The lights on the Pyramid StageThe main stage at Glastonbury. Others include Avalon, Wow and the Rabbit Hole. are dazzling. Facing it is a great sea of people, thousands strong, cheering and waving colourful banners in anticipation of the headline act. Many have travelled hundreds of miles despite train strikes and plane cancellations. Once more, for five days, a sprawling farm in Somerset has become a place of magic. Glastonbury rocks again!

This is an extra-special year for Britain's biggest festival. It should have celebrated its 50^th anniversary in 2020, but had to be cancelled because of the pandemic. It was cancelled again in 2021. After being deprived of live music for so long, everyone wants to make up for lost time.

The array of performers is breathtaking. It combines some of the hottest acts in the world with newly emerging artists and living legends. Billie Eilish will be there, along with Kendrick Lamar, Sam Fender, Little Simz, Paul McCartney, Diana Ross, Ziggy Marley and Foals.

All in all, there will be hundreds of bands playing on 93 stages. Around 200,000 fans will attend: the tickets sold out in just 30 minutes.  

"I think Glastonbury is a bit like Disneyland," says Francis Whately, the director of a new documentary called Glastonbury: 50 Years and Counting. "It's like the ultimate escape. When you're there, you don't really think of the outside world at all... And it is also like Disneyland in the way it is incredibly well organised, everything is there and the people are very nice."

Glastonbury, run by Michael EavisThe festival takes place on his family farm, which he inherited when he was 19. and his daughter Emily, is far from being the world's largest festival. Austria's DonauinselfestIn German, Donau is the name of the Danube, insel means island and fest means festival., held on an island in the River DanubeThe second longest river in Europe, it runs for 1,770 miles from Germany to Romania., attracted over three million people in 2015. But for many people Glastonbury is the most special.

"It is a family affair," says Whately. "It's not for profit. Everything is ploughed back into the festival or into good causesThis year they include aid for Ukrainian refugees.. And that makes it unique."

In the past, most festivals were not about making money. Instead, they brought people together through a shared love of music. WoodstockThe acts included Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez, Santana and the Grateful Dead., held in New York state in 1969, inspired a host of others.

The current boom in festivals is largely to do with the rise of streaming. Bands used to get most of their money from selling albums on vinyl or CDs. Now that music can be downloaded cheaply, they rely more on live performances. And for fans, being able to listen to a recording at any time makes a live version much more special.

In addition, says Carlos Chirinos, a professor of clinical musicMusic used as therapy for people who are unwell. and global health at New York University, people are now more likely to spend money on experiences than on material things. Being able to share a clip of Billie Eilish on Instagram is more exciting than buying expensive clothes.

In one survey of millennials, researchers found that 57% of those questioned thought that travelling and seeing the world was more important than buying a flat or house.

Yes: When most people think about the best and most memorable things in their lives, it is wonderful adventures, holidays or family occasions that come to mind, not a new bicycle or pair of shoes.

No: Experiences are fleeting - even the most brilliant day of your life will leave only vague memories. It is better to spend money on things that give a solid basis to your existence, such as a house.   

Or...  William Morris said that we should have nothing in our homes that we do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. But the value of many objects lies in the memories we associate with them.