Glastonbury attenders were setting up camp in sweltering temperatures as the 54th edition of the UK’s best-known festival got under way on the hottest day of the year so far.
Temperatures in the UK soared to 30C on Wednesday, and at Glastonbury music fans were sprayed with water as they made their way around the 364-hectare (900-acre) site, which opened at 8am to fans who had queued overnight.
Organiser Emily Eavis, who was accompanied by a small brass band as she counted down to opening the gates, said it was “the best moment of the year”.
“This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for. We work on it all year. To open the gates and see everyone here, it’s amazing,” she told the BBC.
Onsite, the temperature reached 27C as many of the event’s 200,000 attenders arrived for the weekend. It had sold out within hours of tickets going on sale and is a notable success story in a tough period for festival organisers.
This year, 50 music festivals have either been postponed or folded entirely, with inflation driving up building costs and people staying away due to the cost of living crisis.
Glastonbury has not been entirely insulated from that environment: the event is now the most expensive festival of its kind in the UK, with tickets costing £360, an increase of £75 from two years ago.
Even in the current competitive and volatile market, the organisers have taken some chances with this year’s lineup, opting for a mix of newer names and tried-and-tested acts for the headliners.
Dua Lipa returns for her first-ever headline set on the Pyramid stage, after previous appearances in 2016 and 2017, while on Saturday night Coldplay will make their fifth headline appearance.
Sunday’s bill is topped by SZA, a Glastonbury debutant, whose booking turned heads because of her relatively low profile in the UK. However, it was also in keeping with the festival’s lineup, which is arguably the most diverse ever.
Burna Boy, Femi Kuti, Tems, Janelle Monáe, Little Simz, D-Block Europe, Michael Kiwanuka and Olivia Dean are on the bill, while the Notting Hill carnival and the St Paul’s carnival from Bristol are teaming up. There is also a dedicated South Asian music zone in the Shangri-La area called Arrivals.
Jordan from south London is a first-timer. He set off at 5am and had arrived by 7.30am, missing the traffic that had caused long delays getting into the site. “I’m liking it so far: I don’t know what to expect,” he said. “I was a tiny bit disappointed with the headliners. I’m more excited to see Tems and Burna Boy on the main stages.”
Tracy and Steve from south Wales travelled up on Wednesday morning. “We literally left at 6.45am and the tent was set up by 11am,” said Tracy, who is excited about seeing Shania Twain. “I love Cyndi Lauper as well. I think Dua Lipa will be amazing.”
Steve said he had never heard of SZA but “would go to see what she’s got” anyway. “You say that, but our niece is going to London to see her on Saturday,” adds Tracy. “She is huge and really talented.”
Organisers have not expressly said it, but the acts this year look partly designed to attract a more diverse crowd, after criticism – including from Lenny Henry – that the event attracted an overwhelmingly white audience.
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For those who can’t make it down to Worthy Farm, there are still ways to watch the action. This year Dua Lipa’s and Coldplay’s sets will be streamed globally for the first time, meaning 2023’s streaming audience of more than 21m on the BBC will probably be exceeded.
Football fans at the event will have to be creative when it comes to watching England’s last-16 tie on Sunday afternoon, after the festival confirmed it would not be screening the match. The game also clashes with one of the highlights of the weekend: the Sunday afternoon “legend” slot, which this year is occupied by Shania Twain.
The singer promoted her appearance by telling the BBC that she hoped to ride on horseback to her set. “I love horses,” she said. “I love all animals. I’m going to go see if there’s a horse around I can borrow – maybe I could go riding, that would be awesome.”
The usual rumours of surprise sets were already circulating around the site. Last year the Foo Fighters played on the Pyramid Stage in front of an enormous crowd after they appeared on the bill under the pseudonym the ChurnUps.
There will definitely be a huge moment for fans of K-pop, as the South Korean superstars Seventeen make their debut on the Pyramid stage on Friday afternoon. They are the first K-pop group to grace a stage at Glastonbury.
Seventeen were the second biggest selling act of 2023 globally, surpassed only by Taylor Swift.
The sweltering conditions on Wednesday, with weather warnings put in place around much of the UK, will be replaced by temperatures of about 18C to 20C for the rest of the event, with a small chance of scattered showers.
The Met Office predicted the weekend would be “mostly warm, dry and settled”.