On what exact date was the first Glastonbury event held at Worthy Farm?

The first Glastonbury event held at Worthy Farm took place on 19 September 1970. It was promoted as the Pop, Blues & Folk Festival and became the foundation of today’s Glastonbury Festival.

Farmer Michael Eavis organised the event at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, after being inspired by the open-air Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music nearby. Around 1,500 people attended the one-day festival, a tiny gathering compared with the modern event’s crowds of more than 200,000.

The date is sometimes confused with the much larger 1971 festival, which ran from 20 to 24 June and introduced a free-entry format. The 1970 event was held in September and charged for admission, making it distinct from the following year’s festival.

The original 1970 programme included acts such as Steamhammer, Quintessence, Stackridge, Al Stewart and Keith Christmas. The event’s early combination of music, alternative culture and rural setting established the model that later grew into the internationally famous festival.