Free milk, £1 camping and political protests: Glastonbury through the years, in pictures

As music fans return to Worthy Farm, it’s worth a look back on how much the world’s biggest festival has changed over the years

Thursday 22 June 2023 06:50 EDT

Festival-goers begin to arrive at the Glastonbury Festival

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Thousands of revellers are celebrating the return of Glastonbury Festival, after co-organiser Emily Eavis opened the gates to Worthy Farm, Somerset, on Wednesday 21 June.

Three years ago, Glastonbury celebrated its 50th anniversary, having begun as the Pilton Pop, Folk and Blues Festival in September 1970 with just 1,500 people in attendance. Admission cost £1, which included free camping and free milk.

For those intrigued by Glastonbury’s fascinating history, you’re in luck. The BBC is currently hosting Francis Whatley’s excellent documentary, Glastonbury: 50 Years and Counting.

The story of Glastonbury is told through the festival’s principal curators, Michael Eavis and his daughter, Emily Eavis, along with some of the thousands of musicians who have performed at Worthy Farm over the years. This includes Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Ed O’Brien, Dua Lipa, Fatboy Slim, Noel Gallagher, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, and Stormzy.

“Balancing the driving forces of social conscience and hedonism, Glastonbury has always been both a world apart and a barometer of the state of the nation,” the BBC synopsis reads.

“Looking at the hippie days, CND, the contribution of the travellers, dance music, Britpop, The Wall, the impact of television and the first black British solo headliner, this film takes viewers backstage and deep into the archive to reveal the forces that have driven this alternative nation between utopia and dystopia, the greatest night of your life and a muddy field in the middle of nowhere.

“This is not a chronological plod through the festival’s evolution so much as a thematic and story-driven exploration of the peaks and troughs, and the agonies and ecstasies, that have shaped Glastonbury’s 50 years and counting.”

Glastonbury: 50 Years and Counting is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.

Take a look at some defining images of Glastonbury from over the years. Make sure you also follow The Independent’s live coverage of this year’s event.