Glastonbury 2025 opening ceremony kicks off festival with a bang
In pictures: Glastonbury Festival day two
(about 11 hours later)
The Pyramid Stage opened with a theatre and circus show for the first time since 1990
With tents firmly pitched and wristbands secured, revellers spent the second day of Glastonbury Festival exploring the more obscure and eccentric attractions on site.
With tents firmly pitched and wristbands secured, revellers spent the first night of Glastonbury Festival exploring the more obscure and eccentric attractions on site.
More and more ticketholders queued and entered Worthy Farm on Thursday morning, brimming with excitement.
Ticketholders queued through the night to be among the first to enter the gates of Worthy Farm on Wednesday, brimming with excitement.
Those who were there the night before saw, for the first time in 35 years, an opening ceremony from a theatre and circus act in front of the Pyramid Stage.
As night fell, for the first time in 35 years, the event hosted an opening ceremony from a theatre and circus act in front of the Pyramid Stage.
Thursday was full of surprises, with many more to come as the main line-up does not start until Friday.
And with the main line-up not starting until Friday, crowds also flocked to the traditional opening fire ceremony in the Green Fields' Sacred Space.
Drizzly wait: Campers awoke on Thursday morning to a flood of torrential rain carving a river through the grass.
Is there a Banksy at Glastonbury? A painted board has appeared featuring a picture of a raft that the famous graffiti artist made, which was carried across the crowd during Idles' set at the festival last year. The artwork has been screwed to the wall of a poster shop at Worthy Farm.
Surprise visit: Michael Eavis was spotted at Carhenge, where a new portrait of the festival founder was unveiled
Space Man: Sam Ryder performs an impromptu gig onboard a train service travelling from Paddington Station to Glastonbury, ahead of his Saturday set at the music festival.
Get sweaty: People work out during a fitness exercise session as Joe Wicks performs on the Gateway stage.
Acrobats and singers took part in the immersive performance
These boots are made for walking: Festivalgoers experience the immersive situationist artwork and performance space Terminal 1.
Many performers were suspended in the air for the show
Sunshine after the rain: The site dried up quickly after the morning downpour, with festival-goers treated to a gorgeous view in the evening.
The audience at the immersive aerial performance were asked to tune in and hum along to the movements of a digital cyclist on screen at the Pyramid Stage, creating a "collective soundscape".
Congratulations: Jim Christopher got down on one knee to propose to his girlfriend Neve Workman in front of the famous Glastonbury sign... a festival tradition that is becoming more and more popular.
Glastonbury organisers described the performance, named The Dreamweaver's Journey, as a "beautiful chaos of sound".
The Dreamweaver's Journey was a colourful display of light, colour and sound
Crowds were encouraged to sing along to the "breath-taking aerial odyssey"
Elsewhere on site, others leaned into nostalgia and indulged in a 90s singalong at the Greenpeace stage.
The official opening of the ambient Tree Stage saw meditations, celebrations, offerings and the ceremonial lighting of the Tolpuddle fire, which stays burning continuously from dusk till dawn.
The lighting of the Tolpuddle fire is a symbolic tribute to the festival's history and community spirit
Revellers gathered at the sacred Stone Circle to watch the sun set
The evening culminated in a fireworks display, seen from both ceremonies, which ignited the sky with blazing trails and colourful sparks.
Many people gathered at the Tipi Village, The Stone Circle and at the base of the Glastonbury sign to watch the spectacle.
Festivalgoers huddled together under shelter as they awaited a break in the clouds
Campers awoke on Thursday morning to a flood of torrential rain carving a river through the grass.
But despite its best efforts, the weather could not dampen the spirits of festivalgoers who braced the rain wearing sunglasses, in true Brit fashion.
Festivalgoers made makeshift tents in an attempt to stay dry on Thursday morning
Forecasters say the damp start should pass and be replaced by a windy afternoon with temperatures ranging from the high teens to low 20s.
By the evening, the winds should subside and the evening will be clear with a chance of patchy rain at about midnight.
Additional reporting by Paul Glynn
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