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Damp Glastonbury gets under way Glastonbury festival kicked off by Liam Gallagher
(about 4 hours later)
The Glastonbury Festival starts in earnest today, as the main musical programme gets under way. Liam Gallagher has launched the 2013 Glastonbury Festival with a surprise appearance on The Other Stage.
Acts on the opening day include Rita Ora, Chic, Dizzee Rascal and headliners Arctic Monkeys. The singer, who headlined with his former band Oasis in 2004, squared up to the audience at 11:00 BST and launched into Flick Of The Finger, a recent single with his band Beady Eye.
Drummer Matt Helders told the BBC the band would "have some fun" with their set. Other acts on the bill for Friday include Chic, Sinead O'Connor, Dizzee Rascal and headliners Arctic Monkeys.
By Thursday evening, 118,000 ticket holders were on site - giving Worthy Farm in rural Somerset a population about the same size as Chester. About 180,000 music fans are attending the festival in Somerset.
Another 62,000 people are due to arrive by the time the festival is fully underway. "It's never too early for a bit of Rock'n'Roll aggro, is it?" asked Gallagher as his band launched into Oasis hit Morning Glory for the gathering of fans keen for an early start to the weekend of live music.
The three-day event caters to all tastes, with cutting-edge dance acts Skrillex and Rudimental rubbing shoulders with veteran entertainers like Kenny Rogers and Sir Bruce Forsyth. As tradition dictates, the site was drenched with rain on Thursday but forecasters expect the weather to be dry for the rest of the weekend.
As tradition dictates, the site was drenched with rain on Thursday. What was forecast as a short, sharp shower turned into an all-day deluge. It has been largely peaceful so far, with 107 reported crimes and 61 arrests.
It did little to dampen spirits, however. Revellers either retreated to indoor arenas or made the most of the sludge - creating impromptu mud slides and assault courses around the 900-acre site. Somerset police say there have also been 32 drug related offences reported, 12 of which were for possession of restricted substances.
Angels Other headliners include Mumford and Sons and The Rolling Stones.
Performances also got underway at the vaudevillian Shangri-La area, where an early-afternoon soundcheck by Japanese brass punk band Asakusa Jinta drew such a crowd that it turned into a full-blown set. Speaking to Radio 1's Newsbeat, Stones guitarist Keith Richards said the band had a few reservations about their set.
Shangri-La is tucked away in the darker confines of the South-East corner, and harbours some of the alternative spirit of the original Glastonbury Festival in 1970. "I think the only pressure we feel is that it is the first time we've done an outdoor show for yonks and English weather," he said.
"Throwing in those two equations, yeah there is maybe a little apprehension."
On the main Pyramid stage, Friday's music started with the charismatic Congolese act Jupiter Bokondji and Okwess International.
They will be followed by BBC Sound Of 2013 winners Haim, pop star Rita Ora, Hackney rapper Professor Green and rock group The Vaccines.
Rumours of "secret appearances" are always rife at Glastonbury, and this year's crop range from the likely (Fatboy Slim and Radiohead's Thom Yorke) to the fanciful (David Bowie).
Definitely on the bill are veteran entertainers Sir Bruce Forsyth and Kenny Rogers, while Solange Knowles - younger sister to 2011 headliner Beyonce - plays the smaller Park Stage on Friday afternoon.
Although the main music programme only kicked off on Friday, revellers have been gathering on site since Tuesday.
They've been entertained by smaller performances and installations around the 900-acre green field site, including the vaudevillian cabaret area Shangri-La.
Tucked away in the darker confines of the South-East corner, Shangri-La harbours some of the alternative spirit of the original Glastonbury Festival in 1970.
This year's theme is Heaven and Hell - the idea being that Glastonbury's year off in 2012 coincided with the apocalypse, and revellers must now enter the afterlife.This year's theme is Heaven and Hell - the idea being that Glastonbury's year off in 2012 coincided with the apocalypse, and revellers must now enter the afterlife.
Split into two areas, guests can choose to party in the seven circles of hell - where bars are strewn with bullets and rifle shells, and transgender nurses perform "an enema of the soul" on unwitting volunteers.Split into two areas, guests can choose to party in the seven circles of hell - where bars are strewn with bullets and rifle shells, and transgender nurses perform "an enema of the soul" on unwitting volunteers.
If you would prefer to spend an evening in heaven, where the sofas are trimmed with fur, and the bars have working fountains, you must first convince an "admin angel" that you are worthy of the honour. If you prefer to spend an evening in heaven, where the sofas are trimmed with fur, and the bars have working fountains, you must first convince an "admin angel" that you are worthy of the honour.
The lucky few will be given a gold wristband… and be forced to remove their wellies, in case they mess up the Glastonbury God's pristine white carpets.The lucky few will be given a gold wristband… and be forced to remove their wellies, in case they mess up the Glastonbury God's pristine white carpets.
Dressed like a film set, it is one of many distractions from the music. Others include a giant (and currently mud-strewn) Twister board; and the Block9 nightclub - which has been designed to look like a 50ft tower block with a life-size, flaming tube train bursting out of the fifth floor. Dressed like a film set, it is one of many distractions from the music.
But music will be the focus of the weekend, with The Rolling Stones the main attraction on Saturday night. Others include a giant (and currently mud-strewn) Twister board; and the Block9 nightclub - which has been designed to look like a 50ft tower block with a life-size, flaming tube train bursting out of the fifth floor.
"It's one of those things you thought might never happen," Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis told the BBC. "It was amazing when we got the call to say they'd confirmed." The festival continues until Sunday.
Eavis added that her father Michael, who established the festival in 1970, was "thrilled" by their appearance.
Meanwhile, The Rolling Stones' former bassist Bill Wyman also takes to the stage on Friday with his band The Rhythm Kings.
And Solange Knowles plays during the afternoon, two years after her sister Beyonce headlined the Pyramid Stage.
Opening the festival's second-biggest arena - the Other Stage - on Friday morning will be Liam Gallagher, making an unbilled appearance with his new band Beady Eye.
The former Oasis frontman headlined the festival in 1995 and 2004, although he claimed not to have enjoyed the experience.
"You can hear the crowd talking while you're playing," he complained. "They don't put any money into the PA and it's full of idiots."
Rumours of further "secret appearances" are always rife at Glastonbury, and this year's crop range from the likely (Fatboy Slim and Radiohead's Thom Yorke) to the fanciful (David Bowie).
Rain is forecast to continue until 08:00 BST on Friday morning, but the sun is due to shine on the festival for the rest of the weekend.