Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis has said people who do not agree with the politics of the event "can go somewhere else".
Eavis, 89, and his daughter, organiser Emily Eavis, opened the gates to the festival on Wednesday morning and could be seen counting down and cheering as a brass band played.
The festival has always had a political element to it with stages such as Left Field and Green Fields’ Speakers Forum welcoming politicians, pundits and celebrities to speak on topics that range from feminism to fascism.
Asked if the event still stands for something, Eavis told Glastonbury Free Press, the festival’s resident newspaper: "Oh heaven’s above, yes, of course it does.
"And I think the people that come here are into all those things. People that don’t agree with the politics of the event can go somewhere else!"
Eavis, who has used a wheelchair to get around the festival in recent years, said he still gets "really excited" for the five-day celebration of performing arts and music, though he can "no longer run around like I used to".
He told the paper: "I still take a lot of pleasure from all of it. I’m enjoying every day.
"And Emily is doing so well. I’m just feeling really safe with the show being in her hands."
Former Match Of The Day presenter Gary Lineker, who left the BBC One show last month, will be speaking at Silver Hayes’s The Information on Saturday for a panel titled "Standing Up For 'Getting Along’ In A World That’s Being Pushed Apart".
He told the paper: "It’s basically along the lines of: everything is done to try and divide us, and I think if people can pull together – because I think most of us are decent human beings – then just a bit more kindness in the world would go a long way at the moment."
Festivalgoers experienced lashings of rain when they arrived to Pilton on Thursday morning, but the rest of the day should be "largely pleasant", according to the Met Office.
Spokesman Stephen Dixon told the PA news agency: "It’ll be largely sunny in Glastonbury today, once initial cloud moves to the east later this morning.
"Temperatures are likely to peak in the low 20s in what will be a largely pleasant day for many.
"There is a chance of some showers crossing over the area overnight into Friday, though this will clear by the morning.
"Friday should start relatively sunny, with temperatures reaching into the mid-20s. However, there will be a touch more cloud later in the day and into the evening."
This year’s event will see headline performances from British rock/pop band The 1975, veteran singer Neil Young and his band the Chrome Hearts, and US pop star Olivia Rodrigo.
Irish rap trio Kneecap are set to play Glastonbury's West Holts stage on Saturday after one of their members was charged with a terror offence.
Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged for allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah at a gig in London in November last year.
Last week, the 27-year-old, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was cheered by hundreds of supporters as he arrived with bandmates Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in "Free Mo Chara" T-shirts.
He was released on unconditional bail until his next hearing at the same court on 20 August.
Source: Press Association
