Morning:
8°c
Crowds started arriving today at the Glastonbury Festival causing six-mile tailbacks.
Gates for the four-day festival opened at 8am to allow the first of the expected 135,0000 people to pitch their tents.
There were traffic jams by 10am on the A361 and the A37 towards Worthy Farm, Pilton in Somerset, with longer delays expected for the next 24 hours.
Edwina Elkington, 19, and Emma Dudlke, 18, left, both from London, were among the 60,000 to arrive today, making good use of wheelbarrows to carry their gear the long way to the campsite.
Gallery: Festival-goers arrive at Glastonbury
The weather forecast for the weekend is mixed, with today and tomorrow's sunshine set to turn to heavy rain, possibly even thunderstorms on Friday.
The chance of rain over the rest of the festival is slim with temperatures remaining in the twenties.
The festival officially opens tomorrow night. The headliners will be Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and a reformed Blur finishing the festival off on Sunday.
Other acts appearing include Doves, Lily Allen, Franz Ferdinand, Kasabian, the Ting Tings and Status Quo, Little Boots and Jarvis Cocker.
Reader views (7)
To the people complaining about the 'oldies' performing... did you think they signed these performers up AFTER the people started showing up? Come on - at least go through the motions of actually thinking before hitting that 'submit comment' button.
Even if sections of the crowd don't want to listen to some of the performers at given times, there will be plenty that do. They don't HAVE to revolve around your tastes in music as an entry qualification for the festival, you know.
- Rogan, Irving, 25/06/2009 04:51
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Tony Christie, Tom Jones, Rolf Harris....and they have the audacity to call it a festival of "contemporary performing arts". It all seems to be middle of the road, unchallenging and uninteresting and safe in order to be broadcast by the BBC.
- Paul R, London, 24/06/2009 17:36
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From these comments I assume you're not middle class.. in which case thank God it's so expensive!
- Nick Hardy, London, London, 24/06/2009 16:34
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So many oldies playing this year I am surprised they didnt dig up Elvis
- Keith Price, Luton, England, 24/06/2009 16:19
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Getting there early guarantees nothing, many a person has woken up in the morning to find someone's slapped a tent 2ft in front of their own tent.
- Bob, Cheam, 24/06/2009 16:08
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With the average cost of a Glastonbury ticket, travel, food, camping gear etc getting into the region of £600 each, its only the middle classes that can now afford to go. Mind you, that is largely reflected in the very "safe" acts in the line-up. I thought last years line-up was bad until i saw who this years acts were.
- Paul R, London, 24/06/2009 13:37
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It should be a quiet weekend in Chiswick and other middle class suburbs, now that the trustafarians have gone to "Glasto". Oh ya!
- Anthony, Esher, Surrey, 24/06/2009 13:13
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