken over vast areas in flashy style, whilst others create tiny palaces from pallets and waste, but when resources become dangerously short everyone’s attention must shift from pleasure to survival.

Look

Retro-futuristic, the look is inspired in part by fantasy dystopias such as Bladerunner, District 9 and Star Wars. It is under-set by the realism of current times and current fears but as much as possible it is also to a very fantastical environment, twisted and humorous, the sublime nestled next to the squalid.

Visually, there are two very different aspects in each the HUB and the Alleys. The look of the HUB is ultra-modern and digital-futuristic, with neon and projections as well as a piece of street art that evolves over the course of the Festival. The Alleys are the opposite - an overpopulated shanty-town nestled next-door cobbled together from waste and riddled with filth of all kinds.

Logistics:

See detailed guidelines and for any further queries about submissions please contact Cathy:
glastonbury.shangrila@googlemail.com

- Leave no trace – you will need to take away everything you bring or make arrangements for disposal with us.
- They will be able to help with transport from certain locations.
- Your Shack needs to pass H&S – fire retardant, structurally safe etc. We can assist with this and have detailed guidelines for it. If needed we can provide a scaffold frame for the structure
- No sound systems. At all. Not one. Really.

Design:

See the inspirations below to get an idea of what they're looking for - think ramshackle, Bauhaus, favelas, used/found materials - give it colour and character and life!

Slumland frontage

Use of found materials – squares of billboard signs.

Cardboard, gels and tape!

Coloured clothing walls – like it!

Create your own Shack

Please could you let the Shangri-La team know a bit more about your plans so they know what to expect and can help if necessary. Email your designs to glastonbury.shangrila@googlemail.com, along with your answers to these questions

1. What is your build schedule? i.e. when will you arrive on site and how many days will it take you to erect it.

2. What kinds of materials do you plan to use?

3. How do plan to transport your materials?

4. Will you need us to provide you with a scaff frame structure?

5. What size is the footprint of your design?

6. Do you plan to incorporate lighting into your design, if so, how?

7. Do you plan to make your Shack weather-proof ?

8. Do you plan to live-in your Shack, open it for the public to use or just exhibit it?

9. Please also send us any other info you think might support your entry. Ie. Examples of past work etc.

Shack Health and Safety guidelines

You need to make sure that your Shack is safe for yourselves and our crew to work in and for the public to explore.

If required Shangri-La can provide you with......

- A simple framed scaffolding structure should you need it: A framed cube with diagonal roof bracing support...
- 1# 16a single phase outdoor power feed
- They may be able to supply a splitter to a 13a domestic 4 way IF there is a waterproof area for it to be mounted / positioned.

Structural Build

- All structures must be erected using good quality material.
- All wood should be inherently flame retardant or over 18mm wide timber
- Old foam based furniture must have a ‘flame retardant’ label... some foam furniture is highly toxic and cannot be used at public events.
- All other soft furnishings including and furniture, drapes, cushions etc should be sprayed with flame retardant spray. Not all shop-bought decorations will be fire proof so please check this. Please let Shangri-La know if you will need extra flambar (the spray) before the event.
- All nails, joins etc must be finished in a tidy way with no protruding items which could cause a H & S risk to the general public.
- All Shacks must be structurally safe. They will be inspected for this on site.
- All Shacks should be one story only unless previously agreed with the organisers
- All Shacks must leave adequate fire lanes at the back of their structure and not block this fire lane at any point during the build or during the Festival itself.
- All fixings and decor must be firmly attached to the structure
- All signage and anything that protrudes from the front of the Shack must be of head height or over
- The Shack and any decorations will be exposed to the weather and they should still be safe and lookg good should it get wet.
- Not all shop-bought decorations will be fire proof so please check this.

Flambar can be purchased from the following outlets:

www.flints.co.uk 0207 703 9786

www.dzd.co.uk 0207388 7488

www.stageelectrics.co.uk 0844 870 0077

Noise

You will not be allowed to have a PA system under any circumstances. All noise is carefully allocated throughout the field and we can not risk our field allocation so please try to work with us on this. If you do attempt to install a sound system it will be confiscated by the central sound monitoring team who will be looking at our new installations with interest.

Electrical Equipment

All appliances need be guaranteed in safe working condition. The guarantee of the safety of an electrical appliance is a PAT certificate (Portable Appliance Test). Only a qualified electrician can give an appliance a PAT test and issue a PAT certificate of safety.

- all electrical appliances must be PAT tested. A PAT certificate is required and must be on site.
- if the appliance is new, less than a year old it will be guaranteed and does not need a PAT certificate BUT we must see a receipt to prove that the appliance is new.
- Metal structures must be earthed (a copper or similarly conductive spike at least 6 inches into the ground connected to any metal structure.)

But do not worry, if in doubt please just contact Shangri-La and they can advise you or arrrange for it to be tested on site.

When to arrive:

You may arrive on site up to two weeks prior to the Festival. We strongly recommend that you arrive and start your build on or before Sunday 20th. We will try to offer at least moral support during your build process BUT in the last few days before the Festival we get impossibly busy. Building and being ready to go by Tuesday 22nd will leave you time to add the finishing touches and some contingency time.

The public will have access to the field on Wednesday 23rd so you need to be safe and ready to go by then.

Health and Safety paperwork

If selected, we will send you a template risk assessment and method statement for your Shack. We can help you with this paperwork if you need us to.

You will be asked to provide detailed plans of what you will install in Shangri la so we can look at any potential H & S problems before the event.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

We will do a H & S inspection on Wednesday 23rd June starting at 10am. You will also be checked by Glastonbury H & S over the course of the set up. During the safety inspection, the Safety Manager will be looking for all the points made here in this guide. Your structure must pass this inspection.

Lighting

We can light the outside of your structures. If you need us not to for artistic reasons make sure we know as soon as possible.

If you want / need to light the inside please consider the temperatures generated by your light source, and the materials around them...

Remember, you only have until ~~March 31st~~ April 5th to submit your proposal to glastonbury.shangrila@googlemail.com.

Mayhew interview

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 14:40:58 +0000

After thousands of votes, Edinburgh-based folk-poppers Mayhew were the winners of the People's Choice vote which took them into the finals of this year's Emerging Talent Competition. Ahead of this weekend's live finals, we caught up with Cathy from the band.

When did you folks get together?
About two years ago, in early 2008. But we've only been playing with Gordon (drums) for about a year.

How would you describe your music?
We put a dark and atmospheric spin on the new folk sound by getting our ideas from lots of different musical genres and playing instruments only made of wood.

Have you eveer been to Glastonbury?
I had an amazing time in 2007. It was a wet one.

What made you enter the ETC?
We really wanted to play at Glastonbury and we decided we couldn't just sit and wait for a couple of years to see if we ever got big enough to get invited. So we looked on the internet for ways to sneak in!

Were you disappointed not to make the judges' picks?
Not at all, we were over the moon to make the last 21.

You must have been pretty happy to go through in the People's Choice vote?
I nearly hit the roof when we found out. It had been a truly crazy two weeks of promotion and we couldn't believe it had actually paid off. Massive thanks to all our lovely voters!

Are you looking forward to the finals?
Yes! It will be amazing to play in Pilton to such a prestigious crowd. Hopefully we can channel our nervous energy and deliver a great set on the night.

Do you think you you can win the competition?
Well, we are on a winning streak so you never know!

Have you checked out any of the other bands?
Yes, there will be an awful lot of talent in Pilton - it's hard not to feel a bit intimidated! We really like the variety of bands in the final and can't wait to see them all at the weekend.

What else have you guys got planned for 2010?
We are releasing our debut EP in the next couple of months, so we're going to be pretty busy with that. Then we're looking forward to having some time to write new songs incorporating new instruments. Chris (cello) is going to be showing off his skills on the synth and Greg (classical guitar) has a really awesome custom made electric guitar which we want to use in future. I'm dying to get my hands on a loop pedal too.

For more info on Mayhew, check out their MySpace

For more info on this year's 12 Emerging Talent Competition finalists, click here

Hoping to buy re-sale tickets? Check your registration details now!

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:00:03 +0000

As we revealed last week, the re-sale of cancelled tickets for this year's Festival will take place at 9am on Sunday, 11th April 2010.

If you're hoping to buy some, then you must be successfully registered by Wednesday, March 31st. Register online at www.glastonburyregistration.co.uk.

If you're already registered, then we strongly suggest you check your details by visiting seetickets.com/see/getglas this week.

Every year we hear about people who've missed out on tickets because their postcode is slightly wrong or they've typed their surname incorrectly. It really is a good idea to check it now, then if there's a problem, you'll be able to do something about it before registration closes and the tickets go on sale.

Faded Cadence interview

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:47:58 +0000

With the Emerging Talent Competition live finals taking place this weekend, we caught up with Matt Carter, singer for alt-popsters Faded Cadence, one of two bands who made it through to the finals via the People's Choice vote.

When did the band get together?
Well, we started in August 2008 with just Chris and I, but after recording a few home demos we realised that we needed something a little more in the band, so ended up adding Kaila on drums and backing vocals, and then Torz on violin in June 2009 to create a fuller sound.

For anyone who hasn't heard you, how would you describe what you do?
Ah, we've always had trouble answering this question! I guess we aim for a sort of alternative acoustic feel with violin chucked in for good measure.

Have you been to Glastonbury before?
Although wanting to, none of us have actually been to the festival before.

What made you enter the ETC?
Well we were very interested in trying to play at any festival this year, so fired off a few emails and ended up being referred to this competition! We were checking the sign-up site pretty much every day to see when submissions opened.

Were you disappointed not to make the judges' picks?
Not at all. It was a great honour for us just to be even chosen for the public vote, so we were happy
with that!

Presumably then, you were over-joyed to go through to the final in the People's Choice vote?
Over-joyed is an understatement! However, it did mean two weeks of stress for us as we worked non-stop to get people to vote.

Are you looking forward to the finals?
Very much so, I think it's pretty much all we've been concentrating on for the past week.

Do you think you're in with a chance?
We think so, it would be nice to show that age is not an obstacle. We've been spending a lot of time making our set flow as well as we can, and generally, just getting all the songs we've chosen to play up to scratch.

Have you checked out any of the other bands?
Yes, we've taken time to listen to all of them! Each band is full of exceptional musicians, and it's a massive privilege to be sharing the stage with them.

What else have you guys got planned for this year?
We want to get back in the studio at some point during the year, and we're hoping to play quite a few gigs across the UK - including that free gig we promised to play as a thank you to everybody who voted!

For more info on this year's 12 Emerging Talent Competition finalists, click here

Worthy FM looking for volunteers

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:05:06 +0000

23/3/10: APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED
A big thank to the hundreds of you who applied. The successful applicants will be contacted at the beginning of April. Unfortunately, due to the enormous volume of applicants, it won't be possible to contact those who have not been successful.

--------------

Worthy FM is the official Glastonbury Festival radio station, coming to you from the heart of the Festival, with all the best Festival news, travel, weather, stage times, music and interviews and bringing you the best of this year's Emerging Talent Competition.

Hitting the airwaves at noon on Monday 21st June 2010 the station broadcasts 24 hours a day until 5pm on Monday 28th June on 87.7FM. You'll also be able to listen live online here on the Festival website.

The station is currently looking for volunteers for this year's Festival. If you would like to volunteer to work for Worthy FM, then copy and paste the below form into an email, fill it in and send to worthyfm@glastonburyfestivals.co.uk by midnight on Sunday 28th March. Thank you.

The return of the Leftfield

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:44:09 +0000

We're very pleased to announce the return of the Leftfield for this year's Festival. We're also extremely excited to announce that the Festival's "pop and politics" tent will be curated by Mr Billy Bragg. We gave Billy a shout to find out a bit more about his plans:

Hi Billy. Presumably you're pleased that the Leftfield is back?
Very pleased. New tent, new site, new decade.

What will your role be?
A bit of everything. Curator, MC, performer, guitar roadie, juggler.

Why is it important for Glastonbury to have an area like the Leftfield as part of the Festival?
Because Glastonbury is the original activist festival. It has always had that political edge since its rebirth in the 1980s as a gathering for dissidents and dancers. Leftfield’s mixture of red and green politics aims to reflect the way activism plays an important part in the festival as a whole.

Do you think it will be even more important in 2010?
Definitely. Not only are we facing the biggest economic meltdown since the Great Depression, but by the time we pitch the tent, we may all be living under a Conservative government committed to massive cuts in public services. Plus there is the continuing threat of global warming and the rise of the BNP to contend with. We’ll have plenty to talk about in our daily debates.

Emily Eavis has said that she thinks people are more open-minded at the Festival than they would be in every day life. Do you think that's true? If so, does that increase the opportunities for somewhere like the Leftfield
I really don’t think that you could have something like Leftfield at any of the other major UK rock festivals. The audience at V just wouldn’t be interested in attending a debate about the threat to 6 Music and other front line public services. Glastonbury audiences are more willing to engage.

So, for any Glastonbury regulars who've never been to the Leftfield, why should
they visit the area?
Because it will be a place where you can take part in political debates with leading activists and political figures and then hear some great music from people who believe in using their talent to inspire audiences to change the world.

How far have you got with booking the bill? Can you tell us any names?
I’ve started sounding people out. Can’t give you any names but I can talk about our format. We’ll be kicking off around midday with a couple of debates running until 3pm then from 4pm we’ll be inviting three or four artists to come and collaborate with one another in a hootenanny, sitting onstage together swapping songs and playing along with each other, then from 6pm we’ll have bands.

Finally, will you be bringing your guitar?
Most certainly. I came to the festival last year without it and it just didn’t feel right.

Ticket re-sale date confirmed

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:57:54 +0000

We're pleased to announce that the re-sale of cancelled tickets for this year's Festival will take place at 9am on Sunday, 11th April 2010.

Tickets will be sold online at www.seetickets.com/g2010 and via the Seetickets booking line 0844 412 4635. The numbers are limited and we expect them to sell out quite quickly.

In order to purchase tickets in the re-sale, you must be successfully registered by Wednesday, March 31st. Register online at www.glastonburyregistration.co.uk.

If you're already registered, then we strongly suggest you check your details by visiting seetickets.com/see/getglas as soon as possible.

ETC vote winners announced!

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:28:26 +0000

The thousands of votes have been counted - and we're pleased to announce that the winners of this year's Emerging Talent Competition People's Choice vote are Edinburgh-based folk-poppers Mayhew (pictured, above). They join the judges' 11 choices in this month's live finals, where one act will win a main stage slot at the 40th Anniversary Glastonbury Festival. Hear some of their tunes at their MySpace.

But that's not all. Unfortunately, one of the judges' 11 picks is not able to make it to the live final. Dizraeli from Dizraeli and the Small Gods will be en route to Cairo, Egypt to perform another gig. As he's made the admirable vow never to fly again, he's making the trip by train, which means he's had to pull out of the competition (though we will be passing his demo CD to our stage bookers). You can actually follow his journey to Egypt through a daily blog at http://unplaned.com/.

That means the second-place act from the People's Choice vote - emotive Birmingham band Faded Cadence (pictured, right) - will also now go though to the live finals. Check them out at their MySpace by clicking here.

A big thanks to all of the bands that took part, and to all of you who voted. Look out for more news on the live finals soon.

ETC voting closes on Monday

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:48:28 +0000

Don't forget, you only have until Monday (Mar 8) at 10am to help choose the 12th finalist for this year's Emerging Talent Competition, via our People's Choice vote.

The 10 shortlisted bands are listed below. Head on over to Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition on Q's website to have a listen then vote for your favourite. Plus, everyone who votes will be put in a draw to win tickets to this year's Festival.

People's Choice - Shortlisted bands
- Alt Track
- Brascoe
- Dutch Uncles
- Faded Cadence
- Matthew Kilford
- Mayhew,
- The Beautiful Word
- The Electric Riot
- Up! Down! Strange!
- Volcanoes

Vote: Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition - People's Choice

Voting closes: 10am Monday, March 8, 2010.
Any votes received after this time will not be counted.

Help save BBC 6 Music

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:56:08 +0000

It was announced this morning that the BBC is to close its superb 6 Music radio station as part of a cost-cutting shake-up. The station - and its DJs - have been huge supporters of Glastonbury, so we'd certainly like to do our bit to help them out now. We're also saddened at the closure of the BBC Asian Network, which has broadcast some great stuff from the Festival over the years.

We believe that the decision to close the stations is the wrong one. If you agree, then please email trust.enquiries@bbc.co.uk to explain why you'll miss 6 and/or Asian Network or complete the Trust's BBC Strategy Review Online Survey. The BBC Trust will have to approve the closures and may yet refuse to do so if enough people show their support. A few minutes' effort could really make a difference.

Thank you.

48 hour grace period for ticket balance payments

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:03:37 +0000

The deadline for paying off the balance of Glastonbury tickets passed at 11.59pm last night. The vast majority of people who'd paid a deposit have now paid for their ticket in full, but we've decided to offer a 48 hour grace period for those yet to pay the balance.

If you haven't yet paid your balance, then you now have until 11.59pm on Tuesday (2nd March) to head to www.seetickets.com/g2010/ and pay the remainder.

We will be announcing details of the resale of cancelled tickets soon. Please keep an eye here on the website for the latest news on that.

Deadline to pay ticket balances is Sunday

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:43:30 +0000

Picture by Claire

If you've paid a deposit on a ticket for Glastonbury's 40th Anniversary Fesival, then you only have until Sunday night (Feb 28th) at 11.59pm to pay your balance. Please click here to head to Seetickets' website and ensure your place at the Festival

To pay your balance, you'll need the registration number and postcode for each ticket you're paying for (you can retrieve those details here). Once you've paid the balance on at least one ticket, you'll be able to book parking, campervan or Tipi tickets.

If you don't pay your balance, you'll forfeit your £10 deposit (and miss out on what's shaping up to be a truly amazing Festival).

Glastonbury highlights coming up on TV

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:17:20 +0000

There are a couple of Glastonbury 2009 highlights programmes coming up on BBC Three which we thought you might like to know about.

This Saturday night at 2.30am (ie early on Sunday morning), the channel is showing 55 minutes of Lady Gaga's explosive performance on the Other Stage (pictured, left).

Then, on Thursday 4th March at 3.15am (as in early Friday morning), they're showing Franz Ferdinand's belting Other Stage show.

Turn on, tune in, reminisce.

Glastonbury named Best Festival at NME Awards

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:52:56 +0000

At last night's NME Awards at the Brixton Academy, Glastonbury was, once again, named Best Festival. The Festival's co-organiser Emily Eavis was there to pick up the award. She'd like us to pass on a big thanks to all of you who voted for the Festival.

BBC to take Glastonbury to a global audience

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:12:33 +0000

The BBC has for many years brought Glastonbury to UK viewers, capturing brilliant concert footage and behind the scenes interviews with the bands. Now for the first time, BBC Worldwide has gained the TV distribution rights and will be taking the Festival to music fans worldwide.

Jon Mansfield, Head of Content Development for BBC Worldwide Music commented: “In this momentous year, as Glastonbury celebrates its 40th anniversary, BBC Worldwide is proud and privileged to be able to bring the much celebrated BBC coverage to a global stage. A Glastonbury performance is one of the most prestigious moments in many artists' careers and frequently results in truly historic performances. BBCW Music are honoured to play a part in bringing those extraordinary moments to what we believe, through our substantial TV distribution network, will potentially be the Festival’s biggest global audience ever!”

BBC Audio, part of BBCW Audio & Music have held the radio rights to broadcast the Festival since 1985 and in this time have licensed the performances across 40 territories worldwide reaching an average of 40 million listeners. This is the first time that BBCW Music has held the TV rights to the Glastonbury Festival and BBCW Music hopes to take it to its largest ever audience. This deal is a major landmark for this business and will see BBCW Music become the sole TV and radio distributor for the 40th Glastonbury Festival.

Ben Challis, Glastonbury Festival’s Executive Producer for Television said: “We have worked with the BBC in the UK since 1997 and the BBC’s award winning coverage of Glastonbury just gets better and better. A move to BBC Worldwide Music seemed a logical step forward to cement this relationship and we look forward to BBCW providing the world’s music fans with superb extensive coverage of this year’s 40th anniversary Glastonbury Festival.”

Vote for the last ETC finalist

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:43:46 +0000

Following yesterday's announcement of the 11 judges' picks who'll be competing in the Emerging Talent Competition final, we're asking for your help to choose the 12th finalist, via our People's Choice vote.

The 10 shortlisted bands are listed below. Head on over to Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition on Q's website to have a listen then vote for your favourite. Everyone who votes will be put in a draw to win tickets to this year's Festival.

People's Choice - Shortlisted bands
- Alt Track
- Brascoe
- Dutch Uncles
- Faded Cadence
- Matthew Kilford
- Mayhew,
- The Beautiful Word
- The Electric Riot
- Up! Down! Strange!
- Volcanoes

Vote: Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition - People's Choice

Voting closes: 10am Monday, March 8, 2010.
Any votes received after this time will not be counted.

ETC finalists named!

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:16:21 +0000

After listening to more than 1,600 entries, the judges have chosen the following 11 acts to go through to the live Emerging Talent Competition finals, where they'll compete for a main stage slot at this year's Festival. Click here for details of the 10 acts who'll be competing in a public vote for the 12th slot at the finals.

Bunny Come
www.myspace.com/bunnycome
Providing the soundtrack for a sleazy post-Skins party with dirty electronic rhythms, gritty lyrics and sweaty dance moves, Bunny Come, from the wilds of South London offer an infectious, swaggering groove that mixes wild party times with a more surreal early morning comedown.

Dizraeli And The Small Gods
www.dizraeli.com
Featuring a slam poet turned songsmith, Dizraeli and co layer, insistent acoustic guitar riffs, shuffling drums, the occasional beatbox and almost spiritual choruses behind some often ironic hyper-intense wordy rapping, breaking for a melodica here, a crashing bottle there.

Ellen And The Escapades
www.ellenandtheescapades.com
Dragging the folk rock and psychedelic pop of the late '60s into the present, Leeds-based Ellen And The Escapades sound like a youthful Kirsty McColl, with clever, catchy pop songs and some reeling melodies, not to mention the occasional harmonica.

Family Machine

Family Machine
www.youarethefamilymachine.com
Family Machine swerve from distinctive lo-fi melodic pop to twangy guitar-powered psychedelic musing. With dangerously hummable tunes and a knack for a chorus, the Oxford quartet play songs that you’ll swear you’ve heard before, infiltrated by strange sounds and ultra sharp hooks.

Let’s Buy Happiness
www.letsbuyhappiness.com
The far-off hinterland of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne never sounded so wonderfully floaty and ethereal. Let’s Buy Happiness deliver escapist theories and the gorgeous vocal of Sarah Hall on some vintage indie pop that’s every bit The Sundays at their very best, with reverb guitar for texture.

Montage Populaire
www.myspace.com/montagepopulaire
Sounding like the result of ingesting a huge record collection in one sitting, Southampton's Montage Populaire are ambitious songwriters whose sharp verse/chorus constructions are littered with arty twists that offer snatches of Bowie, Los Campensinos and early Blur high on Syd Barrett.

My Luminaries
www.myspace.com/myluminaries
Hailing from East London, with a penchant for melodramatic keyboards, and chunky guitars, My Luminaries already won a slot at the Queen’s Head when they were chosen from over 600 early bird entries. Their melodic guitar-laced anthems have also proved powerful enough to get them into the main ETC final.

The Phantom Light
www.myspace.com/thephantomlight
Ethereal, slow-paced dream pop from a Swansea trio whose floating syth and echoey guitars with some other worldly vocals fall between vintage ‘50s Phil Spector wall of sound, reverb-drenched shoegazing and emotive Mary Chain at their most haunting.

The Secret Cinema Band
www.myspace.com/secretcinemaband
Centred around the soulful croon of Laurent Francis John, The Secret Cinema Band have the key to melancholy and moody yearning. Using a selection of odd sounds – bass violin, electronic toys - to add flavour to their emotional tunes, they produce epic moments with undeniable hooks.

Tiger Shadow
www.tigershadow.com
There’s a trip hop groove holding this Leeds trio together with some witty conversational raps laid over evocative guitar and insistent rhythms. Their songs sound amazingly familiar and the mid-paced shuffle and warm vocal make Tiger Shadow feel like an old friend it’s good to hear again.

Tom Williams And The Boat
www.myspace.com/williamstommusic
Tom Williams’ lyrics are like the script for a nervous speed dater, itching to tell the world all about, well, everything. Set over well-groomed tunes that rattle with piano, sax and violin, like Springsteen if he was brought up in Kent wrestling with new technology and inner demons.

Last few campervan/caravan tickets on sale

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:22:21 +0000

Vintage campervan field picture by Jame Johnston

Tickets for the campervan/caravan field at this year's Festival are selling fast, so if you want to get one, you should probably be quick. Tickets cost £75 and allow you access to the special fields on the edge of the Festival site. For more information, please click here.

As with the car parks, we're planning to open the campervan/caravan fields slightly earlier this year, with access expected to be available from the Tuesday evening. However, the Festival site itself will still not open until 8am on Wednesday morning.

Glastonbury named International Festival of the Year

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:00:04 +0000

Michael collecting the award in 2008

We're very pleased to report that Glastonbury was named International Music Festival of the Year at the 21st Annual Pollstar Awards in LA last night. This is the fifth time that the Festival has won this prestigious award, and a very pleased Michael Eavis was there at the swanky ceremony to collect the prize (before embarking on a well-deserved holiday in San Francisco).

Jay-Z gives a Brits shout out to Glasto

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:52:13 +0000

Congratulations to Jay-Z who deservedly walked away with the Best International Male award at last night Brits, then proceeded to thank Glastonbury in his acceptance speech. We're glad that he remembers that amazing Saturday night Pyramid performance as fondly as we do. This still gives us tingles now...

Festival licence granted until 2016

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:27:21 +0000

We're very pleased to confirm reports that Glastonbury Festival was this week granted its new licence by Mendip District Council. The new licence covers the Festival from 2010 to 2016 (although, as previously announced, there will be no Festival in 2012, which will be a fallow year).

Following the approval of the new licence, there are a few changes at the Festival which we can reveal.

- Although the Festival capacity will remain the same, there will be significant extra camping and parking space.

- The Shangri-la and Arcadia areas will be given increased space and better access.

- Car parks will now open at 9pm on the Tuesday night before the Festival, allowing Festival-goers to arrive throughout the night. There will, however, be no entertainment or facilities in the car parks and Festival-goers will be expected to remain in their cars until the Festival gates open at 8am on Wednesday morning (an hour earlier than in previous years). Sorry, but no camping will be allowed in the car parks. As in 2009, there will be no amplified entertainment on the Wednesday, with the main music stages not kicking off until Friday.

- The Kidz Field will now open on Thursday at 12noon (a day earlier than previously).

- Please note, all public transport arrangements will stay as per previous years - ie there will be no facilities at Castle Cary railway station for early arrivals. Public transport facilities will only begin on Wednesday morning.

Solar, so good at Worthy Farm

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:24:45 +0000

Picture by Olly

We're very pleased to announce that Worthy Farm, home of Glastonbury Festival, will soon also play host to the UK’s largest private solar electricity system. Festival organiser Michael Eavis is set to invest in 1,500 square metres of solar panels, which will generate the same amount of power annually as used by 40 homes.

The 1,100 solar panels will sit atop the barns which are home to the Worthy Farm herd while the Festival is on. On a clear, sunny day, the panels are expected to generate some 200kW of power. Any power which isn't used on the farm will be exported to the National Grid.

Because solar panels create clean electricity, the Worthy system will save around 100 tonnes of CO2 a year (equivalent to the total annual footprint of 10 people in the UK).

Said Michael Eavis: "It's a very exciting project for us. We first had renewable energy at the Festival in 1979 and we've been trying to increase it ever since. We want the Festival, and the farm, to be as green as they can be. The solar panels will make a huge contribution towards that."

Work will begin to install the panels on August 1, as long as planning permission is granted and surveys confirm that the barn roof is strong enough to hold the panels.

Oxfam Haiti auction is a huge hit

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:26:24 +0000

We're very pleased to report that the eBay auction organised by Glastonbury Festival's Emily Eavis for Oxfam, raised over £120,000 in just two weeks. All the money will go directly to Oxfam's rebuilding programme in Haiti, aiding the survivors of the catastrophic earthquake.

The generosity of the celebrities who donated items was matched by the general public who went on to eBay - helping push up the bidding for the wide variety of lots on offer. A big thanks to everyone who bid or helped spread the word.

Says Emily Eavis: "I'd like to thank everyone involved. Everyone's been so generous, it's fantastic to see how much people care. When we first had the idea of an auction for Haiti I never imagined we would raise so much. This should really help to rebuild some of what was lost."

The result of the flag poll...

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:31:21 +0000

As you might remember, last week we posted a poll to see what you folks thought about the subject of banning flags in front of the Pyramid stage. Well, the poll closed at 3pm today, and the final result is as follows (we have filtered out all duplicate votes).

- No, keep the flags (7269 votes) - 55%
- Yes, ban the flags (5909 votes) - 45%

So, it's a narrow win for "keeping". Big thanks to everyone for taking part. As well as the result itself, it's been really useful to get an idea of the passion this debate raises among festival-goers, by reading your comments across the web. We're also amazed by the list of countries you folks have voted from. It is as follows:

If our counting is correct, that's 71 different countries!