Glastonbury 2003: They Did It!

United Kingdom | | 30 June 2003

After the trials and tribulations of previous years, Glastonbury 2003 soared like a pheonix to majestically claim its crown as the undisputed best festival in the world... again.

Despite initial fears of rain and mud, we were treated to some of the hottest British weather of the summer, and the ground remained firm and dry, despite a few evening showers. The mainstream entertainment saw triumphant sets from veterans R.E.M., Radiohead, Doves, Primal Scream, Super Furry Animals, Suede, Supergrass, Flaming Lips and Moby. Rising stars The Coral, The Thrills, The Darkness, Har Mar Superstar, Elecric Six, Athlete, Junior Senior and Kings of Leon also etched themselves into the festival history books.

The main themes of the festival seemed to be 1) Things on sticks (pidgeons ranked highly), 2) Other bands covering Radiohead songs - Moby's magnificent 'Creep' and The Darkness' ingenious rocked-up 'Street Spirit'... and 3) People texting their mates... Everywhere (how did we ever manage to find anyone before mobiles were around?)

Organiser Michael Eavis (pictured) jubilantly agreed with us that, "without a shadow of a doubt, this is the best festival we have ever had. People have taken all the messages and things are looking very, very good for the future."

He added that: ""After 33 years we've finally got it right! Last year was the fence, this year was the security, and there's nobody out there [outside the festival site]. The spirit is as good as ever. There has been a lot less crime, robberies and no trespassing off-site".

Virtual Festivals are now runnning on pure adrenaline to bring you our ultimate coverage of the festival. Over the next few days, we will be adding reviews, features, artist interviews and, of course, the best Glastonbury 2003 photo gallery in the world!