WITH a whopping 120,000 tickets for this year’s Glastonbury Festival snapped up in a record one hour and 27 minutes, it’s clear we’re ever so slightly fond of the Somersetbased musical extravaganza.

It’s not difficult to see why. Since starting in 1970, the Glastonbury Festival Of Contemporary Performing Arts (to give its full title), organised and created by Michael Eavis and now with his daughter Emily, has pulled in the biggest names on the planet to perform at Worthy Farm.

And though there have been mud baths, floods and submerged tents along the way, a bit – or a lot – of a downpour seemingly does little to dampen our love of the festival, especially with acts as broadranging as Joan Baez, David Bowie and Jay-Z to take our minds off the weather.

But if you’d rather take shelter and watch from the comfort of your sofa, or just didn’t manage to get a ticket this year, there’s the BBC’s extensive coverage of the festival to tune into, airing on BBC Two, Three and Four this weekend, as well as online . To whet your appetite, here’s a look at some of the highlights...

Friday fun

KICKING off the festival is veteran American band Blondie, who are taking the first slot on the Other Stage. Later on, Canadian favourites Arcade Fire will be closing the first day of music on the Pyramid Stage. There are also performances by outspoken pop star Lily Allen and Lancashire band Elbow, who are fronted by everybody’s fantasy best mate, BBC 6 Music presenter Guy Garvey.

Saturday night’s all right

FOR those who wish to head-bang, long-standing heavy metal stars Metallica will be rocking the main stage on Saturday. Following the rock theme, Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant is also performing, as well as Welsh lovelies Manic Street Preachers and US singer Kelis.

Sunday best

BRITISH star Ellie Goulding, she who sang at Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding, plays on the Other Stage, swiftly followed by Bristol group Massive Attack. Over on the main stage, country music legend Dolly Parton, pictured left, is set to wow the Glastonbury masses with her huge repertoire, razor-sharp wit and dazzling outfits, while Leicestershire band Kasabian will be rounding off the festival with their closing set.

The pundits

FRONTING up BBC Two’s coverage are Jo Whiley, Mark Radcliffe and Lauren Laverne, while on BBC Three, Ellie Goulding’s exboyfriend Greg James and his fellow radio presenters Jen Long and Gemma Cairney are in front of the camera.

Towering success

IT’S not new, but this year, the iconic Leftfield Tower, which was built a decade ago by shipyard workers in Devon who were facing redundancy, has been renamed as the Tony Benn Tower in honour of the late politician. The tower was erected to represent “a beacon of hope and a memorial for the working people of the world”, according to festival regular Graham Jobbins, who designed it.

Magical musical numbers

GLASTONBURY has given us its fair share of standout moments over the years. Who, for example, could forget Stevie Wonder (and a slightly less tuneful Michael Eavis) serenading the 2010 crowd with a version of Happy Birthday to celebrate the festival’s 40th anniversary?

Or Paul McCartney leading thousands in a sing-song of Hey Jude in 2004?

Then there was Radiohead’s landmark performance in 1997, which saw them play hits from their then newly-released album OK Computer, and Beyonce rousing throngs of festival fans into giving their best Single Ladies rendition when she headlined in 2011?

The Rolling Stones’ performance, uniting fans old and young, at last year’s festival was another high, while back in 1984, pre-televised coverage, The Smiths sparked a stage invasion.

Glasto in numbers

  • Back in 1970 when the festival first began, Eavis charged about 1,500 punters £1 to enter.
  • The price also included free milk from the farm. This year, general tickets went on sale for £210.
  • Adding to their green credentials, this year there will be over 1,000 compostable toilets on site. That’s as well as 2,000 long-drops and Portaloos, disabled toilets, urinals, She-pees, latrines and the odd flushing toilet if you can find it.
  • The site is set over a whopping 900 acres.
  • Over the course of the five days, the festival uses 11million litres of water. Filling old water bottles is actively encouraged, with more than 400 drinking water taps providing fresh H20 from Bristol.
  • The BBC is planning 50 hours of radio coverage, 30 hours of TV coverage and regular online dispatches from the festival site.