GREAT NUMBERS FROM WORLD’S BEST FESTIVAL

1

pound: The entrance fee at the first festival in 1970 headlined by Marc Bolan. Today it’s £280.

5

days – the length of the festival, starting on Wednesday and ending on Sunday.

8

miles of fencing surround the site. The perimeter is a third of the distance from Dover to Calais.

25

metres – the height of Pyramid Stage, inset right. It now has 292 speakers, 354 microphones and 3,743 lightbulbs.

27

minutes – how long it typically takes for tickets to sell out.

30

miles is how far, on average, festivalgoers walk over the five days.

35

– the average number of social media posts each will make.

39

– the average age of a festival attendee.

100

bars to choose from. In 2003, 400,000 pints of beer and cider were necked.

143

– how many miles people travel, on average, to get to the site.

399

– typical spend by a festival-goer on everything from travel to food.

405

– number of people the BBC once sent to cover it.

430

cows normally roam the land, which has been farmed by the Eavis family for 150 years.

500

– number of food stalls. Lager and pizza have been found to be the festival favourites.

1,100

acres – area of the festival site. It’s the same as around 500 football pitches.

1,500

people were at the first event. They got free milk from the farm’s cows.

2019

– last year the festival was staged. The headliners included Stormzy.

FESTIVAL fans are in for a treat this week as Glastonbury returns. The music extravaganza will take place for the first time since 2019, following the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 editions because of the pandemic.

Headliners this year will include singer Billie Eilish, Sir Paul McCartney, below, and rapper Kendrick Lamar, with festival founder Michael Eavis, below inset, predicting: “It’s going to be the best show ever.”

But how much do you know about the world’s most famous music event? drums up the facts and figures…