24 Facts you probaby didn't know about festival season
Who gets free Glastonbury tickets and how hot does it get at Coachella? Here's some festival trivia you never knew!
Getty ImagesThe first Glastonbury Festival cost £1 to attend, but the price included free milk. Sadly, this is no longer included in the £205 price tag today.
Getty ImagesThe hottest temperature recorded at Coachella, held in the Californian desert, was in 2002 when it was 38 °C (100 °F) ; the coldest was the year before when it was a chilly 3 °C (37 °F) .
Alamy£0 - yes, that’s how much residents of the nearby village of Pilton (population: 935) pay for a Glastonbury ticket each year. We’re not jealous or anything…
Rex FeaturesYou might not be surprised to hear that Glastonbury is in the Guinness Book Of Records, but did you know it’s in the juggling section? On 26 June 1984, 826 people, each juggling at least three items, managed to keep 2,478 objects in the air. Yes way.
Getty ImagesOasis split up five days after appearing at V Festival in 2009. Their Hylands Park set on 23 August would have been their last... But the band pulled out after Liam Gallagher claimed he had viral laryngitis.
Getty ImagesThere never seem to be enough toilets at festivals, do there? But at Glastonbury, there are over 4,000 loos, with water being supplied via two reservoirs, each holding a mammoth 2,000,000 litres.
Getty ImagesOnly one festival has its own inflatable church. Bestival’s love-in lets you get married… For a small fee. Reverend Duncan Pritchard is on hand to help you say your vows and have a wedding with a bit of a difference (read: lots of mud).
Getty ImagesHow much does Glastonbury cost to put on? £22 million, according to organiser Michael Eavis. "The infrastructure, the fencing, the roads, the water and the loos, the marquees, the management, the security and the police, it goes on and on so we do have to sell out in order to make it work."
Rex FeaturesPaul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen were 30 minutes over their curfew time at Hard Rock Calling in 2012 when, during Twist And Shout, organisers decided to turn off the power and cut the set short. Springsteen had told the crowd as McCartney came onto the stage: “I gotta tell you, I've been trying to do this for 50 years.” Much backlash followed.
Getty ImagesIn 2007, 2,485 miles of toilet roll were used at Glastonbury on the opening day. In case you’re wondering, that’s as far as London is from Baghdad.
Getty ImagesThere’s only been one runaway inflatable pig in festival history. Roger Waters of Pink Floyd was performing Dark Side Of The Moon in 2008 and sent a two-storey inflatable pig floating off into the desert sky. The two couples who retrieved it (two miles away) were given $10,000 in reward money (which they gave to charity) and four lifetime passes to Coachella.
Rex FeaturesKula Shaker wrote the song 303 about the A303 road (which leads to Glastonbury).
Rex FeaturesThe 1969 Isle Of Wight festival opened 11 days after Woodstock ended and was Bob Dylan’s first performance after a serious motor cycle accident. All the excitement led to 150,000 fleeing over to the fair isle to watch what became dubbed "the second coming of Bob Dylan".
Rex FeaturesThe first Secret Garden Party in 2004 only had one stage and attracted around 1000 visitors. Since then the festival has grown and 2017’s festival has 20 stages, which will be watched by over 26,000 revellers.
Getty ImagesKeith Allen started bringing his daughter Lily Allen to Glastonbury when she was just five weeks old. He confessed that he used her to help him sell drugs: "I didn't see what was wrong with taking little Lily along with me as a sales tool - rather like the homeless lads do with dogs."
Getty ImagesIn 2012, Coachella Festival brought in $254 million to the Coachella Valley.
Rex FeaturesIn 2002, Glastonbury shelled out £1 million on a "superfence" to beat the fence-jumpers and to boost security.
Getty ImagesWorthy Farm, the functioning milk farm which Glastonbury is part of, is situated at grid reference ST 590 397.
Rex FeaturesV Festival originates with Jarvis Cocker who announced in 1996 that he wanted to play two outdoor festivals in two days. His promoters created a plan that allowed him to play the same gig in Victoria Park, Warrington and Hylands Park, Chelmsford on two consecutive days, allowing his fans in both the north and south to see him perform.
Rex FeaturesPaul McCartney seems to have made a habit of breaking curfews! In 2007, he was fined £1,000 by a local council for playing too late during his Glastonbury set. Organiser Michael Eavis offered to pay the fine, even though Macca earned a staggering £175,000 for headlining.
Rex FeaturesReading Festival is 62 years old this year. It’s known for its rock music now but it started life the National Jazz Festival, and was held at Richmond Athletic Ground.
Getty ImagesCoachella is known for its green credentials and reward people who participate in carpooling– anyone who has four or more people in their car and displays “carpoolchella” somewhere on their car may be selected to win VIP tickets/pass for life for everyone in their car.
Getty ImagesGlastonbury started in 1970 as Pilton Festival when 14 people invested everything they had to build a stage on Michael Eavis’ Somerset farm.
