The mighty task of the post-Glastonbury clean-up got underway this morning as volunteers were left sorting through mounds of plastic waste, drug paraphernalia and hippy crack canisters.
Glastonbury revellers have long been accused of hypocrisy for leaving Worthy Farm buried under heaps of waste – despite the virtue-signalling eco-conscious event preaching sustainability.
As crowds began the long, sweaty journey home, pictures today show a sea of plastic bags and tents while the final few die hard festival-goers wading through the mess in the same outfits they had on yesterday.
Glastonbury Festival leaves behind around 2,000 tonnes of waste each year, from discarded tents to food packaging, and takes over three weeks to clean up.
Empty canisters of nitrous oxide – also known as hippie crack or whippets – can be seen strewn amongst the litter, as well as discarded bags of white powder and novelty-shaped pills.
Some unlucky litter pickers even found ’emergency mini toilets’ – special plastic bags used by desperate dancers who can’t stand to leave the crowd to go to the loo.
Thousands of volunteers dedicate their time to tidying up the mess left by the some 210,000 attendees. Many are part of the Glastonbury Recycling Crew, who focus on sustainable waste management.
The Eavis family, who founded and still organise the world famous music event, also provide resources for the cleaning operation and ensure the site is restored to its original dairy-farm state, ready for the cows to graze again.
After this weekend’s festivities, the event will not return until 2027, with the Eavis family giving it a fallow year in 2026 – a planned break to allow the farmland and natural environment to recover.
Revellers are encouraged to use the bins provided and take all of their belongings and rubbish home with them, but evidently many do not.
The clean-up team began picking up thousands of discarded items including paper cups and food containers as festival-goers began leaving the site.
Cleaners tackled over-flowing bins and big items such as camping chairs and blow-up mattresses, as well as slippers, flip-flops and shopping bags.
Glastonbury will not return in 2026, as the festival enters a fallow year to give the ground time to recover before the next event takes place in 2027.
Organiser Emily Eavis told the on-site newspaper, Glastonbury Free Press, she had a ‘huge list of things’ to improve the festival ahead of its next iteration.
She said: ‘We’re always looking to make it better. The detail is critical. Even just a small touch – like putting a new hedge in – can make a real difference.
‘And that’s what fallow years are for: you lay the ground to rest and you come back stronger.’
This year’s edition of the festival saw punk duo Bob Vylan and Irish rap trio Kneecap have both of their sets on Saturday assessed by Avon and Somerset Police to decide whether any offences were committed.
Bobby Vylan, of Bob Vylan, led crowds on the festival’s West Holts Stage in chants of ‘death, death to the IDF’, before a member of Irish rap trio Kneecap suggested fans ‘start a riot’ outside his bandmate’s upcoming court appearance, and led the crowd in chants of ‘f*** Keir Starmer’.
Sir Keir had said in the run-up to the festival that he thought Kneecap’s set was not ‘appropriate’ at Glastonbury.
Israel condemned the controversial performance, the BBC for broadcasting it live and Glastonbury Festival for hosting it.
The broadcaster could now face an investigation into whether it has breached public-order laws.
Police have launched a probe into the comments made by Bob Vylan on Saturday afternoon.
The singer from the band, who keeps his identity secret, also declared ‘from the river to the sea Palestine… will be free’ – regarded by many in the Jewish community as a call for Israel’s elimination.
Such are the implications of the chants that the US State Department is also reportedly gearing up to revoke the band’s visas ahead of a forthcoming tour.
On Friday, festival-goers were treated to surprise performances from alternative pop star Lorde, who played her new album Virgin in full, and Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi, who played two years after a set at the festival during which he struggled to manage his Tourette syndrome symptoms.
The 1975 took to the Pyramid Stage to headline that night, with a set which saw singer Matty Healy joke he was his generation’s ‘best songwriter’, with the band playing songs such as Chocolate, Love Me and About You.
Pulp were revealed to be the act billed as Patchwork, appearing on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday to a backdrop paying homage to their classic 1995 set.
Their appearance came 30 years after their breakthrough headline performance at the festival when they stood in for The Stone Roses after the Manchester band’s guitarist John Squire was injured in a cycling accident.
Candida Doyle, the band’s keyboard player, had previously appeared to confirm the band would not perform at the festival, despite being keen to play, telling BBC Radio 6 Music last week ‘they (Glastonbury) weren’t interested’.
Also on Saturday, Haim made a surprise appearance on the Park Stage, opening with one of their best known songs in The Wire, before performing a mix of older songs such as Summer Girl and new singles including Relationships.
The day saw veteran rocker Neil Young headline, performing some of his best known songs including Cinnamon Girl, Like A Hurricane and Rockin’ In The Free World, performing at one point with Hank Williams’ guitar.
Brat star Charli XCX headlined the Other Stage on Saturday, performing tracks from last year’s summer sensation such as 360, Von Dutch and Club Classics.
Sir Rod Stewart took to the Pyramid Stage for the Sunday legends slot, bringing out former Faces bandmate Ronnie Wood for Stay With Me, Lulu for Hot Legs and Simply Red’s Mick Hucknall for a performance of his band’s If You Don’t Know Me By Now.
He was also joined by the festival’s founder, Sir Michael Eavis, who was wheeled on to the stage by his daughter, organiser Emily Eavis.
The Pyramid Stage was headlined by pop rocker Olivia Rodrigo on Sunday evening, who brought out The Cure frontman Robert Smith to perform his band’s songs Just Like Heaven and Friday I’m In Love.
As the 66-year-old indie-goth star arrived on stage on Sunday night, Rodrigo said: ‘Glastonbury would you please welcome Robert Smith, give him a big welcome, come on.’
At the end of Just Like Heaven, the pair hugged, before Rodrigo said ‘give it up for Robert Smith you guys’ before adding she was ‘so honoured to play with him tonight’.
