What was New at Glastonbury 2005?

United Kingdom | by Steve Jenner | 30 June 2005

The physical growth of the town-sized festival that started out as a small garden party in 1970, is showing no sign of slowing - in fact, there's more new stuff here this year than ever before! Check it out...

The Dance Village

Most festivals these days have a dance tent; Glasto just up-scaled theirs to an entire village! For anyone entering the site from gates A or D this year, this would have been their first impression of the festival, and what a glorious sight it is - a promenade set below a river of dazzling white, orange and pink flags, flowing through a collage of tents, bars, lounges, performance areas and open-air stages, all throbbing to the beat of a different drum machine.

Complementing the area's aesthetic appeal perfectly is a vibrant and innovative line-up of music. All genres are catered for including roots and reggae, drum'n'bass, breaks, grime, house, techno, trance, psy-trance, pop, hip hop, jazz, funk, soul, electronica and chill out. For the dance head, this is nirvana. For the rest of us, it's a spectacle that never ceases to inspire awe on every walk-through.

Midnight's Carnival

Not for the feint hearted, or those who need sleep before dawn, this new area in the Circus Field takes Glastonbury to a new level of weirdness, wildness and darkness. It makes Lost Vagueness look like the Kidz Field. Leave your identity at the gate and come lose yourself under the stars at the masked ball!

As darkness falls, tiny lights flicker, the carousel starts to turn, the organ starts to grind and the freaks creep out of the shadows, ready to play, carouse and dance the night away. Whispering sculptures warn yet welcome you into a twisted carnival dimension, with no boundaries, no limits and where a fool can be king for a night. From dusk till dawn, you can ride the Ghost Train, marvel at the Pretty Freakey Sideshow and be awestruck by the apocalyptic grandeur of the Mutoid Waste creations and the 'Unnatural History Museum'!

Be seduced by the voodoo champagne floozies into the faded opulence of the Gin Palace, where you can swing from the chandeliers 'til sunrise, see the Can Can dancers whirl and spin and the bands play on the Pyrette Ship stage. The Cararet At The End Of The World delivers decadent aerial musical theatre and the Midnight Carnival Circus Stage serves up spellbinding shows such as the Burlesque Boutique, Absinthe Horse Racing, Twisted Theatre and much more. Scary but compulsive!