June 23 - 25, 2000 (Licensed attendance 100,000. Tickets £87)

The Pyramid Stage (in its third incarnation) made an impressive comeback – 100 feet high and clad in dazzling silver. Enjoying this newly pimped stage, David Bowie, Moby, Travis, Morcheeba, Basement Jaxx and The Chemical Brothers played unforgettable sets.

 

Camping space was increased and a special family campsite was introduced. As was a new outdoor dance venue set among trees, christened “the glade”, which went down a storm. Despite a massive influx of gatecrashers, the festival’s infrastructure stood up and people continued to enjoy a weekend of diverse entertainment and fun.

 

2001 - Due to the large number of gatecrashers at the 2000 event, it was decided by the festival’s organisers that addressing safety issues was paramount. Subsequently, 2001 was a quiet year for Glastonbury. It was also a bit of a wake-up call.

 

In March 2000 the festival was prosecuted for breach of the licensed attendance and fined £5,000. A further £1,000 fine landed on the festival office doormat. It was for a noise offence caused by a group of people who set up camp in one of the festival car parks after the festival had finished. As a result, much of 2001 was spent putting measures in place to try and overcome the growing culture of illegal entry into the festival, and to ensure a secure and safe environment for legitimate festival-goers.  A virtual festival was held in June on the festival website, comprising of archive footage and some live acts.

June 28 - 30, 2002 (Licensed attendance: 140,000. Tickets £97. Tickets were put on sale in February and swiftly sold out)

2002 marked the erecting of a perimeter metal fence designed to keep fence-hoppers out, and for safety reasons the number of people allowed to attend the event was reduced. As a result, legitimate festival-goers revelled with more space and heightened security. “Water for the third world” and “Fair trade not free trade” were the most prominent causes that year. Between acts on the main music stages, images of famine were presented to the crowd on a giant screen, accompanied with anti-capitalist messages.

Making the most of the relaxed atmosphere and glorious sunshine, the lively crowds took to the (dry!) mud and danced their wellies off to Fat Boy Slim, Mis-teeq, Stereophonics, Manu Chao, Kosheen, Coldplay, Roger Waters, Rod Stewart, The White Stripes, Isaac Hayes and Orbital. Lost Vagueness in the Green Fields earned the reputation as the place to be that year by adding a touch of class to the festival proceedings.  Bizarrely, amidst the cowpats, LV put on a silver service restaurant and ballroom dancing. How about that for service…

 

“From the scaffolders to the trapeze artists to the loo cleaners to the bands – everybody turns up and gives it their best shot. It’s wonderful.” (Michael Eavis)

 

June 27 - 29, 2003 (Attendance 150,000. Tickets £105. Tickets sold out in less than 24 hours making this year the fastest selling Glastonbury Festival so far)

2003 was widely acclaimed as ‘the best yet’ - the weather was perfect, atmosphere chilled, Pilton was totally crime-free and the line-up brilliant. The acts making 2003 an unforgettable year comprised De la Soul, The Thrills, Love with Arthur Lee, Radiohead, Damien Rice, Flaming Lips, Jimmy Cliff, Moby, REM, The Damned, The Darkness, Nightmares on Wax and Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra in Lost Vagueness, Bill Bailey, Ross Noble, Black Sky White in the Cabaret areas plus a huge variety of kids' entertainment - not forgetting the usual creative madness from the Lost Vagueness lot. Over a million pounds was paid to local groups and charities, and Greenpeace, Oxfam and WaterAid were yet again the main beneficiaries, with fairtrade also making its stamp on onsite fare.

 

June 25 - 27, 2004 (Attendance 150,000. Tickets £112)

Coinciding with people’s growing awareness about environmental issues, 2004 instigated the successful initiative "Working together for a greener Glastonbury", making Glastonbury’s green message more apparent and stronger than ever. 32% of all waste was recycled and 110 tons of organic waste was composted. Hedges and streams remained unpolluted, She-pees (ingenious ladies’ loos) were installed and all onsite coffee and chocolate was fairtrade.

On top of the £1 million paid to Greenpeace, WaterAid, Oxfam and local good causes, an additional £100,000 was donated to the Sudan appeal. Although a great year for keeping things green, the weather during the run-up to the festival was threatening another brown wash. However, improved drainage and organisational development triumphed to contribute to the safest ever festival.

2004 witnessed the lifting of The Tower – a massive 70 ft tall, moving structure erected adjacent to the Leftfield section of the site to celebrate working together. The Pyramid Stage had its usual eclectic range of performances, including The English National Opera playing to an audience of 15,000. The crowd (estimated at 65,000) that watched England play in the World Cup on specially erected screens apparently superseded the crowd watching in the World Cup Stadium in terms of numbers.

Paul McCartney rubbed shoulders with Joss Stone; also taking to the stage were Oasis, James Brown, Toots and the Maytals, Franz Ferdinand, Muse, Scissor Sisters, Sister Sledge, Television, Black Eyed Peas, Michael Franti and Spearhead. The Green Fields, in particular Lost Vagueness, were a mass of innovative, creative and amazing sights and sounds. And over 1,200 acts featured in The Cabaret, Theatre and Circus Fields including The Generating Company, Helios – The Saga of a 1000 Suns, and Albatross. The Kidz Field meanwhile was a profusion of fun and colour, workshops and parades.

“Our team put so much love and care into putting the festival on and then the festival-goers themselves arrive and put their hearts and souls into it too. And even when the skies open and the mud lets rip, the atmosphere remains fantastically buoyant.” (Michael Eavis)

June 24 - 26, 2005 (Attendance: 153,000. Tickets: £125. Tickets sold out in less than 3 hours)

The heavens opened on Glastonbury… again. Two months' worth of rain in several hours and strikes of lightning anointed the event (well, it must have added to the atmosphere right?) However, this incessant downpour was a once in a hundred year occurrence. Of all the weekends! For those unfortunate enough to get swamped, Welfare was there to give a helping hand.

Glastonbury Festival offers no less than three welfare services: Wagonshed Welfare (which offers practical welfare support, if you lose all your kit for instance), Green Welfare (situated at the entrance of the Green Fields and on hand for any problem experienced in that area of the site), and The Samaritans, who have been going to the festival since 1974, offering 24-hour emotional support for any festival-goers who may have taken the term “dazed and confused” a little too literally.

All in all, everyone pulled through – dinghies 'n' all, and thoroughly enjoyed themselves, whatever the weather. British cheerfulness in the face adversity ruled once more at Glastonbury! Sure enough the sun came out by the Sunday, turning it into what was described by many, as the “happiest festival yet”.

 

Supporting the “Make Poverty History” campaign, Michael Eavis made a very rare appearance on the Pyramid Stage with Bob Geldof. A remarkable £1,350,000 went to charities and good causes, and Greenpeace, Oxfam and WaterAid unitedly declared, “This year, let’s make poverty history and clean energy our future.” Fittingly, 50% of all waste was recycled. The all new singing and dancing Dance Village usurped the Dance Tent with eight different venues, all playing different types of dance music. The new Village literally thumped late into the night, and the next, and the next…

 

The Midnight Cabaret and The Ghost Train in the Circus Field were fun new additions and got tongues wagging with excitement, as did the fantastic sculptures dotted around the site. The New Tent was re-launched as The John Peel Stage in memory of everything the recently deceased Radio 1 DJ did to support the festival, not to mention his tireless promotion of emerging musical talent. 

The Unsigned Performers Competition generated thousands of entrants, with over 35 acts performing in various venues, including the new Late 'n' Live marquee in the markets. Playing to the tune of thunderstorms and lightning was a rockin' line-up of Basement Jaxx, White Stripes, Razorlight, Magic Numbers, The Belly Dance Superstars, New Order, The Wailers, Kaiser Chiefs, Baaba Maal, Babyshambles, The Killers, Ska Cubano,  K.T. Tunstall,  The Subways, The La’s, Taj Mahal and Royksopp… and more…

2006 - The vibe was distinctly calm and peaceful down on Worthy Farm throughout 2006 with no festival taking place. Glasto fans may have been left disappointed, but the cows no doubt enjoyed lush and verdant grass in abundance after the previous year’s torrential downfall.

 

“We’re still about the same things we started with - all that spirit is still there. How we organise the nuts and bolts doesn’t affect the integrity of the event … that’s the important thing.” (Emily Eavis) Courtesy of Glastonbury – An oral history of the music, mud & magic by Crispin Aubrey & John Shearlaw.

June 22 - 24, 2007

This year’s festival saw the largest attendance in the event’s 37-year history, and despite a record June for rainfall, it was declared an outstanding success by festival-goers and licensing authorities alike. 2007 also saw the festival take yet more important steps towards environmental sustainability, with many new measures introduced to reduce the carbon footprint in every area of the site. Climate change was clearly an issue resonating with the crowds and the launch of the “I Count” campaign proved a huge success with over 70,000 signatures collected. 

Commenting on Glastonbury Festival 2007, Michael Eavis had a few words to say: “It’s gone very well, in spite of the rain and in spite of the mud. The drains actually worked, believe it or not. Someone called me from Spain and said they would swap all the sun they had for the Glastonbury culture!”

Emily Eavis was in charge of the festival’s new space, The Park, and received some well-earned praise from her dad.

“Emily’s efforts in the Park have been very good. She supports me a lot, but we disagree a lot about bands! This year I asked her if she wanted to do an area of her own. I think it’s been brilliant and works really well. She’s done a good job.”

2008, 2009, 2010... here we come!