The Glastonbury Festival can sometimes give the impression a taste for mud developed at Sebastopol and the Somme has been passed to later generations. But in contrast to the poor bloody infantry who suffered at both those battles their descendants at Glasto have entertainment rather than artillery shells to take their minds of it.
Since the first Glastonbury event in 1970, with the occasional year off to let the land recover, or to allow the facilities and safety measures to be improved, Glastonbury has been a major British institution.
There is something noble about the festival: Michael Eavis , on whose Worthy Farm it all began, and who still oversees it with his daughter Emily, wove hippie-tinged cooperative, charity and green elements into the fabric of the festival from the outset. It relies greatly on volunteers, who give their labour for free entry and their keep, wages being paid to charities they represent. Annual charitable income from the gathering has topped £1 million.
And there is something very British about the eclecticism of the event: performers who had their heyday in the 60s – say Paul McCartney or Ray Davies – and the 70s – Rod Stewart – mixed in with bands just hitting the big time. That eclecticism is seen in the broadening of the offering over the decades, with comedy and other art forms now represented.
If all that did not make it an institution, then the presence of both Hare Krishna and Millets would. Long may it continue. And may somebody eventually explain why it is not called Shepton Mallet , three miles closer to the farm than Glastonbury is.
More British Institutions
Afternoon Tea
Allotments
April Fools Day
Big Ben
Binge Drinking
Black Cabs
Bonfire Night
British Sense of Humour
Brown Windsor Soup
Burns Night
Cadburys
Castles
Changing the Guard
City of London
Coronation Street
Cowes Week
Cricket
Crufts
Dad’s Army
E-Type Jag
Eccentricity
English Country Garden
Fish and Chips
Fish Fingers
Fox Hunting
Full English Breakfast
Gin and Tonic
Glastonbury
Glorious Goodwood
Grand National
Grouse Shooting
Harrods
Highland Games
Hogmanay
James Bond
John Bull
King Arthur
Land Rover
Lloyds of London
London to Brighton Veteran Car Rally
Marks and Spencer
Monty Python
Morecambe and Wise
Old School Tie
Oxbridge
Panto
Picnics
Pimms
Point-to-Point
Punch and Judy
Queueing
Real Ale
Red Arrows
Red Telephone Boxes
Remembrance Poppies
Robin Hood
Rolls Royce
Royal Ascot
Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo
Savile Row Suits
School Discos
School Sports Day
Seaside Piers
Speakers’ Corner
Stag Nights
Stiff Upper Lip
Strawberries and Cream
Street Markets
Summer Festivals
Sunday Roasts
The Archers
The BBC
The Beano
The Boat Race
The Brass Band
The British Bobby
The Bulldog
The Church of England
The Cup Final
The Curry House
The English Rose
The Garden Shed
The Honours System
The Kilt
The Last Night at the Proms
The London Bus
The Mini
The National Trust
The NHS
The Oak
The Pub
The Queen’s Speech
The Rolling Stones
The Royal Christmas Message
The Spitfire
The V Sign
The Village Fete
The Weather
Travelling Fairs
Trooping the Colour
Village Greens
Wedgwood
Wellington Boots
Wimbledon
Wine Gums
Yeomen of the Guard
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