a vintage anniversary year for Glastonbury Festival

This year's Glastonbury Festival has all the makings of becoming the stuff of legend. Sunday's line-up is topped by Stevie Wonder who draws what has to be the biggest crowd ever assembled in front of the Pyramid to see his singalong set of hits and feel good numbers to "celebrate" Glastonbury's 40th Anniversary and close a 'vintage' Festival.

Wonder had the masses in rapture when he brought event founder Michael Eavis on to the stage saying, "I want to thank this wonderful man who's had this for 40 years. Yes, 40 years. It's a celebration. Happy Birthday." A huge massed chorus of "Happy Birthday" followed with farmer Eavis joining in on vocals.

Elsewhere festival favourites Orbital drew a decent crowd and Empire Of The Sun provided a visual treat to conclude proceedings on The Park Stage. Rodrigo y Gabriela also gathered a decent following at West Holts. Meanwhile on the most incredible looking stage at the festival, Arcadia, David Rodigan provided a fortieth anniversary celebration of the formation of Bob Marley & The Wailers, with enough flames to Catch a Fire.

A whole five days of sunshine with not a jot of rain is a rarity at Glastonbury, and the fields were dusty as fluttering flags and the occasional cloud provided shade during the morning.

The big clash of the day was the ill fated England match versus a rip roaring sing along to 'Sweet Child Of Mine', 'Paradise City' and more on the main stage with Slash, one of the most metal flavoured acts to ever grace the Pyramid Stage.

For those footie fans who'd smashed up their vuvuzelas and were feeling the clouds of depression, there was Ray Davies filling the legend slot and he'd brought the Crouch End Festival Choir onstage with him to perform a string of Kinks hits including 'Sunny Afternoon', 'You Really Got Me', 'Lola', 'Waterloo Sunset', and 'All Day And All Of The Night'.

Faithless provided the last day's magical sunset slot entertainment and did not disappoint, providing a wonderful worked soundtrack and a chance to take in our surroundings and take a chance to look around at the sights and sounds in this, the most iconic of arenas. Much like Maxi Jazz, I felt 'Become 1' was a moment never to be forgotten.

For many the first experience of Glastonbury was being stuck in long queues in the hot sun at the pedestrian gate entrances. Once on site those that got in in time were able to watch the England football team's victory on screens at various places on site including with a massive crowd at the main stage. Afterwards there was a chance to sample the foods on offer and enjoy a beer in the sunshine. There was also a few live bands offering music on the smaller stages, as well as circus entertainment, a chance to check out the shopping stalls, and more.

Conditions were near perfect in front of the main Pyramid stage on Thursday for the eFestivals World Cup football match which raised over £9000 for WaterAid. With the crowds entertained by Hobo Jones and the Junkyard Dogs and an Endorse It In Dorset supergroup before watching a closely fought game where England took the honours winning 6-4. The game was even watched by Prince Charles from the stage. Unfortunately post match entertainers Supernova had to cut their set short as the Festival chose that moment to test the speaker array.

Following the match the warm evening meant many were able to enjoy music in the small stages and with most people now on site the new late night areas tantalised with their incredible designs. A sizeable crowd gathered in the sacred space to watch the sunrise under a full moon.

The main stages sparked into life in the sunshine on Friday and Rolf Harris started the party. Many of the campsites began to fill up and the day's entertainment was topped off with Gorillaz (with a fan's set) and a host of guests including Snoop Dogg, Shaun Ryder, Mark E Smith, Bobby Womack, and Lou Reed amongst others. Unfortunately Mos Def had to cancel his appearance at West Holts and Femi Kuti was moved back to headline the flag filled stage.

Whilst on the second stage Flaming Lips delivered a lively set and Sasha got the crowd's seems in the air in Glade.

Earlier Snoop Dogg had drawn the biggest crowd of the day, and The Stranglers played the Other Stage for the first time, and said they rather liked it. Frank Turner, Mumford & Sons, and Florence & The Machine also stool to various stages, with Thom Yorke revealed as the surprise guest in The Park (a well kept secret).

Saturday followed Gorillaz example with a host of special guests. Muse stole the show with an encore guest performance from U2's Edge, and before them Scisssor Sisters had an appearance from Kylie.

Biffy Clyro were special guests in The Park while Shakira and The Dead Weather played to those roasting in the sun at the main stage. George Clinton and Midlake headlined the West Holts Stage and Park respectively, whilst Kelis, Chipmunk, N-Dubz, and Jamie T had the crowds jumping in the dance village. Whilst over in Avalon Lightning Seeds did a rousing acoustic version of 3 Lions.

This year the festival had provided so much more Theatre, Circus, Poetry, Cabaret and alternative entertainment that the music almost took second place. Circolombia provided amazing acrobatics, and Ken Fox's incredible Wall of Death was an increddibly adrenaline fuelled experience. There were crowds in front of all the ground shows, and the new areas of The Common, Block9, and The Unfair Ground sat perfectly beside Shangri-La, and Climate Camp. This area really came into its own this year with mind bending site art, a host of random stages and bars, and a plethora of roving characters to make it an unforgettable experience.

The Green Fields too provided a wealth of skills to learn, and had a wonderful relaxed feel about it, a true festival within a festival away from the crowds sweltering in front of the main stage. The new kids' galleon, and Earth Dome Stage in the Greenpeace area also provided a nice base for those with young families.

Glastonbury offers a wealth of fun just for kids, with the huge Kidz' Field, and they turned up in their masses to enjoy the weekend. The mix of people attending the festival was as diverse as ever, with a nice global flavour and a diverse audience. It's also worth mentioning the huge range of food on offer, the Festival was a Gastronomic delight for many providing a wealth of choices from around the world to sample, alongside the more regular burger and chips, pizza, sandwiches and the like.

Festival organiser Michael Eavis and family, who have seen the festival grow into the largest and most diverse festival in the world must be heartily congratulated for giving us such a wonderful experience over the last 40 years. It's staggering to think of how much time and effort went into making the event so thrilling, and so diverse, and the people who have worked so hard to achieve such a bounty must be heartily congratulated for providing a Festival which incredibly managed to offer more possibilities to thrill, entertain, and get involved than ever before.

The only downside, the Chinese lanterns whilst they look amazing in the sky, the amount of falling glowing embers (and wire - that's bad for the cows) in such a dry environment there was a risk of tents catching fire. The dying grey lanterns fell like jellyfish from the sky, raining down on the site, and surrounding fields. On the way home the roads and fields were littered with their husks which will cause a new clean up headache for the Festival.

With the wealth of entertainment on offer, it doesn't matter who the three headliners are that the dairy farmer says he has already booked for next year, the Festival will be the most extra-ordinary experience of the year, and we all have such amazing memories of a most treasured anniversary as we make our journeys home.

Latest Updates