Australian entertainer Rolf Harris kicked off Glastonbury Festival's 40th anniversary today with a set full of wobble boards and antipodean charm.

Sunday is expected to be the hottest day of the year so far with temperatures topping 30C (86F), forecasters said today.

Old-timer starts off at a leisurely pace as the temperature rises

Boots has run out of wet wipes. Millets has sold out of wellies. Excitement levels are at fever pitch. Oh yes, it’s that time of the year again: Glastonbury. But it's not just Stevie Wonder, Muse and Faithless who are set to impress the crowds at Worthy farm this weekend; a host of designers, artists, lighting specialists, art directors, producers and fabricators will also make a mark with their multi-media installations and art displays providing a fantastical backdrop to the weekend’s performances.

"Please bring sun protection with you!" announced the Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis yesterday. It will be music to the ears of the 180,000 who will descend on Worthy Farm over the next few days.

It may be more mainstream than ever, but Worthy Farm is still the first stop for magical memories, says Rob Sharp

Readers review this week's festival

A horde of pop stars have been jostling for a lucrative berth on the soundtrack to the latest Twilight film. Gillian Orr takes a look at a particularly toothsome collection

Gemma Arterton got married this weekend, or at least we're pretty sure she did. There are photos in the Mail of Arterton wearing what seems to be a wedding gown, stroking the cheek of a chap in a morning suit, in a romantic Spanish mountain village. Looks a lot like a wedding to me. But her publicist won't confirm whether it is a wedding, or just a rehearsal for St Trinians 3. I contact said publicist to confirm that she won't confirm it. "I am not able to comment on Gemma's private life, or confirm anything," she confirms. "She is very guarded and private about it." Fair enough. But if she's so guarded, why tell the Mail about her fears of spinsterdom, and hurt at hints she'd put on weight? Well, at least one of those quotes is "completely untrue". Shocking stuff, but plausible: in May, according to the paper, Arterton's fiance was stunt driver Stefano Mioni. The bloke in the "wedding" snaps, on the other hand, is Stefano Catelli, sales manager for a fashion company. Probably.

La Roux's rise was helped by a remix of "In for the Kill" from the dubstep producer Skream. Now the electro duo are returning to the remix fray, via Major Lazer's electro-dancehall stylings. Apparently put together while Diplo and Switch – the producers behind Major Lazer – were in Jamaica, 'Lazerproof' is a 14-track mixtape with reworkings of La Roux material, alongside new work. Drake and Gucci Mane have added vocals. Diplo is not new to such efforts, having put together, among others, mixtapes with Santogold in 2008 and MIA's era-defining 'Piracy Funds Terrorism Volume 1' from 2004. The latest is a free download from his label MadDecent at Maddecent.com.

Gorillaz are to take U2's place as Glastonbury headliners, it was announced today.

It's the kind of news any festival director dreads. With just four weeks to go, Glastonbury's Friday-night headliners U2 have pulled out.

Strange to find a great natural event which has never had its due. Most of the exceptional happenings in nature, from the return of the salmon to the song of the nightingale, from the march of the penguins to the hunt of the orcas, have by now been appropriately appreciated and praised, versified, sung about, photographed, made into TV documentaries and commented upon in hushed tones by David Attenborough. But there is one extraordinary natural phenomenon which it seems to me has never been described or recognised in the terms which it deserves, and that is the spring return of the warblers to America's forests and woodlands.

Elisa Bray provides a breakdown of the best overseas destinations renowned for their festivals