Glastonbury Festival is one of the world’s largest and most famous performing arts festivals, held on farmland at Worthy Farm near Pilton, Somerset, England. What began in 1970 as the small-scale Pilton Festival, inspired by founder Michael Eavis attending a Led Zeppelin concert, has grown into a five-day cultural landmark spanning roughly 1,500 acres of countryside.
The festival is best known for its Pyramid Stage, a 25-metre-tall centerpiece with an extensive sound and lighting rig, though the site also hosts dozens of other stages and areas covering music, theatre, circus, cabaret, and more. Organized through Glastonbury Festivals Ltd and largely staffed by volunteers, the event channels significant proceeds to charity organizations including Oxfam, WaterAid, and Greenpeace.
Stats at a Glance
- Location: Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset, England
- Type: Outdoor music and performing arts festival
- Opened: 1970 (as the Pilton Festival)
- Capacity: About 210,000 attendees
- Site size: About 1,500 acres (610 ha)
- Famous for: The Pyramid Stage
The Festival Experience
Beyond music, Glastonbury is known for its sprawling variety of areas, from the Pyramid and Other Stage for major headline acts to the eclectic Park, Shangri-La, and Green Fields sections offering theatre, art installations, and alternative culture. Attendees typically camp on-site for the multi-day event, turning Worthy Farm into a temporary city.
The festival maintains a strong environmental and charitable ethos, with most workers volunteering their time and a large share of profits going toward humanitarian and environmental causes. This community-driven structure has helped Glastonbury retain its countercultural roots even as it has grown into a globally broadcast event.
Fallow Years and Longevity
To protect the land from the strain of hosting hundreds of thousands of visitors, organizers periodically schedule ‘fallow years’ with no festival, allowing Worthy Farm’s fields to recover. Previous fallow years occurred in 2012, 2018, and most recently 2026, with the festival scheduled to return in June 2027.
Michael Eavis has run the festival since 1981, and his daughter Emily Eavis now leads much of its day-to-day operations. Attendance once peaked at around 300,000 in 1994, though the festival now caps capacity at roughly 210,000 to manage safety and site impact.
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Glastonbury Festival FAQs
Where is Glastonbury Festival held?
It takes place at Worthy Farm near Pilton, Somerset, England, on a site covering roughly 1,500 acres.
When did Glastonbury Festival start?
The first event was held in September 1970 as the Pilton Festival, founded by Michael Eavis.
Why doesn’t Glastonbury happen every year?
The festival takes periodic ‘fallow years,’ including 2026, to let the farmland recover from hosting large crowds; it returns in June 2027.
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Photo: Czampal / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.