Glastonbury Festival revellers have been urged to pack up their belongings to help the clean-up efforts as yet another edition of the popular music fete comes to an end.
Hundreds of volunteers started removing the heaps of rubbish left over as festivalgoers began their journey back out of Somerset on Monday morning.
Organisers advised the best departure time would be between midnight and 7 am as long waits are expected through the rest of the day.
The five-day event the most popular festival in the UK and it attracts hundreds of thousands of music lovers from all over the world every year – resulting in monumental efforts to return the field to pristine conditions once everyone has left.
Andy Rock, 55, has been leading the team of litter pickers around the Pyramid Stage, noting the process of cleaning up is normally “very, very slick.”
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Mr Rock said: “There’s about 300 staff down here this morning, and they all got up early in the morning to pick the litter to clear up from last night.
“They’ve been doing that for the last four days and every morning it’s a bit messy in the morning, but this place is absolutely spotless by about 10-11 o’clock.”
Speaking to The Mirror, the litter-picking expert said “nothing particularly unsavoury” was recovered from the field.
He continued: “I think somebody did leave behind some high-heeled crocodile skin shoes yesterday, but that was the strangest thing we found yesterday.
“I’m not sure why anybody brought those to Glastonbury, but mainly it’s the stuff you see around us. It’s cans, bottles, paper cups, and virtually everything we pick up gets recycled.”
This year’s festival saw some memorable moments as well as record-breaking performances, with Coldplay becoming the first group to headline Glastonbury five times.
Despite doubts about their return to the main stage on Saturday evening, Coldplay was quick to prove their suitability to fit the slot – and sent fans into a frenzy when Hollywood star Michael J. Fox joined them for a top rendition of their hit Fix You.
Dua Lipa told revellers she had “written this moment down… wished for it… worked so hard in the hopes that maybe one day I’ll get to do it” as she took to the stage on Friday.
American artist SZA brought Glastonbury 2024 to an end with an energetic nature-themed set despite admitting earlier on she had been “so nervous”.
She followed up Shania Twain‘s “life-changing” performance in the Legend slot during which festivalgoers joined in as they rocked to renditions of hits like That Don’t Impress Me Much and Man! I Feel Like A Woman!
