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Left Field Stage

The Left Field merges music and political discussion, operating under the slogan: “recharge your activism”. The programme is curated by musician Billy Bragg.

Statistics

  • 2003
    first appeared
  • 36*
    performances

* Catalogued so far.

Years at festival

  1. 2003

    Glastonbury 2003 raised over £1 million for Oxfam, Greenpeace, WaterAid and local charities. The late Joe Strummer was recognized with a memorial stone in what would become Strummerville.

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  2. 2004

    The 2004 site featured improved infastructure and drainage to help combat the unpredictable English weather. More than 1000 acts peformed across the site over the Festival’s five days, including a headline show by Paul McCartney, and performances in the new Left Field.

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  3. 2005

    Tickets to Glastonbury 2005 sold out in under three hours – a new record – although exceptionally rainy weather on the Friday halted some performances. The Dance Tent expanded to become the Dance Village, and the New Bands Tent was renamed the John Peel Stage.

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  4. 2007

    New area The Park was launched by Emily Eavis, while in the late-night area, newcomers Block9 launched their NYC Downlow venue. Michael Eavis was awarded the CBE for services to music.

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  5. 2008

    JAY-Z headlined on Saturday night, beginning his set with an acoustic rendition of Oasis' ‘Wonderwall’. Glastonbury’s late-night offer continued to grow with the arrival of Shangri-La and Arcadia.

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  6. 2009

    A ticket-deposit system was introduced before Glastonbury 2009, helping the Festival sell out two months in advance. On the Pyramid Stage, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and Blur headlined.

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  7. 2010

    2010 marked Glastonbury’s 40th anniversary. From small beginnings, the Festival now hosted a tented city of over 177,000 people – larger than both Oxford and Bath. A second reservoir, holding two million litres of drinking water, was built to accommodate the crowd.

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  8. 2011

    The Pyramid Stage celebrated 40 years with performances by many of the pioneering artists who played in 1971. Newcomer Ed Sheeran played an early afternoon set in the Croissant Neuf stage; three years later he would make his Pyramid Stage debut. The Festival donated over £2 million to its charitable causes.

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  9. 2013

    The Rolling Stones made their first ever Glastonbury appearance, playing to a record crowd. The Stones' performance was accompanied by a fire-breathing phoenix sculpture – made by artist Joe Rush – that sat perched atop the Pyramid Stage

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  10. 2014

    Dolly Parton made headline news with her first ever Glastonbury appearance on Sunday afternoon. Other headline acts included Arcade Fire, Kasabian and Metallica – all making their debut on the Pyramid Stage in 2014.

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  11. 2015

    His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited Glastonbury for the first time in 2015. The Foo Fighters were scheduled to headline on Friday, but were forced to pull out two weeks before the show when Dave Grohl broke his leg. Florence + the Machine took their place on the bill.

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  12. 2016

    The 2016 Festival coincided with the historic EU referendum vote; a stall was set up in the catering area so site workers could register to vote. New area The Wood was created, and Block9 opened a new venue called Genosys.

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  13. 2017

    The 2017 Festival featured the newly created Cineramageddon, a drive-in movie space with over 200 vintage cars conceptualised by the Mutoid Waste Company. On the Pyramid Stage, Radiohead, Foo Fighters and Ed Sheeran headlined.

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  14. 2019

    Glastonbury Festival 2019 saw headline acts by Stormzy and Kylie, as well an appearance by Sir David Attenborough. Single-use plastic drinks bottles were banned site-wide, and guests were asked to bring reusable water bottles.

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  15. 2022

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  16. 2023

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