Conceived by Bill Harkin the stage was a one-tenth replica of the Great Pyramid of Giza built from scaffolding and metal sheeting and positioned over a "blind spring", a term used to describe a hypothetical underground body of water in the pseudoscientific practice of dowsing.

[20] Performers included Family, David Bowie, Mighty Baby, Traffic, Fairport Convention, Gong, Hawkwind, Pink Fairies, Skin Alley, The Worthy Farm Windfuckers and Melanie.

That year a new Pyramid Stage was constructed from telegraph poles and metal sheeting (repurposed from materials of the Ministry of Defence), a permanent structure which doubled as a hay barn and cowshed during the winter.

"[42] The gig opened the way for others such as the Chemical Brothers, Massive Attack and Underworld, who all played high-profile stages in the following years – developments that led to the launch of the festival's Dance Village in 1997.

[13] This aside, 1995 proved to be a highly successful year with memorable performances from Oasis, Elastica, Pulp, PJ Harvey, Jeff Buckley, Jamiroquai and The Cure.

[58] In 2002, the festival returned after its planned fallow year, with the controversial Mean Fiddler now handling the logistics and security – especially installing a substantial surrounding fence (dubbed the "superfence") that reduced numbers to the levels of a decade earlier.

Revenue raised for good causes from ticket and commercial licence sales topped £1 million, half of which went to Oxfam, Greenpeace and Water Aid.

[65] The festival was not hit by extreme weather, but high winds on the Wednesday delayed entry, and steady rain throughout Saturday turned some areas of the site to mud.

[79][80] The opening day of the 2005 festival was delayed by heavy rain and thunderstorms: Several stages, including the Acoustic Tent (and one of the bars), were struck by lightning, and the valley was hit with flash floods that left some areas of the site under more than four feet of water.

There was one fatality: a West Midlands man found unconscious early on the Saturday morning died in Yeovil District Hospital of a suspected drugs overdose.

[91] On 20 December 2007, Arabella Churchill, an instrumental figure in the conception of the 1971 festival and since the 1980s area coordinator of the Theatre Field, died at St Edmund's Cottages, Bove Town, Glastonbury at the age of 58.

Michael Eavis, paying tribute to her after her death, said "Her vitality and great sense of morality and social responsibility have given her a place in our festival history second to none".

[100] Several reasons have been cited for this, including the poor weather of the previous four years[101] and the controversial choice of featuring the hip hop artist, Jay-Z, as a headlining act.

[106] The Festival had always pushed a green agenda and new initiatives in 2008 included biodegradable tent pegs handed out free to all campers[107] and biotractors running on waste vegetable oil.

In marked contrast with previous years, the 137,500 tickets went on sale on 5 October 2008, earlier than ever before, with pre-registered customers able either to pay in full, or place a £50 reserve deposit to be paid by 1 February.

[112] Other notable performers included Jarvis Cocker, Fairport Convention (who played at the first Glastonbury Festival), Tom Jones, Steel Pulse, Doves, Lady Gaga, Jason Mraz, Nick Cave, Pete Doherty, Hugh Cornwell, Status Quo, The Gaslight Anthem (in which Springsteen appeared on stage during their song "The '59 Sound"), Madness, Dizzee Rascal, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Lily Allen, Kasabian and Florence and the Machine.

On the last night, Michael Eavis appeared on the main stage with headline artist Stevie Wonder to sing the chorus of the latter's "Happy Birthday", marking the festival's 40th year.

[127] The decision to move the fallow year to 2012 also proved to be a fortunate one, as Somerset experienced spells of persistent heavy rain in the period up to and including the week that the festival would normally have been held.

[130][131] To mark the 2012 Glastonbury weekend, Eavis was invited to guest edit the local paper, the Western Daily Press, on Saturday 23 June.

[134] A few weeks before the 2015 festival Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl fell off a stage during a show in Gothenburg and broke his leg, forcing their late withdrawal from the line-up.

Other notable acts who performed included Motörhead (their final festival appearance in the UK before Lemmy's death), the Moody Blues, Pharrell Williams, Deadmau5, Patti Smith, the Strypes, Lionel Richie, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Enter Shikari, the Chemical Brothers, Thee Faction, Alt-J, Paloma Faith, Mary J. Blige and Paul Weller, as well as an appearance by the 14th Dalai Lama.

The group credited with coining the term "reggae" in song was subsequently rescheduled by the Glastonbury Festival organisers giving Toots and the Maytals the midnight slot, with all other acts being shifted by one hour.

[142][143] In February 2018, festival organiser Emily Eavis confirmed in a BBC interview that a plastic bottle ban could be enforced at the 2019 event for environmental reasons.

[147] The Pyramid Stage was headlined by Stormzy, The Killers and The Cure, with Miley Cyrus,[148] Janet Jackson, Kylie Minogue, Wu-Tang Clan, The Chemical Brothers, The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican and Fatboy Slim also performing.

Live at Worthy Farm also saw the debut of The Smile, a new band featuring Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead with Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner.

[165] Other notable artists playing the Friday included Royal Blood, Fred Again, Young Fathers, Fever Ray, Carl Cox and Faithless.

The bars are organised by the Workers Beer Company, sponsored by Carlsberg (previously Budweiser), who recruit teams of volunteer staff from small charities and campaign groups.

[181] The station operates as a mini hub with waiting shuttle buses transferring passengers from Castle Cary to the festival site as required.

Worthy Farm is situated at grid reference ST 590 397 in a valley at the head of the Whitelake River, between two low limestone ridges, part of the southern edge of the Mendip Hills.

[185] The Highbridge branch of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway ran through the farm on an embankment, but was dismantled in 1966 and now forms a main thoroughfare across the site.