Glastonbury Festival is the largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world.

The festival aims to encourage and stimulate youth culture from around the world in all its forms, including pop music, dance music, jazz, folk music, fringe theatre, drama, mime, circus, cinema, poetry and all the creative forms of art and design, including painting, sculpture and textile art.

Over 150,000 people attend the mega event, requiring extensive infrastructure in terms of security, transport, water and electricity supply. The majority of staff are volunteers, helping the festival to raise millions of pounds for good causes.

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Performers in the Theatre Tent entertain people at the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts site at Worthy Farm, Pilton near Glastonbury, England.

The wholesale market caters for traders throughout the Festival who are estimated to provide 3 million meals for festival goers, crew and performers. Gates opened on Wednesday at the Somerset diary farm that will be playing host to one of the largest music festivals in the world and this year features headline acts Artic Monkeys, Mumford and Sons and the Rolling Stones.

Tickets to the event which is now in its 43rd year sold out in minutes and that was before any of the headline acts had been confirmed. The festival, which started in 1970 when several hundred hippies paid 1 GBP to watch Marc Bolan, now attracts more than 175,000 people over five days.

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A man jumps over a fire that has been lit inside the stone circle as people gather for sunset at the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts site at Worthy Farm, Pilton near Glastonbury, England.

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In this composite one of the camping fields at the Glastonbury Festival site at Worthy Farm, Pilton is seen in the top image in contrast with the same view taken during the Festival in 2013 near Glastonbury, England.

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A festival goer poses nude for a portrait in an Arts tent on the Common at Glastonbury festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset.

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People arrive at the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts site at Worthy Farm, in Pilton at Worthy Farm, Pilton.

The festival, which started in 1970 when several hundred hippies paid 1 GBP to watch Marc Bolan, now attracts more than 175,000 people over five days.

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People dance in a nightime venue in the Block 9 area at the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts site at Worthy Farm, Pilton near Glastonbury, England.

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Revellers take part in a tomato fight at the Glastonbury music festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset

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A festival goer smokes a cigarette in the Field of Avalon at Glastonbury music festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset.

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A Flying Segulls performer looks among an audience in the Spirit of '71 field on the third day of Glastonbury music festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset.

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Singer Rita Ora performs at the Pyramid stage on the third day of Glastonbury music festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset

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Harry, 2, is pulled through the mud on the second day of Glastonbury music festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset

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Festival goers play baseball, batting a beer can with a wellington boot, on the first day of Glastonbury music festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset

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Festival goers inhale laughing gas at sunrise at the stone circle on the second day of Glastonbury music festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset

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Festival-goers wait for the sunrise from the stone circle on the second day of Glastonbury music festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset

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Paul Burman, 46, drinks a beer at the Stone Circle on the first day of Glastonbury music festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset

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Bride-to-be Lizzie Chapman, 23, drink cider through a funnel on arriving at Glastonbury, where she celebrates her hen night, on the second day of Glastonbury music festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset

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Revellers roll a large ball depicting the globe over them at Somerset

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Revellers pose in front of an art installation at the festival.

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A reveller cooks up some fries at her camp at Somerset

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Revellers pose for a photo before heading out to attend a concert the Glastonbury festival

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A performer lifts weights with his eyelids during a show at the Glastonbury festival 

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A couple takes a walk

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Lasers illuminate the night sky in Somerset during a performance

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Revellers wear clothes with lighting during a concert at the festival

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A girl dressed in a halloween costume at Somerset

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A reveller shows off a customised helmet that enables him to drink beer hands-free 

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