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Soggy Glastonbury starts rocking Soggy Glastonbury starts rocking
(about 8 hours later)
The Glastonbury Festival is getting into full swing, but wet weather means a spell in wellies for fans yet again. US rock band Kings of Leon have closed the first full day of the Glastonbury Festival, as more than 130,000 fans partied on the Somerset site.
Heavy showers fell late on Thursday and there was further rain on Friday. Some 125,000 fans are on-site, police said. The band - three brothers and a cousin from Tennessee - topped the bill on the main Pyramid Stage.
Kate Nash was first on the Pyramid Stage, with Kings of Leon, Pete Doherty, Jimmy Cliff, Fatboy Slim and Franz Ferdinand also on Friday’s bill. Other performers on Friday included soul star Estelle on the Jazz/World Stage, Franz Ferdinand in The Park and Fatboy Slim in the Dance East tent.
Singer Nash told fans: "It's been an honour to open the festival and I hope you have such a good time." Further rain fell but fans have so far been spared a full-on mudbath.
A total of 137,000 fans are expected over the weekend. There is some mud across the site after heavy rain on Thursday night and showers on Friday.  
The event has not sold out. However, organisers made some day tickets for Sunday available to those who had previously applied but these were not on general sale and have now all gone, a spokesman said. But it is not yet as bad as the quagmires of the previous two festivals, in 2005 and 2007. 
Glastonbury organiser Michael Eavis explains why the festival is so specialGlastonbury organiser Michael Eavis explains why the festival is so special
Police said the number of thefts was up sharply on last year but there were fewer drug-related arrests. Saturday and Sunday are expected to be largely dry.
A police spokeswoman attributed the increase in thefts - from 19 at this stage in 2007 to 127 by Friday morning - to sunshine during the day on Thursday. Kings of Leon singer Caleb Fountwill told fans their headlining slot came five years after the band played their first festival.
"When we have had sunny weather in the past, we tend to find tent-thefts go up," she said. "That festival just happened to be Glastonbury," he said.
A suspected thief was also detained by festival-goers after allegedly disturbing two women in their tent overnight. "We've worked all the way up to where we are now so here's to you guys. Thank you very much for letting us do this."
The wet weather on Thursday night left the site damp with some mud underfoot. Saturday's headliner will be New York rap giant Jay-Z, whose appearance has caused controversy after some said a hip-hop star was not right for the top slot.
But fans are hoping further rain will hold off and prevent a quagmire on the scale of the last two festivals, in 2007 and 2005. Everyone felt the same - they were banging them in and they were snapping One Glastonbury reveller says the biodegradable tent pegs did not work as planned
Those mudbaths have been partly to blame for putting fans off buying tickets this year. He is expected to be preceded by Amy Winehouse, who appeared at a concert to celebrate Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday in London on Friday.
Everyone felt the same. They were banging them in and they were snapping One Glastonbury reveller says the biodegradable tent pegs did not work as planned Tickets for the festival did not sell out for the first time in at least 10 years, with some blaming the line-up and others put off by the weather in previous years.
"I did think twice about coming back because last year was such hard work," said Naomi Hadfield, 25, from Liverpool. Organisers made some day tickets for Sunday available to those who had previously applied but these were not on general sale and have now all gone.
"But I thought 'I hope it's better weather', and I chanced it," she said, sheltering from the rain in a canvas café selling hog roasts and giant Yorkshire puddings. Glastonbury first-timer Keith Gorby, 27, from Limerick, said the event was "huge".
Another reason for the slow sales has been the choice of headliners, with particular criticism for Jay-Z's slot at the top of the bill on Saturday.
However, the line-up has also attracted many people to the festival for the first time.
Keith Gorby, 27, from Limerick said the event was "huge".
"We've been here since Wednesday and we're constantly on the go, trying to see it all. I don't think in five days you could possibly see it all."
A look at how many people, stages, tents and loos there are at GlastonburyA look at how many people, stages, tents and loos there are at Glastonbury
"We've been here since Wednesday and we're constantly on the go, trying to see it all. I don't think in five days you could possibly see it all."
Lucy Coxhead, who is 19 and lives in Bury St Edmunds, was also making her first trip to Glastonbury.Lucy Coxhead, who is 19 and lives in Bury St Edmunds, was also making her first trip to Glastonbury.
She said there was "a lot more diversity" than at events such as the Reading Festival, with "bands you wouldn't normally pay money to see".She said there was "a lot more diversity" than at events such as the Reading Festival, with "bands you wouldn't normally pay money to see".
"We've been lost so many times," she said, adding she was "a little bit wet" and was "praying for sun"."We've been lost so many times," she said, adding she was "a little bit wet" and was "praying for sun".
There was some criticism of the biodegradable tent pegs, made from potato starch, which have been offered to fans and are designed to rot so they do not harm the livestock normally in the fields. There was some criticism of the biodegradable tent pegs, made from potato starch, which have been offered to fans and are designed to rot so they do not harm the cows that normally roam the fields.
"We were asked to make an effort with these and we did," said Bob Casey, a 55-year-old from Reading."We were asked to make an effort with these and we did," said Bob Casey, a 55-year-old from Reading.
The overwhelming majority of festival-goers are now at the Glastonbury site"In non-stress areas [with the tent] they're fine, but in stress areas they're a bit weak. Major roads in the area have been closed
"In non-stress areas [with the tent] they're fine, but in stress areas they're a bit weak.
"Everyone felt the same," he said. "They were banging them in and they were snapping.""Everyone felt the same," he said. "They were banging them in and they were snapping."
As well as the music, other attractions include a silent disco, a planetarium, a whirlpool bath and a replica New York nightclub. Police said the number of thefts from tents was up sharply on last year but there were fewer drug-related crimes.
This year sees a new area called Shangri-La, which hosts the Jacuzzi Lounge, the Gramophon Salon - a Japanese café where waiters in kimonos serve records - and a 1950s-style US diner that doubles as a nightclub. A police spokeswoman attributed the increase in thefts - 127 by Friday morning compared with 19 at this stage in 2007 - to sunshine on Thursday.
Some fans arriving on Friday have been facing delays in getting to the site after a nearby fire at a scrapyard a mile away. "When we have had sunny weather in the past, we tend to find tent-thefts go up," she said.
The fire is still burning and police said the A37 road would remain shut for much of Friday as a result. A suspected thief was also detained by festival-goers after allegedly disturbing two women in their tent overnight.
The A37 near the site will stay closed until Saturday morning at the earliest after a fire at a scrapyard about a mile from the festival on Thursday.