Free milk, £1 camping and political protests: Glastonbury through the years, in pictures

As music fans return to Worthy Farm, it’s worth a look back on how much the world’s biggest festival has changed over the years

Thousands of revellers are celebrating the return of Glastonbury Festival, after co-organiser Emily Eavis opened the gates to Worthy Farm, Somerset, on Wednesday 21 June.

Three years ago, Glastonbury celebrated its 50th anniversary, having begun as the Pilton Pop, Folk and Blues Festival in September 1970 with just 1,500 people in attendance. Admission cost £1, which included free camping and free milk.

For those intrigued by Glastonbury’s fascinating history, you’re in luck. The BBC is currently hosting Francis Whatley’s excellent documentary, Glastonbury: 50 Years and Counting.

The story of Glastonbury is told through the festival’s principal curators, Michael Eavis and his daughter, Emily Eavis, along with some of the thousands of musicians who have performed at Worthy Farm over the years. This includes Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Ed O’Brien, Dua Lipa, Fatboy Slim, Noel Gallagher, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, and Stormzy.

“Balancing the driving forces of social conscience and hedonism, Glastonbury has always been both a world apart and a barometer of the state of the nation,” the BBC synopsis reads.

“Looking at the hippie days, CND, the contribution of the travellers, dance music, Britpop, The Wall, the impact of television and the first black British solo headliner, this film takes viewers backstage and deep into the archive to reveal the forces that have driven this alternative nation between utopia and dystopia, the greatest night of your life and a muddy field in the middle of nowhere.

“This is not a chronological plod through the festival’s evolution so much as a thematic and story-driven exploration of the peaks and troughs, and the agonies and ecstasies, that have shaped Glastonbury’s 50 years and counting.”

Glastonbury: 50 Years and Counting is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.

Take a look at some defining images of Glastonbury from over the years. Make sure you also follow The Independent’s live coverage of this year’s event.

A group eating apples next to a smouldering wooden cart at the first Glastonbury Festival, 1970 (Getty Images)

June 1971: Hippies at the second Glastonbury Festival, which saw the first use of a pyramid stage (Getty Images)

21st June 1971: Festival-goers washing and collecting water at one of the stand pipes at Glastonbury Festival (Getty Images)

June 1971: Hippies at the second Glastonbury Festival celebrate the summer solstice with music and dancing (Getty Images)

Two Glastonbury festival-goers in 1971 (PA)

A punk relaxes in 1983 (Nils Jorgensen/Shutterstock)

Crowds in front of the original Pyramid Stage in 1983 (Redferns)

Telephones at Glastonbury in 1985 (David O'Neil/ANL/Shutterstock)

Aerial view of Glastonbury in 1995 (PA)

Keith Flynn of the band ‘Prodigy’ performing in 1997 (PA)

Music fans make the best of muddy conditions as they display a wish you were here banner in 1997 (PA)

Radiohead’s Thom Yorke performing in 1997 (PA)

Two festival-goers enjoy a pizza in 1998 (PA)

Norman Cook aka Fatboy Slim laughs at his fiance, radio and television presenter Zoe Ball (right), as the weather takes a turn for the worse in 1999 (PA)

A naked festival goer in 1999 (PA)

David Bowie performs in 2000 (PA)

Paul McCartney performs on the Pyramid stage in 2004 (Getty Images)

Two festival-goers pass a roll of toilet paper between toilet cubicles in 2004 (Getty Images)

Festival-goers dance in the mud in front of the Pyramid stage in 2004 (Getty Images)

Kate Moss and Pete Doherty walk backstage in 2005 (Getty Images)

A festival-goer tries to rescue belongings washed away in 2005 (Getty Images)

Amy Winehouse performs in 2007 (AFP via Getty Images)

Jay-Z performs in 2008 (Getty Images)

Bruce Springsteen performs in 2009 (Getty Images)

Beyonce performs in 2011 (Getty Images)

A man jumps over a fire in 2013 (Getty Images)

People gather to watch the sun set in 2014 (Getty Images)

Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama (R) joins US singer-songwriter Patti Smith (L) on The Pyramid Stage in 2015 (EPA)

Two festival revellers roll in the mud after they took part in a tomato fight in 2016 (Getty Images)

An actor wears a heart-shaped costume in the circus area in 2016 (EPA)

People gather to watch the Arcadia landing show in 2017 (Getty Images)

Fireworks mark the end of the Foo Fighters performance in 2017 (Getty Images)

Ushers pose in a convertible at the Cinemageddon event in 2017 (EPA)

Stormzy performs in the headline slot in 2019 (Getty Images)

Climate change protesters take part in a procession in 2019 (EPA-EFE)