Glastonbury has grown to become one of the most famous festivals in the world but has come as long way from its humble origins in 1970. Initially organised by just Michael Eavis, his daughter Emily now co-runs the event, which welcomes more than 210,000 attendees at Worthy Farm in Somerset.
Before the formation of Glastonbury Festival, the UK had musical events such as the National Jazz and Blues Festival and the Isle of Wight Festival. But it was from an open-air concert headlined by the iconic Led Zeppelin at the 1970 Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music, where Michael drew inspiration to begin his own event.
The Bath-based festival was held in late June and by the September 19 of the same year, Michael was holding the first ever festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton. Around 1,500 are reported to have been at the first ever Glastonbury, which was originally dubbed the Pop, Blues and Folk Festival.
Original Glastonbury Festival line up in 1970
The original headline act for the Worthy Farm festival was T. Rex, originally known as Tyrannosaurus Rex, after The Kinks and Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders were replaced at short notice. The Kinks reportedly pulled out of the event after seeing it described as a 'mini-festival' in a newspaper.
At the time, tickets for the debut festival cost just what would be equal to £20 today. Steamhammer, Quintessence, Stackridge, Al Stewart, Pink Fairies, and Keith Christmas made up the rest of acts.
After the success of 1970, the following year Michael was able to attract David Bowie, Mighty Baby, Traffic, Fairport Convention, Gong, Hawkwind, Pink Fairies and Skin Alley. The 1971 instalment of Glastonbury was a key moment for what it would eventually become today.
Michael met Andrew Kerr and Arabella Churchill who had vital roles in developing the festival, introducing the famous Pyramid Stage, which was designed by Bill Harkin, and introduced the summer solstice date.
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Now, Glastonbury attracts hundreds of thousands festivalgoers and donates at least £2million of its profits to charity each year. In 2023, Arctic Monkeys, Guns N' Roses, Elton John, Lizzo, Lewis Capaldi and Lana Del Rey will feature in one of the most star studded line-ups in recent history.
