Opening ceremony kicks off Glastonbury with a bang

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.

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".

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.

The evening culminated in a fireworks display, seen from both ceremonies, which ignited the sky with blazing trails and colourful sparks.

Many people gathered at the Tipi Village, The Stone Circle and at the base of the Glastonbury sign to watch the spectacle.

Additional reporting by Paul Glynn