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24/06/2005
Glastonbury delayed as floods cause chaos
The start of the Glastonbury Festival was delayed this morning, after the Somerset site was hit by torrential rain and storms.
Thousands of festivalgoers, who had been arriving at the site from Wednesday, had enjoyed scorching temperatures and sunshine. However, around 4am this morning, the rain began, flooding the Worthy Farm site and causing misery for thousands of revellers who had been basking in sunshine just 12 hours beforehand.
The music was supposed to begin at 10:30am, but the start of the festival was delayed due to power failures. The first acts on the main Pyramid stage and Other stage had to be cancelled, although the acts on the John Peel stage continued as planned.
Radio 1 DJ Jo Whiley was forced to abandon her live broadcast after a river close to the studio she was using began to rise dramatically.
The Dance Lounge in the festival’s Dance Village was split in half by the force of the storm and is currently being repaired.
A beer tent was also reportedly struck by lightning.
Festival organiser Michael Eavis said that the weather would not stop the revellers enjoying themselves. He said: “We’ve got used to it, people survive and they cope. They just need to get out of their tents and get on with enjoying themselves. The rain always makes things better; it stops people getting complacent and presents a bit of a challenge. It wakes everybody up and improves the general morale and spirit.”
Organisers said that the weather was expected to clear up by the evening, while the rest of the weekend was expected to remain free of rain.
Over 100,000 people are expected to attend the festival, which will features acts including the White Stripes, the Killers, Coldplay and Basement Jaxx.
England and Wales have been battered by torrential rain and thunderstorms. The Midlands was the worst affected area, but Devon, Cornwall and Torquay all experienced severe weather conditions. A tornado was even reported in Coventry.
The severe weather follows a heatwave, which saw scorching temperatures and sunshine in areas across the UK.
(KMcA/SP)
Thousands of festivalgoers, who had been arriving at the site from Wednesday, had enjoyed scorching temperatures and sunshine. However, around 4am this morning, the rain began, flooding the Worthy Farm site and causing misery for thousands of revellers who had been basking in sunshine just 12 hours beforehand.
The music was supposed to begin at 10:30am, but the start of the festival was delayed due to power failures. The first acts on the main Pyramid stage and Other stage had to be cancelled, although the acts on the John Peel stage continued as planned.
Radio 1 DJ Jo Whiley was forced to abandon her live broadcast after a river close to the studio she was using began to rise dramatically.
The Dance Lounge in the festival’s Dance Village was split in half by the force of the storm and is currently being repaired.
A beer tent was also reportedly struck by lightning.
Festival organiser Michael Eavis said that the weather would not stop the revellers enjoying themselves. He said: “We’ve got used to it, people survive and they cope. They just need to get out of their tents and get on with enjoying themselves. The rain always makes things better; it stops people getting complacent and presents a bit of a challenge. It wakes everybody up and improves the general morale and spirit.”
Organisers said that the weather was expected to clear up by the evening, while the rest of the weekend was expected to remain free of rain.
Over 100,000 people are expected to attend the festival, which will features acts including the White Stripes, the Killers, Coldplay and Basement Jaxx.
England and Wales have been battered by torrential rain and thunderstorms. The Midlands was the worst affected area, but Devon, Cornwall and Torquay all experienced severe weather conditions. A tornado was even reported in Coventry.
The severe weather follows a heatwave, which saw scorching temperatures and sunshine in areas across the UK.
(KMcA/SP)
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