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Originally Glastonbury was heavily influenced by hippy ethics and the free festival movement in the 1970s. Organiser Michael Eavis claims he decided to host the first festival, then called Pilton Festival, after seeing an open air Led Zeppelin concert at the nearby Bath and West showground . The festival retains vestiges of this tradition, including the Green Futures/Healing Fields area and the reputation for drug taking. The festival site also has a megalith circle similar to Stonehenge, although this was constructed specifically for the festival and has no historic interest.
The festival takes place at Worthy Farm near the small village of Pilton, but since Glastonbury is a nearby town already associated with mystical happenings it has lent its name to the event. The nearest town to the festival site is Shepton Mallet but there continues to be interaction between the people espousing alternative lifestyles living in Glastonbury and the festival itself.
The festival is organised by local farmer Michael Eavis, who has hosted the event since its inception.
The first festival, a smallscale event of 1,500 people called the Pilton Festival, was in 1970, followed by the larger scale Glastonbury Fayre of 1971. The festival was not held again until 1979Events January-February January 1 Sino-American relations: United States and the People's Republic of China establish diplomatic relations January 4 State of Ohio agrees to pay $675,000 to families of dead and injured in Kent State University shootings., and has been an annual fixture since 1981Events January-February January Sarawak Chamber found January 1 Greece enters the EEC January 1 Palau becomes self-governing January 4 Sheffield police arrests Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper January 16 Protestant gunmen shoot and wound Bernadette D (albeit with breaks in 19881988 is a leap year starting on Friday (click on link for calendar). Events January January 2 Georgia celebrates its bicentennial statehood. January 9 Connecticut celebrates its bicentennial statehood. January 26 Australia celebrates its bicentennial day., 19911991 like 2002, is a palindromic year. It also has the same calendar as 2002, including Easter on March 31. It is a common year starting on Tuesday. Events January January 2 Sharon Pratt Dixon is sworn in as mayor of Washington, DC becoming the first blac, 19961996 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar), and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty''. Events January January 5 Hamas operative Yahya Ayyash is killed by an Israeli-planted booby-trapped cell phone Jan and 20012001 is a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar), and also: The International Year of the Volunteer The United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations Events January January 1 A black monolith measuring approximately nine feet tall ap).
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In recent years the festival has grown with new tents and stages included a Dance music tent, Jazz and World music stage, The Glade which has now become an independent festival and The Leftfield, a tent organised by Trade unions which appears at a number of british festivals.
During the 90's the festival suffered from increased overcrowding and crime due to a culture of gate-crashing. By 2000, a significant proportion of those at the festival gained entrance to the site 'unofficially'. In 2002 the festival returned after a break with a substantial surrounding fence that reduced numbers to the levels of a decade earlier. By 2003 people got the idea that it was no longer possible to crash the festival and hence it is recognised as one of the most successful years to date as well as selling out within 20 hours of tickets being available.
In 2004 tickets sold out within 24 hours amid much controvesy over the ticket ordering process, which left many potential festival goers trying for hours to connect to the overloaded telephone and internet sites.
The website got two million attempted connections within the first five minutes of the tickets going on sale and an average of 2,500 people on the phone lines every minute.
The backstage compound, restricted to normal festivalgoers, is populated almost entirely by bands and their support crews. The backstage bar, Lulu's, is, ironically, the cheapest bar at the festival, and hosts many charity functions and auctions.
The lineup for the 2004 Festival was officially announced on the 1st June 2004. Oasis, Paul McCartney and Muse headlined the Pyramid Stage on Friday, Saturday and Sunday respectively, whilst the Chemical Brothers, Basement Jaxx and Orbital headlined the Other Stage. Other bands appearing included the Raveonettes (New Bands Tent, to be renamed the John Peel Tent as of 2005 in tribute following the death of the DJ), Simple Kid (Acoustic Tent), Baghdaddies (Avalon Stage) and Sister Sledge (Dance Tent).
Michael Eavis has already submitted his license application to stage the festival again in 2005, and given that the number of complaints (just one, according to Q magazine) Eavis received from Pilton villagers after the 2004 festival, it seems likely that the application will be successful. The provisional dates for the festival are the 24th - 26th of June. U2 were rumoured to headline the festival should it go ahead but their ability to attend is now looking doubtful.
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