Glastonbury Festival is renowned globally for its unique atmosphere, but there’s a particular buzz that electrifies Worthy Farm even before the main stages roar to life: the incomparable Thursday feeling. Organiser Emily Eavis knows this energy intimately, describing it simply as “a kind of magic.”
BBC’s Ros Atkins, who experienced this phenomenon firsthand when DJing at the festival last year, was immediately struck by it. He describes it as a potent “sense of release – of a wait being over,” a feeling he says he’d never encountered before. This distinctive Glastonbury Thursday feeling stayed with him long after the last tent was packed.
What Makes the Thursday Feeling So Special?
While the big-name acts don’t hit the Pyramid or Other stages until Friday, Glastonbury is a five-day event, with Wednesday and Thursday acting as crucial build-up days. For Emily Eavis, whose parents Michael and Jean started the festival, these initial days hold a special significance, deeply connected to family history.
“Traditionally, it would be me and my dad who go down to open the gates on Wednesday,” she shares. “It’s like letting people into Christmas in a way… it’s sort of like musical Christmas, because they’re in the best state of mind.”
Over Wednesday and Thursday, the sprawling site transforms as hundreds of thousands of ticketholders arrive and set up camp. By Thursday afternoon, the festival typically reaches its full capacity. “Normally Thursday afternoon is when we reach capacity,” Emily notes. “I get a message when we know that the site is full. I love the Thursday. I love energy of the Thursday.”
Anticipation, Community, and Pure Joy
Emily Eavis’s description of the Thursday energy perfectly captures the atmosphere Ros Atkins observed. It’s a “palpable feeling of excitement, anticipation,” she explains. “People want to see everything and touch everything and be there together.” More than anything, she highlights the powerful “feeling of community,” with “big gangs of friends all reuniting.”
This collective mood is central to the Glastonbury experience, extending beyond the music. Amidst the vibrant chaos, spaces like the temporary Church of Glastonbury offer a different kind of connection. Curates working there, like Lewis Simonds, describe it as a “religious retreat” within the festival, a place to find rest, talk, or simply feel “close to God.” Offering everything from daily prayers and communion to practical help like assisting with tents, this sanctuary highlights the diverse ways festival-goers find community and support within the microcosm of Worthy Farm.
A Magic That Endures
The festival has changed dramatically since its origin in 1970, when Michael Eavis first hosted acts like Marc Bolan on his dairy farm fields partly to clear an overdraft. Yet, some core elements remain constant.
Emily recalls the early years being much smaller, with only “a very few people.” But even then, she says, they had the “same look in their eyes which they have now, which is cheer, determination and commitment and joy and excitement and kind of magic.” It’s the look of people utterly committed to making these five days the absolute “best five days of their life,” a spectacle she finds “an amazing thing to witness.”
Capturing the Vibe in Sound
The profound impact of that Glastonbury Thursday feeling inspired Ros Atkins to try and bottle it. Returning to the festival this year, he plans to DJ at the Stonebridge venue on Thursday night, specifically aiming to channel that unique sense of “expectation and possibility.”
To prepare, he enlisted the help of Radio 1’s Greg James and Drum & Bass DJ Crissy Criss. Greg’s listeners sent in voice notes describing their personal “Thursday feeling” as the festival begins. These messages, along with samples from the interview with Emily Eavis, have been woven into a unique track produced by Crissy Criss, designed as a sonic celebration of everything Thursday at Glastonbury represents. Greg James is set to introduce this special track before Ros Atkins’ set.
Ultimately, the Glastonbury Thursday feeling is more than just the calm before the storm of music; it’s the moment the collective energy of anticipation, community, and pure joy reaches a palpable peak. As one Greg James listener perfectly summarised the feeling: “You set yourself up, you’ve got your drink. Life is good. You are where you’re meant to be.” It’s the shared beginning of what Emily Eavis knows attendees aim for: the “best five days of their life.”
