Task 6: Reading

You are going to read a text about Glastonbury, a major music festival in England.

Read the text, explain the numbers on your worksheet.

 

Glastonbury festival.

The first Glastonbury Festival took place in 1970 and was organised by Michael Eavis, who still runs the festival now on his farm in Somerset in the south-west of England. Michael charged people just £1 to enter, and the ticket included free milk from the farm. Only 1,500 people attended on that occasion, but this number has grown exponentially since then. In 2011, there were approximately 100 times more people in the crowd and tickets, which cost £195 each, sold out within 4 hours. The festival takes place almost every year in the last weekend of June and lasts for three days.

Although it is best known for contemporary music, Glastonbury (or ‘Glasto’ as it is often called) is host to other performing arts such as dance, comedy and theatre. The festival site is now made up of distinct zones, each one providing something different to cater for the tastes of all those present.

Countless famous British musicians have played at the festival, including Sir Paul McCartney, Oasis and Coldplay, however the festival also attracts international interest, and has seen headline acts in recent years such as the likes of Beyonce Knowles, Stevie Wonder and Jay-Z.

The festival is renowned for being extremely muddy, and on many occasions, most notably in 1997, heavy rainfall turned the whole festival site into a quagmire. Glastonbury-goers remain undeterred, however, and are quite happy to boogie the festival away in their wellies.

Because of the high demand for tickets, the festival has also been famous for ‘fence-jumpers’. In 2000, when only 100,000 tickets were sold, about 250,000 people attended the event – many of whom jumped over the surrounding fence to gain entry. Security increased in 2002 and a ‘superfence’ was created to prevent people from entering without a ticket. In the same year, the new Pyramid Stage, graced by the presence of David Bowie, was welcomed back following its demise in 1994 when it burnt down just a week before the festival was to begin.

The festival supports Fair Trade and has made substantial contributions to charity over the years. In 2003,over a million pounds was donated, and Greenpeace, Oxfam and WaterAid continue to be main beneficiaries.

The next Glastonbury festival is set to take place in 2013, following a year off in 2012 to make way for the Olympics and give the farmland a chance to recover. Registration for tickets is already open.