Glastonbury Festival officially kicked off on Wednesday morning as festival founder Sir Michael Eavis and his daughter, co-organiser Emily Eavis, opened the gates at Worthy Farm.
Thousands of music fans were welcomed onto the Somerset site as the world-famous festival returned for its 2025 edition, ahead of a planned fallow year in 2026.
Sir Michael, 89, who launched the event on his family’s dairy farm in 1970, joined his daughter for the traditional opening moment, cheering alongside festival staff while a brass band played.
Sitting in a wheelchair, he counted down with Emily, 45, who declared the gates open at 8am sharp.
Speaking to BBC Radio 6 Music’s Nick Grimshaw shortly after, Emily described it as “one of my favourite moments of the whole weekend”.
She shared: “So much goes into all those areas... all that planning, all that speculation, all the opinions, all the debate, all the outrage, all the love, all the feelings that just are generated every day, all the press, all the noise.
“To be able to actually look everyone in the eye on those gates and bring everyone in, and just think, actually, it's all really just about this. It's all about these people having the best time over the next five days.”
Campers arriving at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, can expect a mixed bag of sunshine and rain throughout the week, “with sunny spells and scattered showers expected throughout the day” on Wednesday, according to The Met office.
This year’s event will see headline performances from British rock/pop band The 1975, veteran singer Neil Young and his band the Chrome Hearts and US pop star Olivia Rodrigo.
Performing in the coveted Sunday tea-time legends slot this year is Sir Rod Stewart, who previously said he will be joined by his former Faces band member Ronnie Wood as well as other guests.
His performance is to come after the Maggie May singer postponed a string of concerts in the US, due to take place this month, while he recovered from flu.
Speaking to BBC News about the performance, he said: “I just wish they wouldn’t call it the tea-time slot.
“That sounds like pipe and slippers, doesn’t it?”
Earlier in the month, in an appearance on the Sidetracked podcast, Eavis outlined the changes that have been made to this year’s festival and said music area Shangri-La is “going full trees and green space” which is “completely the opposite to anything they’ve done in the past”.
She also said the festival, which has capacity for 210,000 people, has sold “a few thousand less tickets” this year in a bid to avoid overcrowding.
Among the acts expected to draw large crowds this year is pop star Charli XCX, who will perform songs from her genre-defining sixth studio album Brat.
She is performing on Saturday night on the Other Stage, 15 minutes before the West Holts stage is graced by US rapper Doechii, another artist who has exploded in popularity in the last year.
Other performers include Irish singer CMAT, Prada singer Raye, US musician Brandi Carlile, Nile Rodgers and Chic, hip-hop star Loyle Carner, US pop star Gracie Abrams, indie outfit Wet Leg, Mercury Prize-winning jazz quintet Ezra Collective, US rapper Denzel Curry and rising star Lola Young.
The line-up also features a number of acts listed as TBA, as well as a mysterious act called Patchwork, who will take to the Pyramid Stage on Saturday.
This year, the BBC will provide live-streams of the five main stages – Pyramid, Other, West Holts, Woodsies and The Park.
On Wednesday at 10pm the festival will open with a theatre and circus act set in the Pyramid Arena, which will showcase acrobatic and circus performances, culminating in a fireworks display.
