- Overnight rain on Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, has turned the festival site into a soggy mud-bath
- Main acts start tonight although pre-festival events across the 1,200-acre fields are keeping revellers entertained
- Kasabian, heavy metal group Metallica and Arcade Fire will be headlining the Pyramid Stage this year
- Forecasters predict rain will last throughout weekend, when other events include an outdoor cinema
- 26-year-old man has died after suspected reaction to ketamine after arriving at festival site on Wednesday
Campers rushed to get their tents up last night before rain and dark cloud swept over Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset.
From 10am today, a storm began to sweep over the 1,200-acre site, and will carry on into the night when acts including Lily Allen, Haim and MIA will play.
Mud bath: Gina Birchenough, 20, left and Jess
Daveridge, 21, right, from Bristol, run through a muddy puddle in the
rain without a care in the world
Wet and wild: Festival-goers trudge through the
now muddy fields at Glastonbury this afternoon and most seem completely
unfazed by the soggy conditions
Happy: Festival-goers watch Blondie performing
on the Other Stage, at the Glastonbury Festival as blue sky makes a
brief appearance
Muddy spray: A woman wearing colourful Indian headdress kicks water in a very large puddle as she poses for photographers
Boot brigade: Revellers would be well and truly
lost without these at this year's Glastonbury which has become a mud
bath on day one
Awash: The mudbath became so sullied with water it was even reflective as raincoat-clad girls plodded between stages
Sweet sunshine! Amidst the stormy rain and slushy mud, there was a brief sunny spell which dirt-splattered revellers lapped up
Though it should feel warm, with temperatures of around 17C, The Met Office has issued a yellow warning alert for thunder, rain and localised flooding.
Revellers appear unfazed, however, happily donning ponchos and heading out into the mud.
Among the acts performing on the Pyramid Stage later today are Arcade Fire, Elbow and Rudimental.
The big name gracing Worthy Farm this year is Dolly Parton, who will take to the stage on Sunday afternoon.
With a hat-tip to the country singer's crowdpleaser, bookmaker Coral is offering odds of 9-5 that it rains during the set.
Atmosphere: With flowers in hair, flags blowing
in the wind, drinks flowing, and the sun shining, this shot captured the
ultimate festival atmosphere
Trash the dress: These lads may have taken a
leaf out of many brides' books following the tradition of 'trashing' a
wedding dress after the ceremony
...but Hannah Lomas, 27, from Liverpool, has
done it for real after tying the knot with her new husband Craig Reilly,
28, then heading to the festivities
Dressed for the occasion: While groom Craig
swapped his gladrags for a t-shirt and wellies, Hannah couldn't resist
taking her wedding dress to the farm
Betting has opened on a plethora of other factors - it's 100-1 that the country singer suffers a wardrobe malfunction on stage.
Lily Allen is also expected to grab headlines at this year's festival and Coral go 5-1 that she wears spanx during her performance, while it's 5-1 that she strips off.
Playing on some of the more than 100 other stages at the site will be Crystal Fighters, Metronomy, Wild Beasts and Blondie.
Apart from music there is plenty more to divert festival-goers’ attention.
Leotard-tastic: It seems multi-coloured onesies
were the order of the day as a number of girls paraded around in the
unusual garment
Packed: While these girls danced freely,
thousands below crammed themselves into a field by the Other Stage to
watch Blondie's set
Little rascal: This young festival-goer looked cheekily up at mum and dad before jumping around in the enormous pool of mud
Party time: While many of the adults crowded to watch Blondie, children found plenty of entertainment in the pool of mud
Splash: Seven-year-old Coral Bickwell, from Gloucester, emerged covered in mud as the sun shone briefly on Worthy Farm
Wellie chic: Este Haim, of the acclaimed band of
sisters, stuck to her glamorous backless red dress to perform but
paired it with some hardy wellies
Let it rain! Revellers at Glastonbury donned
ponchos and sat in the open air as a thunderous storm swept over from
the Atlantic, set to last all weekend
Unfazed: The headliners take to the stage today
and despite the Met Office's yellow weather warning of severe rain,
festival-goers are ready and waiting
Trudging along: The hot weather last week dried
out the farm - meaning last night's rain turned the ground into a
mudbath that people gleefully trudged through
Party on: Jerry Hall and Jeanne Marine kept
revellers' spirits up with a pop-up gig in a small tent this morning as
the 175,000 ticket holders waited for the headliners
The Left Field, which is celebrating its 10th year this year and describes itself as the 'meeting place of pop and politics', will be opened with a tribute to Labour stalwart Tony Benn, who died earlier this year.
Meanwhile the Greenpeace area will have fashion designer and environmental campaigner Vivienne Westwood as a guest speaker on a range of issues including fracking and climate change.
Today, the event was tinged with tragedy after it emerged a 26-year-old man has died from taking the Class B drug ketamine.
The man, from Berkshire, died this morning as the first official day of music got under way at Worthy Farm in Somerset.
He was taken to Bristol Royal Infirmary in a 'life-threatening condition' on Wednesday.
Hats on: While many grappled to pull hoods over
their heads, these girls paraded around the festival carefree with
brightly-coloured umbrella hats
Kitted out: Music fans wait in the pouring rain
for the Kaiser Chiefs to perform in the secret opening slot wearing all
manner of ponchos - and still getting drenched
Splat: Admitting defeat, this reveller chose to
succumb to the mud wearing flip flops as he walked around the site -
which is the size of Wigan
Ecstatic: This group appeared undeterred by by
the torrential rain. Later Dolly Parton will perform her long-awaited
set in the stormy weather
Avon and Somerset Police tweeted: 'Unfortunately the man taken ill after a suspected reaction to ketamine has died this morning.
'His family are aware and being supported.'
Police said it is not thought that the batch of the Class B drug the man took was contaminated, but that he suffered an adverse reaction to it.
A 67-year-old woman died at the site on Wednesday night from natural causes. Her death is not being treated as suspicious.
Police said 85 crimes were reported within the first 48 hours of the festival opening its gates on Wednesday morning, a 30 per cent decrease on last year.
And so it begins: The Kaiser Chiefs kciked off
the festival with a secret set that saw lead singer Ricky Wilson, former
judge of The Voice, writhing around stage
Excitement brews: Music fans danced ecstatically
in the blustering winds. It is said there may be a spell of sun later,
but they seem more than content
All weekend: The mudbath started
brimming yesterday afternoon as the Atlantic cloud swept over while many
were still trying to erect their tents
This young lady's lace shorts are unlikely to stay white for long if the rain continues as forecasters predict
Going somewhere? A tent in the shape of a London
Underground Northern Line carriage is pitched precariously on an
increasingly slippy hill
Police said they used tracking software to locate one stolen phone and arrested a woman overnight.
Inspector Liz Hughes, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: 'Thanks to a tracking app, we've been able to recover a stolen phone, which shows that they really do work.
'They are really useful and I would urge anyone who hasn't already got one installed to do so today.
'We've also arrested three men on suspicion of theft and this shows that there are a very small number of people who come here intending to steal and spoil the fun for everyone else.
'While the arrests are a positive step, it's a reminder to us all to look after your possessions very carefully.'
Many were already wearing their wellies when the rain started just before 2.30pm, clearly prepared for the wet weather that was forecast.
As the heavens opened, tents hosting acts that had previously attracted small crowds quickly filled up while the site’s walkways became a sea of colour as people donned raincoats and ponchos of every description.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for rain for today and tomorrow for the South West, including the Glastonbury site which could well turn the site into a mud bath.
An area of low pressure is bringing unstable weather with the heaviest downpours potentially bringing 15-20mm of rain in less than an hour, while there could also be thunder, lightning and hail.
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