‘The people who make Glastonbury are as important as the headline acts’: The best crowd photos from Worthy Farm

A crowdsourced photography project has paid homage to the festival in what would have been its 50th year

Red zone: the dancefloor of the legendary backstage after-hours area Lost Vagueness in 2003 (Ali Bird)

Glastonbury photographer Emma Stoner has created a crowdsourced photo series in tribute to this year’s cancelled edition of Glastonbury Festival. The People’s History Project contains hundreds of submitted stories from past attendees throughout the festival’s 50-year history.

The images tell a varied story of the Glastonbury experience: some are of families with children, others young people at their first festival – some of all-night partying at Block9 and others of peaceful recollection in the Green Fields.

“It feels like a really poignant moment to reflect on the history of the Glastonbury Festival with the 50th anniversary postponed due to Covid-19, and there are so many untold stories which happen year on year,” says Emma.

“I thought it would be fascinating to unearth some of them. With so much focus on the celebs at Glastonbury, I love the idea of the archive being a people’s history. The people who make Glastonbury are as important as the headline acts. Love and connection is at the centre of this project. The stories are about life and we delve deep into personal histories – love, friendship, loss and the need to gather together and celebrate.”

Neil Thomas Douglas, 2010: “I met this old man selling cider. He said he was the oldest cider maker in the UK. It was £2 a pint so I had three. Turns out it was also the strongest cider in the UK. I went missing once again and was found in a dance field with a new found love of French techno.”

Luke Bennett, 2009: “As ‘Park Life’ started I was so buzzing, I got the guy I was with to hoist me up so I could crowd surf. As I was up, lying on the crowd, looking back at the endless sea of happy, dancing people I saw my mate Jonny and he saw me. In the exact same moment, in all the excitement he had got his bro to hoist him up too. The moment was phenomenal, we looked at each other whilst cheering with joy as we moved towards the front of the stage on the wave of the crowd.

“At the front, we were promptly pulled down to the ground by the bouncers. Reunited we gave each other the biggest hug and ran round to join the crowd again. A moment I will never forget.”

Ruth Stokes, 2000: “Think this was around 2000. The freedom. Didn’t pay. Broke in. Broke out to travellers’ field. Broke back in. Broke back out, etc. Haha. The freedom. The rebellion.”

The crowd vault photographer Dafydd Prodger's son Evan into air during the 2015 edition of Glastonbury

Dafydd Prodger, 2015: “At some point during the song, my 8-year-old son Evan was collected from the stage by the crowd of between 100-200 and they carefully crowdsurfed him through the entire length of the bar, to [Tony Bowen – The Human Jukebox]’s continued singing and request to the masses not to drop him. My wife Tess and I stayed by Tony so he would know where to come back to and Evan was also chaperoned by a couple who were later to become members of our extended Glasto family.

“Both Tess and I were immensely proud as Evan took it all in his stride cheering as he went and remembering my instructions threw both hands up and gave the ‘rock salute’ with both hands held aloft as he was supported by the group of fellow festival goers all chanting his name.”

Ali Bird, 2003: “Blagging into the back ballroom at Lost Vagueness, bottles of champagne, staying all night, stone circle sunrise. What a superb year that was.”

Scott Williams, 1992: “The last of the light was draining away from behind Glastonbury Tor and a woman shoved a large newspaper-wrapped bundle in my chest, saying: “A gift for you!” I turned and she was gone. I opened the bundle expecting it to be food from Manic Organic or something. It was chock full of buds! From then on all I remember is sound and colours augmented by the scent of sensi.”

Royston Naylor, 2000: Throughout the Nineties I was always the one who went in with an official ticket, while my mates jumped out of the van half a mile before the gate and climbed the fence (and even through a tunnel one year!) so I always felt I was missing out on this particular aspect of the adventure. It got so bad that in 1999 I actually climbed OUT! So in 2000 my young friend Grez fabricated a grappling hook so that I could finally say that I went in over the fence (even though I had an official press & hospitality pass!)”

John Novis, 1987: “All packed in the car, my friends and daughters climbed in and off we set on the road back to Brecon, Wales. As we were edging, with other festival goers along the country lanes of Pilton, Somerset, suddenly we are pulled over at a police roadblock. I didn’t understand. The police made me follow their car to a ‘festival’ makeshift police station and asked us all to vacate the car. They were accusing us of drug dealing…”

Cindy Baxter, 1986: “My first-ever night at Glasto in 1986, no tent, didn’t know the place, slept three of us two sleeping bags right in front of the Pyramid Stage. No clues. For the rest of it we found the Green Fields, thank heavens.”

Brian Carson, 1989: “1989 was very hot! Tickets were easy to buy in the Eighties and I have been a volunteer since 1988, hence why my total is 31 events as I have a guaranteed place. I have only missed one year since 1979 as I was in ICU in 2017 during Glastonbury week as I had a major operation.”

To see more images from The People’s History Project, visit emmastoner.com/myglastonburystory