Mass exodus from Glastonbury site begins

Hoe downs break out as Mumford & Sons headline last night of Somerset festival

Ben Lovett, Marcus Mumford, Winston Marshall and Ted Dwane of Mumford & Sons perform on the Pyramid Stage during the final day of the 2013 Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm. Photograph:  Ian Gavan/Getty Images.
Ben Lovett, Marcus Mumford, Winston Marshall and Ted Dwane of Mumford & Sons perform on the Pyramid Stage during the final day of the 2013 Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm. Photograph: Ian Gavan/Getty Images.

For the past five days, it has been home to some 135,000 ticket holders. But from today, the clean up operation of Glastonbury Festival 2013 begins.

Festival-goers have been entertained by the likes of The Rolling Stones, Arctic Monkeys and Mumford & Sons during the festival, with familiar faces such as Prince Harry, Kate Moss and Wayne Rooney among those in attendance.

With the party officially over, campers have until 6pm to leave the site of the festival at Worthy Farm, Somerset, while crew and stall holders are given a week to clear their property.

People take part in a tomato fight at the Common at the Glastonbury Festival. Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images.
People take part in a tomato fight at the Common at the Glastonbury Festival. Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images.

The mission to convert the land back into a functioning dairy farm, a process which should take six weeks according to festival organisers, then begins in earnest.

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Tractors carrying magnetic strips will travel across the 900-acre site to pick up tent pegs while workers will carry out a fingertip search to make sure no inch of the land goes unchecked.

Organiser Michael Eavis said The Rolling Stones gave the best headline set in the festival's history on Saturday night.

Last night Mumford & Sons were greeted with loud cheers as they took the stage for their headline set.

There had been fears the band would have to cancel their performance because of bassist Ted Dwane’s recent illness, when he was admitted to hospital for a blood clot, but those worries were unfounded.

Fans held candles aloft as the night set in, with the band's country-style tunes giving rise to impromptu hoe downs in front of the stage as they played hits like Little Lion Man and I Will Wait.

Hollywood actor Carey Mulligan, who is married to band member Marcus Mumford, was among those watching the band backstage.

Mumford told the audience: “I would like to give a massive thank you to Michael Eavis and his family for having us here and letting us be complete idiots in his field for a couple of days.”

The band were joined on stage by fellow Pyramid Stage bands The Vaccines, Arctic Monkeys and Vampire Weekend for a rendition of the Beatles classic With A Little Help From My Friends, which served as the finale for the weekend’s entertainment.

Preparations for 2014 are under way with headliners for the next festival have already been booked, Eavis added.

PA