There was a time when Glastonbury tickets were just £1, with the lucky 1,500 punters promised free, fresh milk to drink and an ox roast to feast on to boot – but 45 years on, it’s a whole different story.

This year, some 135,000 ticket-holders will once again descend on the famous site in Somerset, to watch the likes of The Who and Pharrell (and pray for sunshine). But while music festivals are now ten a penny, for some, Glasto takes a lot of beating.

“I love the first time you arrive on site, there’s nothing like it,” says festival veteran Jo Whiley, who’s joining up with Dermot O’Leary for Radio 2′s coverage, and Lauren Laverne and Mark Radcliffe for BBC Two’s TV highlights.

Jo WhileyJo Whiley will present Glastonbury highlights on the BBC (Guy Levy/BBC)

 

“There’s the tingle of anticipation and then the breathtaking view of the festival cityscape, and myriad of tents blending into one beautiful vision. The best time of day is as the sun goes down and the lights start twinkling, it’s unreal.”

Magical as that might be, for those who want to give the mud baths, submerged tents and crowds a wide berth, the BBC is once again offering extensive TV, radio and online coverage of the event, from Friday, June 26 until Sunday, June 28.

Lauren LaverneLauren Laverne will present Glastonbury highlights on the BBC (Guy Levy/BBC)

 

As Lauren puts it: “I think the live streams of the stages are as close to being there as you can get. Those spectacular shots of the Pyramid Stage performances are really special.”

To get you in the mood for a weekend of live music – all from the comfort of your own sofa – here’s a look at some of the highlights in store, along with some fun facts and figures…

Glasto: The top acts of 2015

Kanye West on stageKanye West’s headline slot has divided Glastonbury fans (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

 

To keep all the punters occupied throughout the five-day event, there will be music, spoken word, poetry, plus all sorts of workshops and films played out on more than 100 stages across the 900-acre site.

The biggest stage is the Pyramid, which will be host to the rockers Florence + The Machine, metallers Motorhead and US singer-songwriter Mary J Blige on the Friday, rapper Kanye West, Pharrell, crooner Burt Bacharach and Paloma Faith on the Saturday, rounding things off with classic rockers The Who, along with Lionel Richie, Patti Smith and Paul Weller on the Sunday.

Generally speaking, BBC Two is the channel to watch for the biggest names, BBC Three for the current crop of music stars, while BBC Four will take a look at stars from years gone by.

Glasto: What’s on the other stages

The Chemical Brothers perform at Wireless festival 2011The Chemical Brothers will perform at Glastonbury this year (Yui Mok/PA)

 

Elsewhere, there will be performances from Mark Ronson, Ryan Adams, The Chemical Brothers, Hot Chip, Caribou, The Zombies, Super Furry Animals, The Fall, Suede, The Moody Blues and Donovan.

For host Lauren, it’s this diversity in the line-up that really inspires her. “Last year on radio and TV, I was able to cover Dolly Parton, Metallica, the first ballet performed at the festival, live sessions from Little Dragon, Kate Tempest and Toumani & Sidiki,” explains the DJ, who says her top tip for ticket-holders is to go to the festival without “too much of a plan”.

“And I got to interview The War On Drugs and the Arcade Fire,” she added.

Glastonbury highlights of years gone by

Stevie Wonder performs at Glastonbury in 2010Stevie Wonder had everyone singing Happy Birthday at Glasto 2010 (Ben Birchall/PA)

 

There’s no shortage of standout moments from Glastonbury. Cast your mind back to 2010, and there’s Stevie Wonder (and a slightly less tuneful Michael Eavis) serenading the crowd with a version of Happy Birthday to celebrate the festival’s 40th anniversary.

Go further back to 2004, and Sir Paul McCartney led a chorus of thousands in a sing-song of Hey Jude. There’s also Radiohead’s landmark showdown in 1997, just after the release of the band’s OK Computer, The Smiths’ 1984 stage invasion and Johnny Cash’s iconic 1994 performance.

Dolly Parton performing at Glastonbury 2014Dolly Parton went down a storm at Glastonbury last year (Matt Crossick/PA)

 

But one set really sticks in Jo’s mind. “Dolly, Dolly, Dolly!” says the Northampton-born DJ and presenter of the mega-famous country singer’s performance last year.

“The sheer enormity of that crowd and the outpouring of love for one mighty woman and her music [make it my highlight]. The fact I got to interview her as she walked off stage was the cherry on the cake. I loved the fact that she was completely unfazed by the whole thing.”

Green Glasto

Everyone who goes to Glastonbury has a “Glastonbury loo story”, which is usually a cautionary tale involving someone’s cousin’s university friend, who fell down an unspeakably disgusting toilet never to return. The good news is that the toilets are actually cleaned every day, so if that had happened, the friend of a friend of a friend would have been found… eventually.

Glastonbury campsiteWill you really miss this watching the festival on the telly? (Mark Allan/AP)

 

And the other good news is that with a whopping 2,000 long drops, 1,300 compost loos, plus urinals, she-pees, disabled toilets, a small number of actual flushing bogs and a dwindling number of portable loos, there shouldn’t be too much in the way of queues.

Known for its green credentials (hence the dwindling number of plastic portable loos), the festival is hot on recycling, limiting plastic waste and supporting worthy causes. Indeed, since 2000, each festival has raised £1 million for charities and local good causes.

The BBC’s coverage of Glastonbury Festival begins on Friday, June 26.