Glastonbury Festival to host 18 feet tall bee

Glastonbury Festival goers will notice there's a bit of a buzz around the William's Green area of the Festival with Ecover's 'Bee Clever' campaign making a statement with an 18 feet tall giant free-standing sculpture of a bee commissioned by artist Ptolemy Elrington. As well as news of the bee, the Festival has also confirmed more than 120 workshops will be on offer in the Greencrafts Village.

The bee named 'Bee Clever' will use recycled material, including waste plastic fished from the sea, to act as a symbol for Ecover's "Message in our Bottle" campaign, which saw the brand make a pledge earlier this year to continue to innovate and remain at the cutting edge of sustainability, and inspire new thinking about how to tackle the growing environmental problems we face.

Bees play an integral role in our eco-system and are a species at threat from environmental damage. Ecover backed the recent European Commission vote to ban the usage of pesticides which are harmful to bees whose decline in numbers may be due to their widespread use. The brand has a close connection to bees, having been inspired by the processes they use to make honey, to develop their plant-based Eco-Surfactants. These Eco-Surfactants are a key element in making the production of Ecover products lower power and crucially, as a biological process they are more sustainable.

Earlier this year Ecover announced a world first in packaging innovation to tackle the plastic waste plaguing our seas. The company who have been handing out free products from their range at the Festival for a few years now launched Plant-astic – 100% sugarcane-derived plastic – in 2010, which for the first time completely eliminated the need to use petrol-based plastic.

Later this year they will add post-consumer recyclables (PCR) into this plastic mix for its packaging, before incorporating waste plastic retrieved from the sea into its bottles as part of an initiative with Waste Free Oceans.

Ecover's UK Head of Brand Clare Allman said, "Here at Ecover we have the opportunity to provide solutions when it comes to addressing issues surrounding sustainability, and we are constantly ensuring we innovate to meet the changing demands of our world. Glastonbury Festival is a hugely influential event and we’re looking forward to sharing the 'Message in our Bottle' through our bee sculpture, Bee Clever."

Ptolemy Elrington, who designed and created the bee, specialises in using recycled materials to create animal forms for his company Hubcap Creatures, which are designed to raise awareness about ethical issues and the beauty of nature. He added, "Ecover's commitment to sustainability and their latest plan to incorporate sea plastic in to its packaging is a brilliant example of a brand taking responsibility for the environment and it's great to be part of it."

Robert Richards, Commercial Director of the Glastonbury Festival commented, "Glastonbury Festival has worked with Ecover for many years because of our shared values and commitment to sustainability. Having the artist Ptolemy Elrington create something beautiful from recycled materials can be an inspiration to us all."

To learn more about the Message in our Bottle campaign visit, www.the-splash.co.uk/message-in-our-bottle.



Also announced today are more than 120 workshops on offer in the Greencrafts Village at this year's Festival. From forging tools to clay sculpting to wood carving to jewellery making to survival skills the skills area has grown to be the biggest gathering of independent craftspeople in Europe.

The village offers a daily taster Happy Hour when it is all free from 10-11am, with workshop prices starting at a couple of quid and offer the chance to immerse yourself completely in the magic of creating something more valuable, in a full range of materials, clay stone textiles wood glass copper iron or silver etc.

Most workshops operate on a drop in basis, a few need to be booked in advance, and welcome all, old hands and new hands, as well as children with accompanying adults.

Traditionally the first area up and running, cunningly situated below Kings Meadow and the Stone circle, it is a terrific area to wander about, create something and enjoy the spirit, creative energies, and the view across the Festival.

Workshops on offer include Survival Skills with Wildwood Bushcraft, Making fire with a Bow drill, Wilderness Crafts, Making fire with flint and steel + Knot work & cordage. Clay workshops with Pottery Parlour, Kick wheel pottery throwing, Come play Clay, and Clay sculpting.Wood Workshops with Cylchcoed, Have a go at timber framing building, Lawless Furniture, Wooden Bridgets cross, Spinney Hollow, Greenwoodwork using pole lathes, shave horse, hand drill & cleving tools making swords, magic wands, walking sticks & larger greenwood projects, Green Device, Make a carved wooden bowl & tree pendant, La Roulette, Learn about yurt making with steam bending, North Wind Blows, Wood turning a mushroom – cycling to make power, Funky Monkey - Make ash/hazel walking staff, tent pegs & hemp cord bracelets, Wiltshire Hurdles, Have a go at making hazle hurdles or a ash cleft gate, Shakeahula - Hula-hoop making using turning lime/cherry wood on a peddle powered victorian lathe with steam bending, Occupy Yourself, Have a go at wooden sculpture carving blackthorn & wooden badge making, Gary Orange - African slotted and carved wooden chair, Robin Wood, A chance to learn about the craft of bowl turning on a pole lathe, Dorset Shafts, Learn how wooden horse shafts are made, Roots, Make a wooden stool, or carve a spoon & learn how to make a yurt crown, Running Deer - Traditional native Indian crafts and wooden toy making.

There are also Willow workshops with Emma Scott - Try weaving willow Twisted Hedge, Make willow grass & reed woven baskets, stars, hearts, utterflies & garlands, Willow Sculptures -Learn how to weave a willow garden animals like a dragonfly or butterfly, Hedgerow Arts - Making bird feeders, woven baskets, fish, wreaths & stars, Blith Field - Learn how to weave a willow basket, dragon-fly, snail and other sculptures. Jewellery workshops
Feel good with Body Beautiful in the Angel Gardens. Make a mini bath bomb, soap & spell pouches. Metal workshops at the Bronze Age Foundry. Learn the ancient craft of bronze casting, using a furnace fuelled by charcoal Alfresco Forge. Have a go at forging hot metal using a drop-hammer. Kate the blacksmith - Forged metal hook & metal bunting using re-cycled tin cans/wire Mario Avalos - Blacksmithing workshops & see a cold working metal sculpture demo Garry Johnson - Blacksmithing workshop, Millypeds, Bicycle repairs, maintainance and workshops on all things bicycle, Gareth Blacksmith -Forging workshops in tool making, & flint & steel fire-lighting kits. Textile workshops include Leatherworks, Stitching leather and learn how to use rivets, eyelets and embossing, L for Leather, Learn leatherwork techniques: rivit, lace, emboss, stitch, punch, braid, edge & polish making a range of items with saddle making demo, Hapitat, Making fascinators, badges, flower clips & head-pieces, Stitch Sisters, Make textile bunting using hand crank sewing machine and print techniques, Camp Bunting, Making button bracelets & use a hand sewing machine making fabric bunting, Emma Fountain Felt, Wet felting wool, making rings, hair dregs and balls, Scarramouch, Make a textile bum rug, Ring a Ring O. Roses, Flower head garlands and hat/hair sticks workshops.

Stone workshops with Rockworx, Stonecarving workshop - sculptural,, Tom Clarke stonemasonry, Stonecarving workshop – carving drawings onto paving slabs for local school, Mixed Media Mosaics, Make a media mosaic plaque, Stoneycraft Stone carving small items, Chalk & Charcoal, Have a go at chalk carving – sculptural. Glass & Light workshops with Phoenix Candles, Candle making workshops, LED Fantastic, Learn to join LED components & to solder, making a range of items like a torch, fairy lights & tenticles, Sophie Hussain, A chance to learn about the craft of stained glass. Join the musicians with a Instrument Making with Running Horse, shamanic drum & rattle making.

Whilst in the Greencrafts Marquee will be Caorigh Felt, Have a go at felt making - felt pouches and phone covers, Wayne's Woods, carving wooden spoons, The Grindstone Cowboy, jewellery from re-cycled silver plated cutlery + tool sharpening service, Faith and Betty, Bath bombs using essential oils & dried herbs and flowers, Willowcraft, Take part in making a giant willow ball.

It's only 5 weeks now until this summer's SOLD OUT Glastonbury Festival which runs for five full days from Wednesday 26th June until Monday 1st July 2013 across a 1000 hectares (2470 acres) of beautiful countryside at Worthy Farm, Somerset. Resales of unwanted tickets will take place on Sunday 21st April 2013, for those who have registered beforehand so that they are eligible to buy a ticket.

Tickets were priced at £205, and have sold out. For more details about registering and ticket information click here. The deadline for ticket refunds is Friday 3rd May.

The full line-up for 2013 has not yet been announced. The Rolling Stones, Mumford & Sons, and Arctic Monkeys headline with Bobby Womack, Dizzee Rascal, Primal Scream, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Vampire Weekend, Elvis Costello, Portishead, Chase & Status, The xx, Foals, Example, The Smashing Pumpkins, Alt-J, Two Door Cinema Club, Public Image Ltd. (PiL), Tame Impala, Alabama Shakes, Editors, Chic Ft. Nile Rodgers, Public Enemy, The Weeknd, Seasick Steve, Major Lazer, Tom Tom Club, Maverick Sabre, Lianne La Havas, Crystal Castles, Hurts, Phoenix, Bastille, Everything Everything, James Blake, Johnny Marr, The Courteeners, Jessie Ware, Cat Power, The Horrors, Fuck Buttons, Django Django, Rodriguez, Dinosaur Jr, Calexico, Steve Mason, Palma Violets, Devandra Banhat, Michael Kiwanuka, Steve Winwood, Sinead O' Connor, Lucinda Williams, Glen Hansard, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings, Gabrielle Aplin, The Proclaimers, Martha Wainwright, Seth Lakeman, KT Tunstall, Ben Caplan, Beverley Knight, Crowns, Evan Dando, Gary Clark Jr, JJ Grey & Mofro, Josh Doyle, Lucy Rose, Mad Dog Mcrea, Molotov Jukebox, Newton Faulkner, Oysterband, Penguin Cafe, Shooglenifty, Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3, Slim Chance, Simian Mobile Disco, Terakaft, System 7 vs Eat Static, Don Letts, Nas, Disclosure, Hot Natured, David Rodigan, Sub Focus, AlunaGeorge, Eats Everything, Rudimental, and The Congos, plus Malian singer Rokia Traore. In an act of solidarity with the musicians from Mali - where Islamists in the north have banned music - acts from the country will appear at the Festival each day. As well as Speakers include Caroline Lucas, and Tony Benn with acts such as The Portraits, Tankus the Henge, Telling the Bees, Rodney Branigan, and more.

There are still many more to be confirmed for the Festival, with much of the line-up still underwraps for Arcadia, The Common, Croissant-Neuf, The Field Of Avalon, Green Fields, Green Futures, Greenpeace, The Healing Field, Kidzfield, Leftfield, The Pilton Palais, Shangri-La: The Afterlife, Strummerville, The Unfairground, Introducing: The Arctic Dome, Blues, Genosys, Glasto Latino, The Glastonbury Free Press, Gully, Sonic, The Summerhouse, and William's Green.

As usual eFestivals will bring you the very best-sourced rumours, allowing festival-goers to see who is playing long before the bands are formally announced - keep your eyes on the Glastonbury 2013 line-up and rumours, updated as we receive information.

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