In terms of its size, the answer is yes. The festival is held on a farm in Somerset over the course of the weekend and is attended by some 150,000 people. It’s an important part of the county’s culture, but is it the biggest? Despite its size, it’s been estimated that, on average, each attendee sees less than two hours of live acts over the course of the festival.
No matter how you define ‘the biggest’, it’s difficult to deny that the annual Glastonbury Festival is truly one of the biggest events on the planet.
There are many different ways to answer this question. For example, you could ask whether it’s the biggest music festival in the world or in Europe, or if it’s the biggest annual music festival in the world. There’s no right or wrong answer, but we’ve put together some of the different pieces of information that you might need to answer this question.
The festival attracts around 175,0people annually and is held in Somerset, England, on the site of a former farm.
No, it’s the most popular! The 2019 Glastonbury line-up consists of 60 acts, which is pretty incredible when you consider that the 90 previous line-ups had a combined length of just over 20 hours. And with the 2019 festival stretching over 11 days, it’s safe to say that some of these acts will be playing more than one set!
It has grown steadily since its conception in the 1970s, and now plays host to four key days of music.
The answer to this question is both yes and no. The festival is the largest in the UK, but the continent’s biggest is either Benicassim in Spain or France’s Montréaux.
The growth of the festival can be attributed to its unique culture and spirit, and the festival’s dedication to creating an inclusive environment.
Despite frequent headlines claiming that the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Tennessee is the biggest in America, these claims are rather dubious. While the Bonnaroo festival has attracted over 400,000 attendees in recent years, the number of attendees at the three biggest European music festivals—Roskilde, Berlin, and Cream—isn’t much lower than the number that attend Bonnaroo.
It’s perhaps surprising to hear that Glastonbury Festival has never been headlined by a major pop or rock act.
While other European events – Creamfields and Vodafone also host annual music festivals – they don’t come close to the size of the Somerset festival. In 2017, the number of tickets sold hit a whopping 1.2 million.
The festival has, however, been host to a diverse range of artists over the years, from David Bowie to Jay-Z and Kanye West.
The festival is the biggest in the country, but it’s actually not the biggest in Europe. Although tickets sell out every year, many people miss out on getting a ticket, and it’s estimated that between 1.5 and 2 million people visit the Somerset festival each year.
The festival’s reputation for being a haven for ‘alternative culture’ has also resulted in a number of high-profile appearances from musicians outside the rock and pop genres.
No, the claim that it is is one that has been made by the organisers before, but it’s hard to argue against considering the size of the crowds. The festival has expanded every year since it first started in Somerset in 1993, and in 2019 there were more than 750,000 attendees. That’s a lot of people!
Conclusion
We’re not sure if the answer is a simple yes or no, but one thing is for sure – the festival is one of the biggest in the world. It’s estimated that about 75% of the people who attend the festival are from the UK.
Related Links
What events are happening in Europe in 2022?What is Europe's largest festival?