To paraphrase a certain Noel Gallagher – who ventures here religious every year – there is only one true festival, and its name is Glastonbury. Once a redoubt for crusties, hippies, freaks, and miscellaneous others, the festival maintains its counter-cultural leanings as it evolves through the 21 st century. Trends may come and go, and the people on-site probably don’t resemble legendary 90s eco-warrior Swampy any more, but Glastonbury remains the ur-festival, the font through which all other streams and tributaries owe their H2O.
It goes without saying, but the Somerset site itself is massive. Gargantuan, even. 2024 is only this reporter’s second year, and it remains a breathtaking experience, almost impossible to truly take in.
Impossibly detailed, you find yourself moving from a pop-up pub blasting out dub reggae to an arts installation made from washed up plastic, via a jungle redoubt, a palm-reader, and sundry other entertainments. It’s genuinely dazzling, and makes the epic size of the site feel all the more dwarfing. Best bring some walking shoes, then.
— — CLASH arrives on-site for Wednesday evening, using the spare time to soak up the site, and enjoy the drone show. A new addition, in truth it felt slightly underwhelming, but the sudden rush of the more familiar fireworks changes all that – there’s just something about that smell which takes us back to childhood. Thursda y finds the gargantuan site coming to life, its limbs, fingers, and tendrils be.