The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for Glastonbury for Thursday June 23 - saying severe thunderstorms could hit the site. The alert means that the site could be swept with torrential rain downpours along with thunder and lightning - meaning there is a risk the site could be turned into a mudbath.
The warning is in place from 10am until midnight on Thursday with the Met Office saying it could cause some flooding with possible damage from floodwater and lightning strikes with the potential for power cuts.
A previous weather report from the Met Office added: “From Friday onwards the weather will become more unsettled. There is a risk of heavy showers and thunderstorms in the Glastonbury area on both Friday and Saturday, although these should be quick moving, some surface water might accumulate at times. Temperatures will start to dip as we go through the end of the week returning to near normal for the time of year, with highs likely around 18-20C.
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“Sunday is expected to be mostly dry and bright at first but with showers once again developing through the morning, some of which could be heavy, and possibly thundery. The unsettled pattern is expected to continue to dominate into the start of next week.”
Earlier today the festival was officially opened by the event’s founder, Michael Eavis, who said it will be “the best show in town”. The festival is returning for its 50th anniversary after a three-year hiatus due to Covid-19.
As the gates were officially opened on Wednesday morning, Eavis and his daughter Emily stood at one of the many entry points and clapped as the first attendees entered the site. Eavis, 86, told them: “This is going to be the best show in town.
“Wait and see. You better believe it.”
Festival-goers had been queuing since the early hours of Wednesday morning after many battled travel delays on their journey to Pilton in Somerset, amid three days of major rail strikes.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast shortly before the gates opened, festival co-ordinator Emily Eavis said: “It’s still so exciting. It’s even more spectacular this year. The wait has been so long and it’s just the biggest build-up we’ve ever had and everybody is feeling very, very happy and a little bit emotional, I think, about opening the gates.”
She added: “It’s all so exciting, you’d never believe it.”
Radio host Jo Whiley said Glastonbury is the “ultimate festival” and that Sir Paul McCartney’s headlining slot on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday night is a “very, very important and significant performance”.
The much-anticipated festival, hosting a population of 200,000, will also see Eilish and rapper Kendrick Lamar headline the Pyramid stage.
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