Other Stage

Torrential rain in the week leading up to the Festival resulted in 1997 being the ‘year of the mud’. The first proper Greenpeace area included a reconstruction of their Rainbow Warrior Ship and solar-heated showers. The BBC filmed the Festival this year, beginning a longstanding relationship with Glastonbury.

In 1998 the official attendance topped 100,000 for the first time and resilient campers enjoyed the evergreen mix of entertainment in spite of the rain. There were over 1,000 different performances on 17 stages, including a new stage for emerging talent called the New Stage.

In a year of firsts, the Glastonbury Festival website was launched in 1999 and the Festival hosted an artist in residence for the first time - Kurt Jackson. The Festival was dedicated to to the memory of Michael’s late wife Jean Eavis

The third Pyramid Stage debuted in 2000 – it was 35 metres high and four times larger than the previous Pyramid Stage. David Bowie delivered one of the all time great Glastonbury performances, his first appearance at the Festival since 1971.

After a year off, Glastonbury returned in 2002 with a steel fence positioned around the entire site to deter gatecrashers. Coldplay played the first of many headline sets on the Pyramid Stage.

Glastonbury 2003 raised over £1 million for Oxfam, Greenpeace, WaterAid and local charities. The late Joe Strummer was recognized with a memorial stone in what would become Strummerville.

The 2004 site featured improved infastructure and drainage to help combat the unpredictable English weather. More than 1000 acts peformed across the site over the Festival’s five days, including a headline show by Paul McCartney, and performances in the new Left Field.

Tickets to Glastonbury 2005 sold out in under three hours – a new record – although exceptionally rainy weather on the Friday halted some performances. The Dance Tent expanded to become the Dance Village, and the New Bands Tent was renamed the John Peel Stage.

New area The Park was launched by Emily Eavis, while in the late-night area, newcomers Block9 launched their NYC Downlow venue. Michael Eavis was awarded the CBE for services to music.

JAY-Z headlined on Saturday night, beginning his set with an acoustic rendition of Oasis' ‘Wonderwall’. Glastonbury’s late-night offer continued to grow with the arrival of Shangri-La and Arcadia.

A ticket-deposit system was introduced before Glastonbury 2009, helping the Festival sell out two months in advance. On the Pyramid Stage, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and Blur headlined.

2010 marked Glastonbury’s 40th anniversary. From small beginnings, the Festival now hosted a tented city of over 177,000 people – larger than both Oxford and Bath. A second reservoir, holding two million litres of drinking water, was built to accommodate the crowd.

The Pyramid Stage celebrated 40 years with performances by many of the pioneering artists who played in 1971. Newcomer Ed Sheeran played an early afternoon set in the Croissant Neuf stage; three years later he would make his Pyramid Stage debut. The Festival donated over £2 million to its charitable causes.

The Rolling Stones made their first ever Glastonbury appearance, playing to a record crowd. The Stones' performance was accompanied by a fire-breathing phoenix sculpture – made by artist Joe Rush – that sat perched atop the Pyramid Stage

Dolly Parton made headline news with her first ever Glastonbury appearance on Sunday afternoon. Other headline acts included Arcade Fire, Kasabian and Metallica – all making their debut on the Pyramid Stage in 2014.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited Glastonbury for the first time in 2015. The Foo Fighters were scheduled to headline on Friday, but were forced to pull out two weeks before the show when Dave Grohl broke his leg. Florence + the Machine took their place on the bill.

The 2016 Festival coincided with the historic EU referendum vote; a stall was set up in the catering area so site workers could register to vote. New area The Wood was created, and Block9 opened a new venue called Genosys.

The 2017 Festival featured the newly created Cineramageddon, a drive-in movie space with over 200 vintage cars conceptualised by the Mutoid Waste Company. On the Pyramid Stage, Radiohead, Foo Fighters and Ed Sheeran headlined.

Glastonbury Festival 2019 saw headline acts by Stormzy and Kylie, as well an appearance by Sir David Attenborough. Single-use plastic drinks bottles were banned site-wide, and guests were asked to bring reusable water bottles.