Glastonbury 2025 opening ceremony kicks off festival with a bang

Bea Swallow

BBC News, West of England

The Pyramid Stage opened with a theatre and circus show for the first time since 1990

Yui Mok/PA Acrobats and circus performers take part in the opening ceremony in the Pyramid Arena at Glastonbury Festival. There are red fireworks going off around the stage. — The Pyramid Stage opened with a theatre and circus show for the first time since 1990

With tents firmly pitched and wristbands secured, revellers spent the first night of Glastonbury Festival exploring the more obscure and eccentric attractions on site.

Ticketholders queued through the night to be among the first to enter the gates of Worthy Farm on Wednesday, brimming with excitement.

As night fell, for the first time in 35 years, the event hosted an opening ceremony from a theatre and circus act in front of the Pyramid Stage.

And with the main line-up not starting until Friday, crowds also flocked to the traditional opening fire ceremony in the Green Fields’ Sacred Space.

Acrobats and singers took part in the immersive performance

Yui Mok/PA Wire A woman wearing a long white dress standing on a tall stilt on stage. She is holding up a large floaty piece of white material. — Acrobats and singers took part in the immersive performance

Many performers were suspended in the air for the show

Yui Mok/PA A man in white clothing stands on a lit-up bike, which is suspended in the air. — Many performers were suspended in the air for the show

The audience at the immersive aerial performance were asked to tune in and hum along to the movements of a digital cyclist on screen at the Pyramid Stage, creating a “collective soundscape”.

Glastonbury organisers described the performance, named The Dreamweaver’s Journey, as a “beautiful chaos of sound”.

The Dreamweaver’s Journey was a colourful display of light, colour and sound

Yui Mok/PA Wire A female acrobat dressed in a gold and white leotard while standing on stage. With one hand, she is spinning a contraption above her head which is lit on fire. — The Dreamweaver’s Journey was a colourful display of light, colour and sound

Crowds were encouraged to sing along to the “breath-taking aerial odyssey”

Reuters/ Jaimi Joy Acrobats perform at the Pyramid arena during Glastonbury Festival, there is a large screen to the right of the stage and bright sparks around the stage. — Crowds were encouraged to sing along to the “breath-taking aerial odyssey”

Elsewhere on site, others leaned into nostalgia and indulged in a 90s singalong at the Greenpeace stage.

The official opening of the ambient Tree Stage saw meditations, celebrations, offerings and the ceremonial lighting of the Tolpuddle fire, which stays burning continuously from dusk till dawn.