Glastonbury used to be a music festival. Founded in 1970 by left-wing farmer and one time Labour candidate Michael Eavis, its initial theme being 'pop, rock, blues and folk'. Over the years it evolved to incorporate all kinds of performance arts, although the main focus remained on music. Throughout the course of this century the event has been a go to place for bourgeois leftists and musicians have increasingly played to this demographic.
The flags that are famously waved by spectators have varied during the same period, in order to depict whatever 'virtuous current trend' demands their attention. Brexit loomed large in the 2010s, leading a reporter from The Guardian to comment in 2016 that she 'didn't encounter a single person who voted leave'.
The BLM riots coincided with the scamdemic that led to the cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 festivals, so attendees missed out on lots of race-related lectures. Eavis's daughter Emily commented at the time that the festival would have been 'inspired' by BLM, as well as 'climate change'. When it returned in 2022, the Glastonbury political messenging went into overdrive. There were keynote speeches from Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Greta Thunberg, while Labour's Jess Phillips and Andy Burnham also addressed audiences.
There are of course exceptions to the middle class rule. A lad in a 'Love Brexit' t-shirt was spotted in 2019, while a Trump flag was flown in 2023. However, they stood out because they are exceptions. You're far more likely to see communist regalia and the flags of the EU, Palestine, Ukraine and the Alphabet People. Whichever is the current thing...
Last week's Eluned Morgan meme generated 39 comments and seven shares on Facebook.
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