A new book will mark the 50th anniversary of Glastonbury and tell the story of how it became one of the world’s most iconic festivals.
The aptly named Glastonbury 50 will be released on October 31 and sees Michael and Emily Eavis telling the story of the festival’s journey into becoming a near essential pilgrimage for music fans across the globe.
As well as their own words, it will feature hundreds of photos which date back to the festival’s inception in 1970.
“Working on this book has been a fantastic project for me and my dad in the fallow year and in the build-up to this year’s Festival. With our 50th anniversary fast approaching, we felt now was the time to put all of our memories and stories together in one place,” says Emily Eavis.
We're very pleased to announce the release of Glastonbury 50, our official book celebrating next year's 50th anniversary of the Festival, on 31 October 2019. Get more info – and pre-order a copy signed by Michael and Emily Eavis – from https://t.co/oPFiwN4Eu5 now. pic.twitter.com/b2mPbXGULn
— Glastonbury Festival (@GlastoFest) June 5, 2019
“It’s been a total joy to look back through piles of old photo albums and scrapbooks and to reflect upon what it meant at the time, and the incredible evolution of the event. I hope people who’ve been over the years will be able to reminisce and get a flavour of the rich history of Glastonbury through five amazing decades. It’s also been a real honour to have had so many great writers, artists and photographers willing to get involved in helping us to give the full picture.”
The book, which was previously announced in October 2018, will also feature contributions from some of Glastonbury’s most memorable performers – including Jay-Z, Dolly Parton and Coldplay‘s Chris Martin.
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The cover art, meanwhile, is designed by anonymous street art icon Banksy.
This comes as the likes of Stormzy, The Killers and The Cure prepare to take top billing on the festival’s Pyramid Stage. The BBC have announced details of their entire coverage and you can find the entire line-up for 2019 here.