--- description: Festival-goers have caused large tailbacks on country roads,w with some stuck in their cars for 12 hours. title: Glastonbury Festival Opens as U.K. Votes on Brexit image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4bdefd011b59e517/69889912196cf4404103c239/rtx2hndj.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Mud, Music and Miles-Long Lines as Glastonbury Clashes With Brexit Referendum by [Simon Lewis](/author/simon-lewis/) ## Simon Lewis Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2016 3:27 AM CUT  Revelers wrapped in European Union flags walk at Worthy Farm in Somerset during the Glastonbury Festival, Britain, June 22, 2016 Revelers wrapped in European Union flags walk at Worthy Farm in Somerset during the Glastonbury Festival, Britain, June 22, 2016Stoyan Nenov—Reuters by [Simon Lewis](/author/simon-lewis/) ## Simon Lewis Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2016 3:27 AM CUT Their country may be about to make what is probably its most important decision in a generation — [whether or not](http://time.com/4376284/brexit-britains-tortured-relationship-e-u/ "undefined") to remain a member of the European Union — but some Britons have other priorities. A significant chunk of the electorate will spend the weekend on a muddy farm in the rural English county of Somerset, within view of a medieval church steeped in Arthurian legend that is a [proposed](http://www.glastonburyabbey.com/joseph%5Fof%5Farimathea.php "undefined") location of the Holy Grail. The five-day Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts opened its gates on Wednesday, with as many as 200,000 people are expected to attend. (Festival organizers [urged](https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/mar/22/glastonbury-festival-eu-referendum-vote "undefined") visitors to arrange postal votes for Thursday’s Brexit referendum.) Most people have headed to the site early, and inclement weather on Wednesday — it’s English summertime after all — led to large tailbacks on the small country roads that lead to the festival site, Worthy Farm, which is usually occupied by dairy cows. The BBC [reports](http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-somerset-36594006 "undefined") that some festival-goers were stuck in their cars or camper vans for up to 12 hours. Some local children were unable to travel to school to take their high-school leaving exams because of the gridlock. The good news for those enduring long queues is that the U.K.’s [Met Office](http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/ "undefined") is forecasting cloudy but dry weather, and even possible sunshine, over the weekend. Glastonbury has been held, on-and-off, since the early 1970s, and involves films, comedy, politics and, most prominently, music. This year, the largest stage will be opened on Friday by the Orchestra of Syrian Musicians, who will be joined by guests including Blur frontman Damon Albarn. The weekend’s headliners [include](http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/line-up/line-up-2016/?stage "undefined") Adele, New Order and Coldplay. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4379298/glastonbury-festival-2016-brexit-uk/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4379298/glastonbury-festival-2016-brexit-uk/"},"headline":"Mud, Music and Miles-Long Lines as Glastonbury Clashes With Brexit Referendum","datePublished":"2016-06-23T03:27:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:47:20.015Z","description":"Festival organizers have urged visitors to arrange postal votes","url":"https://time.com/4379298/glastonbury-festival-2016-brexit-uk/","keywords":["Music","Coldplay","United Kingdom","Adele"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4bdefd011b59e517/69889912196cf4404103c239/rtx2hndj.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Simon Lewis","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/simon-lewis/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4bdefd011b59e517/69889912196cf4404103c239/rtx2hndj.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Revellers wrapped in European Union flags walk at Worthy Farm in Somerset during the Glastonbury Festival","caption":"Revellers wrapped in European Union flags walk at Worthy Farm in Somerset during the Glastonbury Festival","creditText":"Stoyan Nenov—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4379298/glastonbury-festival-2016-brexit-uk/","name":"Mud, Music and Miles-Long Lines as Glastonbury Clashes With Brexit Referendum"}}]}] ```