Glastonbury revellers inhale ‘hippy crack’ ahead of 91F sunshine

Thousands of music lovers have arrived at Glastonbury this morning ahead of what could be the ‘hottest ever’ weekend for the festival, with temperatures of 91F expected to shine down on revellers.

Stunning aerial shots show people arriving at the Worthy Farm site in Somerset this morning, with many pitching their tents in a so-called ‘tent city’ which is said to be the size of Colchester.

This is while others made their way to rented tipis to get themselves settled for the weekend.

Last night some people decided to get the party started early and before watching the sunset and a firework display to celebrate the opening night, inhaled ‘hippy crack’.  

Many were pictured using nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas and ‘hippy crack’, despite health warnings from the Royal College of Nursing.

Discarded balloons will also raise environmental concerns with festival organisers taking steps to reduce the use of plastic at this year’s event by banning the sale of single-use bottles. 

Police are on site to ensure safety, although some officers were seen joking around with revellers and dressing up in snazzy outfits. 

Music does not officially begin until Friday, though some performances will take place on smaller stages today and many people were pictured arriving this morning, with many tents already being pitched.

Some who were already at the camp this morning embarked on a mass morning run with each other. Some were seen in full running kit while others donned a more traditional Glastonbury uniform of shorts and t-shirts. 

The five-day event, which is the largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world, will be headlined by Stormzy, The Killers and The Cure.

Kylie Minogue will also perform in the Sunday afternoon ‘legend’ slot, following in the footsteps of Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie and Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees.  

Standard tickets for Glastonbury 2019 sold out in just 36 minutes. 

Despite arriving to sodden mud underfoot yesterday, fans will soon be watching their favourite bands while temperatures of up to 86F (30C) beat down on them.

Experts at the Met Office have predicted temperatures could hit record highs for June in the south of the UK – beating the previous record of 96F (35.6C) recorded in Southampton in 1976.

A Met Office forecaster added: ‘It’s possible we could see that beaten this weekend.’ 

Yesterday the Royal College of Nursing warned youngsters off using nitrous oxide and said it posed a serious health risk. 

Catherine Gamble, the RCN’s professional lead for mental health, said: ‘When people are pitching their tents at festivals this summer, they should not stake their health on thinking laughing gas is safe way to get a high.

‘The fact is there are not only immediate risks to health but the damage could last a lifetime.’ 

The sale of nitrous oxide (Nos) for recreational purposes is technically illegal under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016. 

This means anyone found to be selling or giving away nitrous oxide for illicit purposes could face up to seven years in prison and or an unlimited fine.

But the substance is still widely available because of its everyday use including in whipped cream canisters.  

Nos is most popular among people aged between 16 and 24 and around half a million of them have used it in the last year, according to the Government.

The high it gives can come at a high price – abusing the drug may lead to suffocation or fainting, or lead to addiction and nerve damage over the long term. 

As festivals become more and more popular and audiences continue to grow, new research found that average audience size of a festival has gone up around 535 per cent since the very first Isle of Wight festival with ticket prices increasing a massive 3,544 per cent.

Data from clothing retailer River Island found that in the 1970s a ticket for Glastonbury would have cost just £1, in comparison to now, where prices were at around £210. 

This is while the amount of attendees has also shot up from 1,500 to a whopping 135,000. 

In the 1960s the Isle of Wight Festival would have cost £2.25, in comparison to today, where it will set you back around £175 a ticket.

The popularity of the festival has also grown over the years, in the 1960s around 10,000 people would have attended – whereas today, numbers add up to around 72,000. 

In the 1980s, Reading Festival would have set you back just £15.50 – while today it will make a bigger dent in your pocket of around £205.

Like the other festivals mentioned, Reading’s popularity has also soared and in the 1980s around 30,000 people would have attended, in comparison to the last ten years, where around 105,000 were in attendance. 

T in the Park has also gained traction, and with it costs have gone up for those looking to attend. In the 1990s a ticket would have cost just £49, today it would cost £194.

Attendance has also grown during that time, in the 1990s around 17,000 attended, numbers today are closer to the 70,000 mark.

In the last 20-years, Bestival has also grown in popularity, in the early 2000s prices were around £100 for a ticket and now sit at around £188. 

Attendance has also increased during that period, having gone from 10,000 to 55,000.

This is while pictures also emerged today of overpriced products on sale at Glastonbury Festival – including sun cream for £9.

Essential sanitary products and medicines on sale at a ‘Camping Accessories’ stand are priced higher than in supermarkets.

Included are packets of paracetamol priced at £3.50, bars of soap for £1, Colgate toothpaste at £3, sun cream for £9 and a self-inflating mattress for £28.

A 62-pack of baby wipes can be purchased for 55p in supermarkets while a 16-pack of 500ml paracetamol costs 50p on the high street.

Regular Colgate toothpaste costs £1 in supermarkets, while factor 50 sun cream can be bought for £3.

Self-inflating mattresses retail online for as little as £11.

Meanwhile thousands of festival-goers this weekend are expected to take part in an Extinction Rebellion march at the festival today before attempting to create the largest human sculpture of an hourglass. 

Starting at 4pm at the Park Stage, guest speakers will ‘make a stand for our planet’, organisers say, before crowds march to the Stone Circle in the King’s Meadow area of the 900-acre site.

People will then attempt to form the largest human sculpture of an hourglass to symbolise extinction.

Liz Elliot, co-ordinator of the Green Fields, added: ‘We want to get across the message that we’ve not got long before our climate changes irreversibly.

‘Time is incredibly short, but it has not quite run out yet. In fact, it feels like we are at an exciting turning point.

‘Carrying on as we are now – living in this unsustainable way – is simply unacceptable.

‘But if we can all make even small adjustments to the way we live our daily lives, these little ripples together will become powerful waves of change.’

Climate change and the environment is at the centre of this year’s Glastonbury Festival, with several talks and debates planned across the site.

Organisers urged those attending to bring their own re-usable bottle that can be re-filled for free.

Campers have been urged to bring sturdy tents and take them home, with the festival seeing an 81% reduction in abandoned tents in 2017 from previous years.

All cups, plates and cutlery at the festival are biodegradable and waste is hand-sorted to ensure as much as possible is processed by the on-site recycling centre.

Kylie Minogue has admitted she will shed a tear on stage at Glastonbury this year, 14 years after breast cancer robbed her of a headline slot.

The Australian pop star had been due to perform on the famous Pyramid Stage in 2005 but had to watch the festival from her home in Melbourne while undergoing chemotherapy.

Minogue, 51, will get another chance on Sunday when she follows in the footsteps of Dolly Parton and Lionel Richie in playing the so-called legends slot.

Speaking to the Mirror, Minogue admitted she will be emotional on stage.

She said: ‘I will remember what happened those years ago and my -overriding feeling will just be of gratitude and, how fragile life can be.

‘Will there be tears? Absolutely. Let’s just say I will be wearing -waterproof mascara.’

Recalling the year she had to pull out of the festival, Minogue, whose hits include I Should Be So Lucky and Spinning Around, said: ‘I would have been one of the only female solo artists in the festival’s history to headline.

‘I really thought I missed my -opportunity and, as the years went by, I said to myself, ‘Well this just isn’t going to happen’.’

Minogue announced her 2019 Glastonbury slot last year, writing on Twitter: ‘It will be 14 years since I was originally meant to appear there and so much has happened up to now. I can’t wait to see you all there to share this special show.’

Festival stalwart Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim, has played at Glastonbury since 1996 and will be performing three DJ sets this year.

‘Glastonbury is a town the size of Colchester, populated by a bunch of lunatics escaping from reality and escaping from convention,’ he said. ‘For four days we get to live a fantasy, Utopian existence.’ 

As he opened the gates, festival founder and dairy farmer Michael Eavis told those waiting: ‘It has never been better. It has never been as good as this one. The weather looks great – marvellous. Thank you for coming. Welcome to Worthy Farm.’

Glastonbury Festival was founded by farmer Mr Eavis, 83, and his late wife Jean in 1970, after they were inspired by the Bath Festival of Blues. 

Marc Bolan played the first event, which had an entry charge of £1 with free milk included.

Tickets for this year’s festival, which were priced at £248, sold out in 36 minutes.

Juliana, a 25-year-old from Canada, was heading to the site from London’s Paddington Station on Wednesday morning.

‘We literally had our tickets within the first two minutes of them going on sale. I don’t know how, but some miracle happened, no bloody idea!’

The festival, which donates £3million to charities Oxfam, Greenpeace and Water Aid, has banned the sale of single use plastic bottles this year, helping reduce the environmental impact of building a temporary city in the English countryside.

Emily Eavis, who organises the festival with her father, said the ban would stop more than one million plastic bottles being used.

‘I really hope that everyone from a ticket-holder to a headliner will leave Worthy Farm this year knowing that even small, everyday changes can make a real difference,’ she said. 

‘It’s now or never.’ 

Thousands of ticket-holders began their journey to the site in Pilton on Tuesday, with many choosing to sleep in their cars overnight to be among the first inside.

Campers were greeted by cloudy and slightly damp weather when the gates opened at 8am, though sunshine and temperatures of up to 73.4F (23C) were expected by mid-afternoon. And later in the week temperatures are set to reach as high as 86F (30C). 

Now THAT’S glamping! Glastonbury’s poshest tent costing £25,000 for the weekend has hot tub, flushing toilets and spa treatments and is so grand that Brad Pitt and Poldark star Aidan Turner have stayed there 

For most revellers Glastonbury is about ditching traditional home comforts for mud, wellies and a cramped tent.

But those who want to retain a life of luxury can do so – for a price as high as £25,000 for the weekend.

The Pop-Up Hotel is based just outside Worthy Farm and offers a variety of rooms starting from £2,500 for up to four guests.

Described as the ‘ultimate in ‘glamping’ accommodation’, rooms come complete with double beds, hot tub, flushing toilets, spa treatments – and even room service.

It has leather and wooden furniture, carpets, rugs, five bedrooms – and even a space for hair and make up.

The tent has access to a fully-stocked bar, beauty therapists and a restaurant area – with guest chefs each night.

Previous tenants of the posh tent include Poldark’s Aidan Turner and Made In Chelsea’s Millie Mackintosh.

Director Guy Ritchie even tied the knot in one of the tents – although not during Glastonbury – with Brad Pitt watching on.

The gated Pop-Up Hotel is located just moments from the festival site outside of Worthy Farm.

It sleeps ten people and is part of a complex with 212 flashy tents.

Prices starting at £2,500 for smaller tents, and rising to £25,000 for the 10-person penthouse tents.

All 200-plus tents boast double-beds, flushing toilets, towels, and a range of luxury beauty products from bath and body range Bramley Products.

Smaller tents have access to a number of communal, clean showers, whilst the larger tents, with five different bedrooms, have a shower inside their tents.

And guests at the Pop-Up Hotel can even call for room service if they fancy a drink or a meal inside their tents.

The privately-run complex is not affiliated with the Glastonbury Festival – but will only sell tents to people who already have Glastonbury Festival tickets.

Mark Sorrill, 49, who runs the Pop-Up Hotel with his wife Victoria, said: ‘We have tried to do the tents to the best that they can be. We try and raise the bar each year.

‘At just a ten-minute walk from the main gate to the festival, we like to provide a place where our guests can just chill out either before or after seeing their favourite bands at the festival.

‘We only sell to people who already have a festival ticket – we do not offer tickets as part of our hospitality package.

‘We have our own laid-back, live acoustic sets on site for when guests aren’t out at the festival, and we’ve booked guest chefs including Tim Maddams for our restaurant.

‘Our spa treatments are pretty much solidly booked out until about 4 or 5pm every day this week.

‘We do get some famous faces staying with us, and there are a couple this year, but most of our folks are just regular people who just want to treat themselves as part of the festival,’ Mark added.