Which town gives the Glastonbury Festival its name?

The town of Glastonbury gives the Glastonbury Festival its name. The festival itself is held at Worthy Farm near the village of Pilton, in Somerset, rather than inside Glastonbury town.

The event began in 1970 as the Pilton Pop, Blues & Folk Festival, organised by dairy farmer Michael Eavis at Worthy Farm. Its identity changed as the festival developed: the 1971 edition was known as Glastonbury Fayre, and the official name Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts was adopted in 1990.

Glastonbury town lies close enough to provide the festival’s name and cultural associations, especially through landmarks such as Glastonbury Tor and the town’s long religious and mythic history. That connection often causes visitors to assume the festival site is there.

The common mix-up is therefore between the name and the location. Pilton is the village where the Worthy Farm site is located, while Glastonbury is the nearby town whose name became attached to the event.