It’s festival time once again! A quick look at some of the best festivals 2018 had to offer us.
July and August are traditionally the time of year for different types of festivals up and down the U.K., from best known Music festivals such as Glastonbury to downright bizarre Cheese festivals in small Villages in England.
Glastonbury music festival
Glastonbury is probably the best known annual music festival of them all. Started on the 19th of September 1970 by Michael Eavis in a small field in Somerset, the festival attracted musicians playing pop, jazz and blues music. A ticket was just £1, which included free milk from the local farm house. However, word got out and 1,500 people attended. The festival grew in size and popularity and today a ticket will typically cost £238 attracting close to 175,000 people.
Glastonbury is definitely the queen of music festivals for Britain as it attracts music lovers from across the globe to enjoy famous faces such as Ed Sheeran, Beyonce and Tom Jones as well as the top bands such as Coldplay, Bastille and Maroon 5. Despite the traffic jams to and from the festival and potentially being knee-deep in mud for 2 days straight, people still flock to the event for a chance to see their favourite act perform on the world-famous pyramid stage.
Unfortunately, Glastonbury was cancelled this year to give the village and the field a traditional year off to avoid the field from being extensively damaged. Glastonbury 2019 has been confirmed to go ahead and the founder Michael Eavis has confirmed that they are planning for the festivals 50th Birthday in 2020. This will definitely be one festival not to be missed!
Edinburgh Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe
Both the fringe and the festival started in 1947 after the founder Rudolf Bing fled Nazi Germany in 1945 and wanted to create an international festival where everyone could come together for Music, dance, theatre and comedy. In 1945 a festival community was formed and they decided that 1947 was the best time to have the festival. Bing wanted Edinburgh to create a post-war reputation as the ‘cultural resort of Europe’. The Fringe began when 8 different companies came to the international festival and put on shows that became very popular with the locals and the tourists. This led to the first Military tattoo in 1950 in which 6,000 spectators came to Edinburgh castle to watch a show that showcased talents from around the world.
Nowadays, the Festival and the Fringe have become a massive global gathering and it attracts audiences of up to 400,000 every year, with performances from 2,500 artists and comedians from across the world. The Edinburgh Fringe has also become the ‘big-break’ to a lot of comedians and actors. This was true for Emma Thomson, Stephan Fry, and Hugh Laurie as the trio won the Perrier comedy award in 1981. Miranda Hart, Frank Skinner and even Mel and Sue all performed at the fringe before their careers took off. This year big names such as Paloma Faith, Rag’n’Bone Man and Bastille, went to Edinburgh to perform at the Summer Sessions taking place in Princes Street Gardens.
Cheese Rolling Festival
And to the more bizarre and obscure. The Cheese Rolling Festival. Yes, that is a thing in the county of Gloucester. People from far and wide come together to hurl themselves down a massively steep hill chasing after a 7-8 lb double Gloucester cheese. It is said to have started in 54 BC before the Roman invasion but the first cheese roll was not recorded until 1826. However it was believed to be an old tradition even back then.
In 2010 the event was cancelled due to health and safety issues.Not because of risk of people seriously injuring themselves when launching themselves down a hill, but because the event was so popular that in 2009 approximately 15,000 people turned out to watch and this became a huge issue for the Police to manage. In 2009 18 people were hurt however 10 of those were spectators.
This year the festival’s winner was Chris Anderson, who set an all time record. However in the process of winning he tore his left calf muscle and later told the Express newspaper that
“he does not plan on tucking into his 8lb Double Gloucestershire prize because he only likes cheddar.”
The women’s race was won by Flo Early, who dislocated her shoulder during the competition. The local rugby team had to be brought in at the bottom of the hill to be the ‘catchers’, as the contestants come running at such a speed they would run right into the spectators. More often than not though the catchers end up getting hurt too! Seems a very dangerous competition where the first prize is ‘just’ a piece of cheese!
Bringing People Together
There are festivals being held the length and breadth of the country with something for all tastes. Personally, I think that that the best thing about festivals is that they are a great way to bring people from different communities and countries together to enjoy and socialise. Even if you aren’t at an event but find yourself in and around the area at the time of a festival there is a great atmosphere about the place and everyone is in better spirits. It is also an opportunity to enjoy, as well as share, different culture and traditions from across the world. Looking forward to 2019 already!
- By Anna Lloyd, Team Reporter
- Sources: BBC news, The Express, The Scotsman, The Edinburgh Festival, The Independent, Glastonbury Festival, Hello.
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