Stunning aerial photos show Glastonbury organisers putting a colourful event together, full of tents, stages and bars as thousands get set to make their way to one of the world’s most talked about music festivals.
The coveted event is set to kick off tomorrow in Somerset, lasting until Sunday, with a star-studded line-up.
Pictures give an insight into how much space the event takes up as well as a sneak peek into the myriad of stages and events that attendees will be able to enjoy.
Some festival goers had started to arrive at the event earlier today and were pictured in shorts and wellies as they hopped over puddles, following heavy rain which has hit the whole of the UK.
As many festival goers will be making sure their wellies are packed this weekend, one local took to his paraglider to soak up the views before the site becomes awash with music lovers.
James Pearce, 51, often flies his powered paraglider from a field near the festival site, reaching heights of up to 1,000ft using his paramotor.
He has been watching organisers put up tents, stages, tipis and bars for months, and took some striking photos when he flew over on Saturday.
James, who has been flying for two years, said: ‘I live in Glastonbury and use a farmer’s field here to fly from so have been watching the prep work for the festival for the last couple of months.
Stunning aerial shots show the set up for the festival which begins tomorrow. A myriad of tents and huts of different colours can be seen (left) while some of the shots show how far the event spans
James Pearce took these stunning shots while paragliding over the Somerset festival on Saturday as organisers prepared for the event
Wellies at the ready! Some people had gotten into the festival spirit early, donning wellies and shorts (left) while others kept it casual in tracksuits (right) as they carefully carried their luggage over the mud
One woman was seen wading through the mud today wearing wellies and jeans and she attempted to cross through a puddle
‘The paramotor lives in the back of my van so is always ready for a fly if I’m driving around and see a nice field to fly from.
‘I’m always taking photos on my phone.’
Despite the stunning photos showing clear skies those arriving early to the event, which starts tomorrow, were greeted with swamps of mud and had to swiftly don their wellies, but had also been sporting shorts due to the humid weather conditions which were being felt across the UK today.
Humid and muggy conditions for rest of the week could lead record heats as parts of Europe scorch in 106F, following the Sahara Bubble dumping a week’s worth of rain across the UK in just one hour.
Amazing shots show the festival being set up with tipis and tents all ready to go for the arrival of attendees over the next few days
James Pearce, 51, often flies his powered paraglider from a field near the festival site (left), reaching heights of up to 1,000ft using his paramotor (right)
Other festival goers kept it casual in tracksuits and all-in-ones while they carefully carried their luggage over the muddy puddles and set themselves up for the weekend.
Despite the set up for the festival looking extremely colourful, organisers have requested that those coming to the festival only use certain glitters.
On the Glastonbury website, organisers said: ‘Please only use biodegradable body glitter. Conventional glitter is a microplastic pollutant.’
It also stated that glitter being sold on site by traders at the festival must be biodegradable.
Red and yellow and pink and green, orange and purple too! You can see a rainbow when you look at the swathe of tents which have already been put up
Festival goers attending Glastonbury this year have been met with a host of rules for the event in Somerset. Pictures above show paraglider above the event
Friday’s line up includes popular acts such as Stormzy and George Ezra on the Pyramid Stage, while acts such as Liverpool band The Wombats and The Vaccines will delight fans on the Other Stage.
Saturday will see the likes of The Killers, Liam Gallagher, Janet Jackson and Anne Marie take to the Pyramid Stage, while on the Other Stage, The Chemical Brothers, The Courteeners and Lewis Capaldi will wow fans with their musical splendor.
On Sunday, US star Miley Cyrus will hit the Pyramid Stage with acts such as Bring me the Horizon and Slaves, taking to the Other Stage.
Event organisers have also asked those attending to not urinate on the land as it causes ‘toxic pollution of the water table.’
Stunning shots show the beauty of the Somerset countryside which is one a year taken over by festival goers from across the globe
Organisers stated: ‘The Environment Agency tests the water regularly, and has the power to close down the site if too many people have urinated and polluted the site. It really could be the end of Glastonbury if you pee where you shouldn’t. Please only pee in our thousands of toilets and urinals.
‘We have over 1,200 compost toilets across the site, which after a year turns into wonderful compost which is brought back onto the farm and used in the Permaculture area and Peace garden. A compost toilet is a water free system that is best for the environment.
‘There are thousands of toilets on site, and we urge you to use them. Environmental health students check the toilets twice a day and cleaners and other staff are on hand, 24/7, to help keep them functional.’
On the top left corner you can see the Pyramid Stage being set up while other event spaces can be seen going up around it
Ready for Glastonbury? Festivalgoers will walk 30 miles and take 143 selfies during the famous music event
The average Glastonbury festival-goer will walk nearly 30 miles and take 143 photos during the five day event, a survey has found.
Researchers who polled 1,000 people who have been to the festival found they will watch 16 performances over the five days and phone home three times a day.
Revellers will make around 25.3 million calls and messages in total from the venue on Worthy Farm, Somerset.
The study, by Glastonbury Festival’s technology partner EE, found almost two thirds admitted they would be lost without their phones at the festival.
The typical Glastonbury-goer will also post 12 videos on social media documenting their experiences at Worthy Farm- resulting in 2.4 million uploaded throughout the festival [File photo]
The typical Glastonbury-goer will also post 12 videos on social media documenting their experiences at Worthy Farm- resulting in 2.4 million uploaded throughout the festival.
Fans were also found to travel an average of 143 miles to get to the site, with the average Glastonbury-goer walking almost six miles every day – almost 30 miles over the course of the event.
More than a tenth of fans even estimate they walk 10 miles or more each day to see all their favourite acts.
With so much ground to cover, one in four believe having maps on their smartphone to find cars and tents makes things a lot easier.
A new EE Glastonbury app has been launched so that festivalgoers can drop location ‘pins’ on the app’s festival map to find one another.
A spokesperson for BT and EE said: ‘Our new and improved EE Glastonbury app allows Festival-goers to drop pins on the festival map, listen to artists playing at Glastonbury to discover new music to help build their perfect festival line up, and create and share their own personalised set-lists so they can make sure they don’t miss a beat.’
