Glastonbury banks on sunshine

Muddy hell: Organisers will be hoping for better weather this year

By BBC News Online's Chris Charles

Glastonbury Festival enters the 21st century on Friday, but it's a familiar subject that has been dominating the build-up.

Once again, the British weather takes centre stage, dwarfing the likes of David Bowie, Travis and the other giants due to perform over the weekend.

After three days of glorious, unbroken sunshine across the UK, festival-goers must have been dreaming of a second successive barren spell.

Glastonbury is full of weird and wonderful people

Predictably, though, the first drops of rain fell on Tuesday and, according to the weather forecasters, there's more to come.

Organiser Michael Eavis will be praying the huge site at Pilton in Somerset does not turn into the quagmire experienced in recent years and preparations have been particularly thorough in a bid to counteract any problems.

Muddy

A festival spokesman conceded: "It has been slightly muddy down here."

But he stressed that a repeat of the chaotic conditions endured in 1997 and '98 were unlikely.

"A lot of extra drainage has been put on the site and hopefully we won't experience the same problems of two and three years ago," he told BBC News Online.

"We have also got better, hardcore roads, more permanent tracks and have laid down some more stone."

He said all the other preparations were in full swing, with the spectacular new pyramid stage - a 100ft construction based on the Great Pyramid in Giza - dominating the skyline.

But he refused to reveal the identity of the "very special guest" due on the stage over the weekend, describing them only as "an interesting performer".

There is no mystique surrounding the rest of the line-up, though.

Dance acts

Friday's entertainment is dominated by dance acts, with the Chemical Brothers, Moby, Reprazent and Groove Armada among the big names appearing.

David Bowie is the star attraction at Glastonbury 2000

Nine Inch Nails, Cypress Hill, Idlewild and The Bluetones will also be playing, while Bob Marley's former backing band The Wailers will be dividing their time between the Pyramid and Jazzworld stages.

Travis are the main headliners on Saturday evening, along with the Pet Shop Boys and Ocean Colour Scene.

Dance music is once again well represented, with Fatboy Slim, Leftfield, Bentley Rhythm Ace and Artful Dodger among the highlights - but the bands could well be competing against the football with big screens provided for the Euro 2000 quarter-finals.

The festival draws to a close on Sunday, with veteran performers Bowie and Gil Scott-Heron hogging the spotlight.

It is the first time Bowie has played Glastonbury since 1971 - the festival's second year - but he is still by far the biggest draw of the weekend.

It is a clever piece of scheduling by the organisers, with less people tempted to head home early - although it's not such good news for those fans who have to be back at work on Monday morning.

Ballroom dancing

Other old hands appearing on Sunday include Willie Nelson and the Happy Mondays, but Glastonbury is not just about the established acts.

The amusingly-named Croissant Neuf - a solar and wind-powered stage - offers old-time Jamaican, ska and skiffle bands, while the Lost Vagueness tent offers ballroom dancing, complete with tuxedos and ball gowns.

Finding space for your tent can prove to be difficult

And for those fed up with music, there are poetry readings, theatre groups, comedians, a circus big top and a cinema showing a selection of films from American Beauty to The Blair Witch Project.

It is these alternative attractions, along with the vast selection of stalls, which sets Glastonbury apart from the plethora of festivals taking place across the UK this summer.

The celebrations officially reach their climax at sunrise on Monday, when the Druids perform their traditional ceremony up at the Sacred Stones.

Festival goers will be praying it is not the only time the sun makes an appearance.

There is extensive coverage of Glastonbury on BBC Two and BBC Choice, as well as on BBC Radio 1 across the weekend.