By Jason Cairnduff and Sachin Ravikumar
GLASTONBURY, England (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of music fans streamed into Worthy Farm in southwest England on Wednesday at the start of Glastonbury, the beloved music festival that will feature Elton John, Guns N’ Roses and the Arctic Monkeys this weekend.
Elated fans wore sun hats and lugged camping gear to the site of the world’s biggest open-air arts and music festival, primed to witness hundreds of acts over five days culminating in British singer Elton John’s last ever UK show on Sunday night.
Other performers include singer Yusuf/Cat Stevens, Blondie, rappers Lizzo and Lil Nas X, Lana Del Ray, Rick Astley and a Friday evening mystery act on the main stage billed only as “The Churnups” and believed by some to be rock band Foo Fighters.
Heavy showers fell over the 900-acre grassy expanse of Glastonbury on Wednesday, although fans, many equipped with Wellington boots to wade through muddy fields, appeared undeterred.
“Up at half-two in the morning and we’ve got another couple hours’ wait ahead of us, but I’m looking forward to the week ahead,” said Tom Hemmings from Bristol, who was among thousands queueing on foot to enter Worthy Farm.
“It’s Elton John’s last performance so definitely looking forward to seeing that.”
Doubts still swirled over the status of Arctic Monkeys’ Friday night performance on the main Pyramid stage after singer Alex Turner’s laryngitis forced the Sheffield rock band to cancel a gig in Ireland this week.
Glastonbury, founded by Michael Eavis 53 years ago, typically sells out before any headliners have been announced, given the strength of previous line-ups.
Tickets for the 2023 edition sold out in one hour when they went on sale in November. For the re-sale tickets five months later, it took just six minutes.
“I’ve done a festival before but I’ve never managed to get my tickets here,” said Glastonbury first-timer Hemmings.
Last year’s festival, which returned after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, featured artists ranging from Paul McCartney to Billie Eilish and was attended by 210,000 fans.
(Reporting by Jason Cairnduff and Sachin Ravikumar; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
