Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts is on a farm in Pilton, near the town of Glastonbury in Somerset in the south west of England, held -find Festival of Music and the Performing Arts. During the festival, music groups come from all areas of contemporary popular music, from rock music to folk, world music and jazz, to hip hop, drum and bass, and others. In addition, also includes performances of theater, dance, comedy and circus program. The event takes place usually on the last weekend of June, lasts three days and is now one of the world's largest open -air music festivals ( number of visitors in 2008: approximately 177,000 ).
History
The origins of the festival lie in the hippie era and are influenced by their ethics. To date, there are remnants of it to show how the Green Futures / Healing Fields sections at the festival site or its reputation as a place of excessive drug use. On the premises is also a megalithic circle, but this was specially built for the festival, so it has no historical origin.
The first festival on Worthy Farm the dairy farmer Michael Eavis in the vicinity of the village of Pilton found on September 19, 1970 as the Pilton Pop, Blues & Folk Festival. Around 1,500 spectators saw performances by Marc Bolan, Keith Christmas, Stackridge, Al Stewart and Quintessence, in the admission price of a pound of free milk was included. Already the following June was held in conjunction with the summer solstice, a second festival, Glastonbury Fayre called instead - organized by Andrew Kerr and Arabella Churchill appeared with free admission Hawkwind, Traffic, Melanie, David Bowie, Joan Baez, Fairport Convention and Quintessence.
After 1978, a small spontaneous festival had taken place, Bill Harkin and Arabella Churchill in 1979 organized to mark the International Year of the Child, the next Glastonbury Fayre - the three-day festival, among others, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hillage and Alex Harvey Band, however, was financially a loss.
As a result, the concept of the event, which is to say since 1981 Glastonbury Festival, Michael Eavis is organized by and held annually (with few exceptions) was born.
Michael Eavis heads today about his company Glastonbury Festivals Ltd ( since 1981) the festival, and he still defines large parts of the program. In some areas and stages it has made the line so organized as The Left Field by some union- clubs and another field is operated by Greenpeace. Since 2002, the organization is with the operator company Festival Republic (formerly Mean Fiddler Music Group ) divided - the contract is concluded for five years, and Eavis explained that after one year will be paused. Eavis donates all profits to charity, with the cooperation since 2002 as a share of 60 % of total profits. Through a variety of volunteers, the cost of the festival remain low, however, a number of stalls and the technical infrastructure of correspondingly aligned firms are provided. Eavis received wide recognition, including with honorary doctorates from the University of Bath and the University of Bristol, and a Commander (CBE ) of the British royal order of knights for his decades of service.
In 2012, the festival did not take place.
The musical spectrum
The Glastonbury Festival is one of the largest and most famous rock festivals in Europe. Sometimes it is also referred to as " English Woodstock ". Unlike many other festivals that are either focused on a specific genre or simply present known possible acts, the musical spectrum of the Glastonbury festival is very versatile. Besides well-known for a long time stars such as Led Zeppelin, The Kinks, Paul McCartney, Johnny Cash, T. Rex, Shakira, Robbie Williams and Suzanne Vega or younger rock acts such as Travis, Lady GaGa, Coldplay, Muse, Oasis and New Order the festival presented over the course of the 1990s and 2000s, a number alternative acts and newcomers such as Jamiroquai, the German World Music troupe dissidents, the alt-country and folk musicians Michelle Shocked and Angie Palmer, PJ Harvey or Nightmares on Wax. In 2003 Dave Gahan ( Depeche Mode ), the Sugababes, the Asian Dub Foundation, Pendulum, Radiohead, The Flaming Lips, Los Lobos, Primal Scream, The Skatalites, and dozens of other bands played, for example, the Manic Street Preachers, in almost 10 different tents. Since 2007, the BBC Introducing Stage, will be presented to the young or unsigned bands to a wider audience, such as Gabby Young & The Other Animals, The Ting Tings, The Brute Chorus, Two Door Cinema Club and Jake Bugg, who during the subsequent Festival already occurred on the main stage.
Circumstances
Because of its popularity is now and again the circumstances of the festival for attention. During the 1990s, the event was notorious for massive overcrowding and crime. The exercise to gain entry without a map, had established itself and caused massive problems. 2002 was the reopening place with a significant increase in the outer fence, Finally, in 2003 the people had accepted that it was hardly possible for black to come to the site. The tickets were sold out within 20 hours after the opening of ticket sales. 2004 finally it was again sold out within 24 hours, were able to reach one of the telephone exchanges under fierce complaints from potential visitors who produce neither an Internet connection at this time. The Internet connection had two million hits in the first five minutes after the intrusion; on the telephone lines were in those 24 hours on average 2,500 calls per minute. Numbers with which the organization was obviously overwhelmed. For 2005 150.000 visitors were expected. Due to heavy rainfall, much of the tents was constructed at the beginning of the festival, however, knee-deep under water, the first appearances had to be postponed. 2005, the John Peel Stage was inaugurated. The late last year prominent DJ ( BBC Radio 1 ) has been a regular presenter at the festival. In 2008, the festival was criticized when Michael Eavis announced in the British tabloid The Sun that David Gilmour made the offer to play at the festival. But Eavis refused on the grounds that Gilmour would be too old for the young audience.